McDonald’s Corporation announced this week that Mike Andres, president of its U.S. business, is retiring at the end of the year. Andres, 58, stepped into the role of president in October 2014 and is a 30-year McDonald’s employee. Andres will be replaced by Chris Kempczinski, effective January 1. Kempczinski will become McDonald’s fourth president of its U.S. business since November 2012.
Kempczinski joined the company last year from Kraft Heinz and is currently executive vice president of strategy, business development and innovation. Kempczinski’s appointment by McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook marks a change in that the past three presidents of the U.S. business have been McDonald’s veterans. McDonald’s said Lucy Brady will step into Kempczinski’s current position, noting that she had led several turnaround efforts at The Boston Consulting Group.
Easterbrook, who took over last year, has vowed to reinvent the fast-food giant while fending off a growing number of competitors. Easterbrook has moved to cut costs and move more quickly to ensure that McDonald’s is keeping up with changing tastes and habits.
Andres had overseen some key elements of McDonald’s turnaround push, such as the rollout of an all-day breakfast menu last year and the phasing out of certain ingredients customers objected to, such as plans to roll out Chicken McNuggets and some breakfast items free of artificial preservatives. Andres was appointed under previous McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson, who was succeeded by Easterbrook, amidst slumping sales and a decline in customer visits.
Doug Goare, president of international lead markets, will take over at chief restaurant officer, taking over responsibilities overseen by chief administrative officer Pete Bensin, whose retirement was announced by the company in early August, after 20 years with McDonald’s. In April, McDonald’s also announced the retirement of longtime board member and chair Andrew McKenna. “As we thank Mike for his contributions, we are confident Chris is the right leader to build upon U.S. progress and bring a new level of convenience and excitement to the restaurant experience,” said CEO Steve Easterbrook.
McDonald’s performance has improved recently, with sales at U.S. locations rising in each of the past four quarters. However, in the last quarter, growth missed analysts’ expectations.
