CHICAGO, March 15,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, McDonald's USA President Joe
Erlinger sent the following message to the McDonald's US
System announcing new Senior Vice President and Chief Development
Officer, Tabassum
Zalotrawala.
The digital CV and headshot for Tabassum
Zalotrawala are embedded within this release.
+++
With the announcement of an evolved Accelerating the Arches
strategy to grow faster, meet customer expectations, and make our
brand even stronger through new restaurant development, we
committed to leveraging our position of strength to grow the number
of McDonald's restaurants across the U.S.
That's why, as we lay the foundation for continued long-term
growth and rapidly accelerate the development of new restaurants,
we are adding a strong and dynamic leader to the U.S. Senior
Leadership Team. I'm excited to share that Tabassum Zalotrawala will join McDonald's
and lead this effort as Senior Vice President and U.S. Chief
Development Officer, reporting directly to me effective
Monday, April 24.
This role has been purposefully elevated to the U.S. SLT as we
prioritize development as part of our Accelerating the Arches
strategy. Having spent the past five years investing our capital
and energy in modernizing our business, we've earned the right to
build new restaurants and set aggressive goals, and Tabassum is the
right leader to advance our ambitions.
Prior to joining McDonald's, Tabassum led significant real
estate development efforts for several restaurant brands worldwide.
Most recently, she served as Chief Development Officer at Chipotle
Mexican Grill where she led global execution of real estate, with
one of her projects named one of 'The Most Innovative Projects of
2020' by Fast Company. Prior to that, she held several
leadership positions focused on real estate, design, and
construction at Panda Restaurant Group and Arby's Restaurant
Group.
Tabassum is a values-based leader and is committed to growing
the business while providing opportunities for the betterment of
people, customers, and communities. Her development experience is
matched by her extensive education, with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts
and completion of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management
Program. While working in development, she quickly realized how a
career in the food service sector provided an opportunity to scale
the influence of her work and aligned with her values – allowing
her to create spaces for tens of thousands of guests, support small
business owners, and create thousands of new jobs each year.
As she prepares to start her role in April, Tabassum will
relocate to Chicago with her
husband, Yusuf, and daughter, Ummae. Until then, the Development
Leadership Team will continue to report to Mason Smoot as they work to accelerate our
plans. I'd like to thank John Wendel
for his leadership during this interim period as we conducted our
search. The progress the team has continued to make in the past few
months has set us up for future success.
On behalf of the entire U.S. Senior Leadership Team, I am
confident that Tabassum's leadership will elevate our position as a
leading brand and enable McDonald's to serve more customers than
ever before. With our sustained success over the past several
years, there is still much work to be done. Now is the time to take
this important next step.
Please join me in welcoming Tabassum to our team.
Joe Erlinger
President, McDonald's USA
About McDonald's USA
McDonald's USA, LLC, serves a
variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to millions
of customers every day. Ninety-five percent of McDonald's
approximately 13,500 U.S. restaurants are owned and operated by
independent business owners. For more information,
visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/mcdonalds.
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SOURCE McDonald's USA