McDonald's Announces Key Senior Management Changes

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Cantalupo today announced several key senior management changes, effective December 4th, designed to continue the momentum of McDonald's revitalization plan.

Key changes include: Claire Babrowski, previously President, McDonald's Asia/Pacific/the Middle East and Africa, will become Chief Restaurant Operations Officer; Vice Chairman Jim Skinner's responsibilities will expand to include management oversight of McDonald's Japan Limited; Marvin Whaley will assume oversight of the Asia/Middle East/Africa region; Mats Lederhausen, previously President, Business Development, will assume greater management responsibility and focus exclusively on McDonald's Partner Brands; and Richard Floersch has been named to lead McDonald's Worldwide Human Resources.

"Having the right people in the right place has been one of the driving forces behind the positive business momentum we've built this year," said Cantalupo. "Although I am pleased with this progress, we still have work to do to achieve our goal of sustaining sales and operating income growth around the world. As we move into the next phase of our strategic revitalization plan, it is imperative that we add senior management experience to areas of our business that are critical to our company's long-term success."

In naming Claire Babrowski, Cantalupo said, "Claire's successful track record in operations and systems, strengthened by her global restaurant management experience, will continue to help drive our revitalization efforts in 2004 and beyond."

Babrowski will direct restaurant operations, equipment, development, menu management and training. In her new role, she will also have oversight responsibility for Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, three countries with similar operating environments and important to our revitalization efforts.

"Jim Skinner has extensive international experience and a problem-solving management style that make him well suited to drive business results," Cantalupo said. "He will be a great asset to Pat Donahue, Chairman of McDonald's Japan Ltd., and the hard-working team already in place in Japan."

Regarding the Partner Brands assignment, Cantalupo said, "While our main mission is focusing the entire McDonald's System on the Golden Arches, Mats has done an excellent job overseeing the Partner Brands. He is one of our most energetic and entrepreneurial executives and will bring creative leadership to this enterprise. This management change provides the opportunity to bring clarity and a single point of focus as we determine how the Partner Brands fit into McDonald's future growth."

Both Skinner and Lederhausen report to Jim Cantalupo.

Concerning the Asia/Middle East/Africa region, Cantalupo said, "McDonald's 30-year veteran Marvin Whaley is a talented executive with extensive operations experience and in-depth understanding of the diverse cultures in this wide geographic region. In his new role, he will continue to focus on achieving sustained increases in profitability in this region."

Babrowski and Whaley will report to Charlie Bell, President and Chief Operating Officer, McDonald's Corporation, who commented on these management changes, "Continuing to enhance our customers' experience in our restaurants is our number one priority. By leveraging Claire's and Marvin's expertise and unique customer insights, we will deploy additional management resources to areas of our business that are critical to our success."

Adam Kriger, Vice President of Strategy Development, will now report directly to Cantalupo. Kriger previously held strategy positions at Disney and Starwood Hotels.

On a final note, Richard Floersch, who will head Worldwide Human Resources, joins McDonald's from Kraft Foods International, where he served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources since 1998. In this role, Floersch was responsible for all HR aspects of this Fortune 100 organization, which employs 56,000 personnel in 66 countries. Prior to this post, he was Vice President of Corporate Compensation at Philip Morris. Before the Philip Morris assignment, Floersch was based in the Chicago area, working for Kraft Foods North America as Vice President of Compensation. He will report to Jim Skinner.

"We are excited that Rich Floersch is joining McDonald's. With his broad experience, unique perspectives and enthusiasm for our organization, he will be an excellent addition to our management team as we continue to build momentum and move forward with our revitalization plan," said Jim Skinner, Vice Chairman.

These management changes are part of the on-going McDonald's revitalization plan first announced at the beginning of the year.

"We have made good progress in 2003 and I am confident that these key management adjustments will move us rapidly toward our goal of enduring profitable growth," said Cantalupo.

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SOURCE: McDonald's Corporation

CONTACT: Walt Riker, +1-630-623-7318, or Anna Rozenich, +1-630-623-7316,
both of McDonald's

Web site: http://www.mcdonalds.com/