Merrill is a seasoned business leader with over 35 years of experience in the F&B industry, spanning 23 geographies. Most recently, Merrill served as the Managing Director for Pizza Hut India Subcontinent, where he was instrumental in steering the brand’s operations and long-term profitability across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Maldives. Under his leadership, the business achieved robust growth, expanding the store count from 433 in 2020 to over 850 in 2024 across 200 cities, and delivering a System Sales Growth of 47% in 2022—the highest among all Pizza Hut subsidiaries globally.

Prior to this, Merrill was the Executive Director and CEO of QSR Brands (M) Holdings, which dominates the retail food industry in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Cambodia. His diverse expertise includes a 23-year tenure at McDonald’s, leading the expansion and commercialization of franchise operations across Saudi Arabia, the South Pacific (Fiji, Samoa, French Polynesia, American Samoa), New Caledonia, and Southeast Asia. Merrill’s leadership was crucial in the successful turnarounds of KFC and Pizza Hut Malaysia, as well as Domino’s Pizza Indonesia, transforming these businesses into profitable ventures.

Merrill has served as a board member at Yum Restaurants (India) since 2019 and previously held board positions at QSR Malaysia and QSR Singapore. He has extensive expertise in overseeing private equity mergers and IPO rollouts, having served on critical sub-committees including IPO process, Audit, Leadership Performance Management, and Compensation. An alumnus of Wharton University, Merrill has completed strategic leadership programs at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and Thunderbird University. He is also the author of the acclaimed book 'Expand Your Brand'.