CHICAGO — Christopher J. Kempczinski has been named president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s Corp. He replaces Stephen J. Easterbrook, who left the company following the disclosure that he violated company policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee.
Mr. Kempczinski joined McDonald’s Corp. in 2015, overseeing global strategy, business development and innovation. He most recently was president of McDonald’s USA. Prior to McDonald’s, Mr. Kempczinski was with Kraft Foods, serving as executive vice-president of growth initiatives and president of Kraft International. During his time at Kraft, he also was president of Kraft Canada and senior vice-president of U.S. Grocery. Earlier, he worked at PepsiCo, Inc., including as vice-president of marketing for non-carbonated beverages within Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages. He began his career as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.
He received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
“Chris takes the reins of this great company at a time of strong, sustained performance, and the board has every confidence that he is the best leader to set the vision and drive the plans for the company’s continued success,” said Enrique Hernandez Jr., chairman of the board. “He has the right mix of skills and experience to lead us forward having run our U.S. business, where franchisees are delivering strong financial and operational results, and overseen global strategy, business development and innovation.”
Joseph M. Erlinger will replace Mr. Kempczinski as president of the U.S. business. Prior to his new appointment, Mr. Erlinger was president of the company’s international business. Mr. Erlinger joined the company in 2002 and worked in strategy and business development.