McDonald's U.S. Chief to Retire
August 31 2016 - 5:40PM
Dow Jones News
McDonald's Corp. said Wednesday that retiring U.S. President
Mike Andres would be succeeded by company executive Chris
Kempczinski, effective Jan. 1.
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.
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.
Mr. Andres 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
August 31, 2016 18:25 ET (22:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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