McDonald's President Retires -- WSJ
September 01 2016 - 3:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Ezequiel Minaya
McDonald's Corp. said Wednesday that retiring U.S. President
Mike Andres would be succeeded by company executive Chris
Kempczinski, effective Jan. 1.
The 58-year-old Mr. Andres is a 30-year veteran of the chain and
among the chief architects of McDonald's makeover in the past year
as the fast-food giant went about trying to keep pace with shifting
tastes toward fresher fare.
The 47-year-old Mr. Kempczinski, meanwhile, joined McDonald's
last year and is executive vice president of strategy, business
development and innovation, coming over from Kraft Foods Group,
where he served as president of international and vice president of
growth initiatives. He will become McDonald's fourth head of its
U.S. business since November 2012.
"As we thank Mike for his contributions, we are confident Chris
is the right leader to build upon our U.S. progress and bring a new
level of convenience and excitement to the restaurant experience,"
said CEO Steve Easterbrook.
McDonald's has moved to simplify its ingredients and satisfy
increasingly conscientious customers. Most recently, the company
said it would replace high-fructose corn syrup in its sandwich buns
with sugar. The company also unveiled plans to roll out Chicken
McNuggets and some breakfast items free of artificial
preservatives.
Since taking over as chief executive last year, Mr. Easterbrook
has pushed McDonald's to improve its familiar product offerings.
The company also most notably boosted stalled sales by offering
all-day breakfast in October.
Even though the company has posted four consecutive quarters of
positive sales at McDonald's stores open at least a year, in the
latest quarter the growth missed analysts' expectations.
This is the second major organizational change announced this
month by McDonald's. Earlier this month, the company said Chief
Administrative Officer Pete Bensen, 54, would retire on Sept. 2
after 20 years with McDonald's.
On Wednesday, the burger chain also made a few other executive
moves. Doug Goare, president of the international lead markets,
will add the role of chief restaurant officer, overseeing some
duties handled by the retiring Mr. Bensen. Lucy Brady, who joined
McDonald's in September, shifts into Mr. Kempczinski's role.
Mr. Andres, meanwhile, had returned to McDonald's in 2014 after
serving as chief executive of Logan's Roadhouse Inc. Before that,
Mr. Andres previously headed McDonald's central division in the
U.S. and was chief executive and president of Boston Market when
the chain was a McDonald's subsidiary.
Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 01, 2016 02:50 ET (06:50 GMT)
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