McDonald’s Chief Restaurant Officer Doug Goare will retire on Dec. 31, 2018. In anticipation of his retirement and due to how the company’s business model has evolved in recent years, McDonald’s plans to make several changes to its global organizational model, effective Jan. 1, 2019.
McDonald’s will operate under a new organizational structure with the following global business segments:
- U.S.: This segment will continue to operate under the leadership of Chris Kempczinski, president, McDonald’s USA.
- International Operated Markets: Joe Erlinger will serve as president, International Operated Markets. This segment will consist of wholly owned markets, or countries in which McDonald’s operates restaurants, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and the U.K.
- International Developmental Licensed Markets: Ian Borden will serve as president of this segment. International Developmental Licensed Markets will consist of the remaining markets in the McDonald’s system.
The changes represent the next steps in McDonald’s Velocity Growth Plan. “The organization we created as we were beginning our turnaround in 2015 helped us make decisions more quickly, act with greater agility and strengthen the performance of our markets,” said Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s president and CEO, in a statement announcing these developments. “This new organizational structure provides us the opportunity to continue building on our progress, making sure McDonald’s remains positioned to run great restaurants and better serve our customers.”