McDonald’s USA president Jeff Stratton will retire and be replaced in October by former Logan’s Roadhouse Inc. chief executive Mike Andres, the company said Friday.
Stratton, who is 58, said the decision to retire comes after 41 years with the Oak Brook, Ill.-based quick-service operator.
“When I tapped Jeff to assume the role of McDonald’s USA president nearly two years ago, I asked him to lay the foundation for future growth in the U.S. market," McDonald’s Corp. president and CEO Don Thompson said in a statement. "No one has worked more tirelessly to do that for this brand than Jeff. We are deeply grateful for his years of leadership and service, and wish him and his family all of the best.”
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Andres, whose prior experience includes three decades with McDonald’s, was most recently Logan’s Roadhouse chairman and CEO, a position he held since February 2013.
Andres’ career with McDonald’s began working in his family’s franchise unit in Northern California. He went on to work for McDonald’s in a number of leadership roles, the company said. After working in marketing and operations and development, he served as a regional vice president and senior vice president.
From 2001 to 2007, Andres was president and CEO of Boston Market, which at the time was a McDonald’s subsidiary.
From 2010 to 2012, Andres was president of McDonald’s central division in the U.S., where he oversaw 4,400 restaurants in seven regions covering 24 states.
During that time, Andres drove strong results in same-store sales, guest counts and income, the company said.
He left McDonald’s in September 2012.
As president of McDonald’s USA, Andres will also oversee the Canadian market.
“Mike is the ideal leader to take McDonald’s USA into the future. He is a progressive, strategic thinker with a deep understanding of consumers and the marketplace, and a track record of translating those insights into successful results,” Thompson said.
“Mike brings a wealth of knowledge of McDonald’s and has built strong relationships across the system, as well as broader experience in the informal eating out industry,” he continued. “He’s a dynamic, proven leader, and I am confident he will help lead our U.S. business to the next level.”
The change comes as McDonald’s struggles to turn around declining same-store sales among its more than 14,000 U.S. locations. Earlier this month, the company reported a 3.2-percent decline in domestic same-store sales amid continuing operational and service challenges. It was the ninth consecutive month of negative or flat same-store sales. Wall Street analysts say the chain is losing market share to competitors like Jack in the Box and Wendy’s.
Meanwhile, Logan’s Roadhouse said Friday that it would replace Andres with Gerard Lewis as interim CEO of the Nashville, Tenn.-based casual-dining chain.
Lewis served most recently as chief concept officer for Wendy’s International before retiring from the quick-service chain at the end of last year. Since then, he has been working with Logan’s Roadhouse, consulting on culinary strategy and new menu development. Prior to Wendy's, Lewis was chief concept officer for Boston market.
Update: Aug. 22, 2014 This story has been updated to include information from Logan’s Roadhouse about an interim chief executive.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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