McDonald’s Corp. continued its management makeover on Thursday, naming two executives to new senior management positions that the company hopes will drive its turnaround efforts.
David Fairhurst, who earlier this year was named corporate senior vice president, international human resources, was promoted to corporate executive vice president and chief people officer.
Fairhurst replaces Rich Floersch, chief human resources officer, who will retire at the end of the year. Fairhurst started with McDonald’s UK in 2005 as vice president of people and was promoted to chief people officer of Northern Europe in 2007. He has moved up the ranks since.
In his new role, he will oversee global human resources and training, and will report to McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook.
“David will build on the substantive work that Rich led in making talent development a priority at McDonald’s,” Easterbrook said in a statement. “As we thank Rich for his contributions, we’re confident that David is the leader we need to continue supporting the business turnaround and driving our global people strategy.”
Chris Kempczinski has been appointed corporate executive vice president of strategy, business and innovation, effective Oct. 26. He will report to Easterbrook and will oversee all aspects of strategy development, planning, innovation and new concepts to drive growth.
Kempczinski was previously executive vice president of international at Kraft Foods Group, giving McDonald’s another executive from the outside in a company long known for hiring mostly from within. But three years of weak sales has the operator rethinking old norms.
Kempczsinski oversaw Kraft’s overall corporate growth agenda, with responsibility for the company’s strategy, mergers and acquisitions, innovations, insights, and research and development. He has also worked with PepsiCo and The Boston Consulting Group.
“At this time in our business, Chris brings an unparalleled level of strategic expertise coupled with a fresh perspective to our brand management team,” Easterbrook said. “Chris is a proven global leader with a solid track record of success and will play an instrumental role moving our brand forward.”
The new hires follow several management changes worldwide under Easterbrook, who was promoted to CEO in March.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @jonathanmaze