OAK BROOK, ILL. McDonald’s Corp. earlier in his career, Ralph Alvarez managed to catapult his way to the No. 2 position at the world’s largest restaurant chain. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Though his Golden Arches opportunity was delayed, Alvarez now is regarded as a respected leader and principal architect of key initiatives to keep McDonald’s outpacing rivals in such areas as service quality, menu refinements and the evolution of trendy beverage offerings. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
As the immigrant son of a Cuban airline president and a marine biologist who brought their family to Florida when Alvarez was 5 years old, the future McDonald’s president and chief operating officer got his start at Burger King in the 1980s. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
He then tried to land a job at McDonald’s. When he couldn’t get his foot in the door, he instead went to work for Wendy’s—until in 1994 McDonald’s sought him out to run its Sacramento, Calif., regional operations. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“McDonald’s was looking to bring in some diverse talent, and I got approached because I am Hispanic, and I’m proud of that,” says Alvarez, 51. “It was a situation where they cared enough to go out and find talent to diversify their ranks, and that told me something about the company that I have really learned to respect.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Today, Alvarez is heir apparent to the chief-executive post at the burger behemoth, which boasts more than $21 billion in annual revenues and 30,000-plus corporate and franchised restaurants around the globe. When he was named president and chief operating officer last August, Alvarez had been with McDonald’s for only 12 years—a swift ascent at a company known for its long-tenured executives. At the time of his promotion, McDonald’s officials credited Alvarez with leading the momentum of the chain’s U.S. business, which has posted a four-year string of same-store sales growth. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Previously, Alvarez was responsible for 15,000 locations in the United States and Canada as president of McDonald’s North America. Before that, he led McDonald’s domestic division after serving as its chief operations officer. He also was president of the chain’s U.S. Central Division and its business in Mexico. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez served a short stint at Chipotle Mexican Grill in 1999 during the time McDonald’s owned a minority stake in that brand. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
While at Burger King, he was president of its Canadian division and managing director for Spain. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“I’m driven competitively by saying, ‘I’m going to do better at this job than anybody else can,’ ” Alvarez says. “I believe if you do that the opportunities will come.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Making the leap from Wendy’s, where he ran the chain’s restaurants in Florida, to McDonald’s “was not an easy step,” he says. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“I took less money and moved out to the West Coast, and my family was not happy about that,” he says. “But you put yourself in the best environment that you can to succeed and let your results speak for themselves.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Restaurant analyst David Palmer of UBS Investment Research in New York says Alvarez has been “a rising star” at McDonald’s for several years. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“Ralph is a straight shooter and has got a fire in him much like Charlie Bell [the former McDonald’s chief executive who died of cancer in 2005],” Palmer says. “His down-to-earth nature and competitiveness remind me of Charlie, who was clearly a key architect” of the business strategy that led to McDonald’s explosive growth. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez credits his mother, who was a research professional in addition to being a marine biologist, with motivating him. His father, who was president of Cubana Airways, had a stroke shortly after the family moved to Miami. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“My mom is very determined and smart,” Alvarez says. “She was determined after my dad had his stroke that my brother and I would not miss out on any opportunities.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
She also taught Alvarez the importance “of doing the best that you can with the abilities you have.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez now faces the daunting task of maintaining McDonald’s momentum, even as fast-food rivals Burger King and Wendy’s also enjoy growth. Yet franchisees seem confident he has what it takes to lead the system. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“Ralph Alvarez clearly is setting the pace for the future direction of McDonald’s,” says Irwin Kruger, who operates seven restaurants in New York City. “He brings great focus and alignment to his position as the No. 2 guy.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Currently in McDonald’s new-product pipeline are espresso-based drinks and smoothies. Alvarez says the chain is looking at adding chicken to the breakfast menu. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“Chicken on a biscuit is a big part of how people have breakfast in the South,” he says. “The only meats we offer today at breakfast are ham and sausage, and there are a lot of folks who don’t eat pork.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez admits that menu proliferation has made operations more challenging, but he insists that customer service is significantly better than it was four years ago. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“We’ve been able to add all of this complexity and improve our operational scores, so I would tell you that from an operational point of view we are going in the absolute right direction,” he says. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
McDonald’s also is testing advances that would improve speed and accuracy at the drive-thru—such as multiple order points and software that cuts in half the number of key strokes needed at the register. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez is “a great innovator,” says Ray Nosler, a nine-unit franchisee in Arkansas who previously was a McDonald’s corporate employee. Nosler says he worked closely with Alvarez in the mid-1990s in California. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Although Alvarez was new to McDonald’s at the time, he was well-versed in the quick-service business and had a knack for bringing together franchisees, Nosler says. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“Ralph didn’t have any paradigms coming into the company,” he says. “He spent three weeks on the road talking to each operator one-on-one to find out what they needed for their business and what he could do to get them focused on common initiatives.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Also, Nosler recalls, McDonald’s was looking for ways to stem the sales erosion caused by Burger King’s 99-cent Whopper discount. Alvarez motivated his staff to come up with ideas that would eventually produce the Big N’ Tasty sandwich and the need for a new cooking platform known today as Made For You, Nosler says. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Don Armstrong, who in January became chairman of McDonald’s official U.S. franchisee group, the National Leadership Council, or NLC, says Alvarez has a good working relationship with its operators. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“He has been very open and very approachable,” says Armstrong, who owns 14 units in Oregon. “The strength I see is that he really understands the business on both sides of the counter. He seems to know what our customers want and need. During my conversations with Ralph, he just seems to get it.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Reggie Webb, a 12-unit franchisee in California and a past chairman of the NLC, describes Alvarez as “tremendously knowledgeable” in terms of “operational excellence and what we need to do to advance the business.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“He talks about specific areas that we need to concentrate on to improve our business,” Webb says. “He also gets everyone to agree on a strategic direction. As a leader, he is very results-oriented. He believes in measuring results on a consistent basis, and that gives everyone an impetus to perform.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez credits McDonald’s four-year growth to a combination of factors, including entrée salads, the Dollar Menu and the modernization of aging restaurants. He describes successful product rollouts, such as the new line of Snack Wraps, as “a core competency.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“We don’t need to create trends,” he says. “We need to make them accessible in a consistent way at our 30,000-plus restaurants.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez insists he doesn’t stay awake at night worrying about McDonald’s prospects. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“If we were in an industry that wasn’t growing, and we had to steal share, that’s tough,” he says. “But we’re in an industry that is growing.” —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
Alvarez says he remains excited about future opportunities. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
“I really believe that we have the ability to grow the business just how we have been growing it if we listen to our customers and provide solutions to their needs,” he says. —Despite having his ambitions rebuffed twice by
