McDonald’s promotes 3 executives to new rolesMcDonald’s promotes 3 executives to new roles

McDonald’s Corp. has promoted three executives to new positions that will be effective Sept. 1, including Kevin Ozan moving from chief financial officer to lead strategic initiatives, the company announced Monday.

The Chicago-based burger giant said Ian Borden will succeed Ozan as CFO and named Marion Gross to global chief supply chain officer, succeeding Francesca DeBiase, who will retire Aug. 31.

“The McDonald's system has demonstrated a remarkable knack for cultivating the right leaders for the moment,” said Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s CEO, in a message to the system. Ozan and DeBiase were named to their roles in 2015.

“Kevin and Francesca are long-time McDonald's veterans, with over 40 years of combined system experience and careers that were purpose-built for their positions on our global senior leadership team,” Kempczinski said. “They were well-known and highly respected, and their appointments — Kevin as chief financial officer and Francesca as global chief supply chain officer — coincided with the multi-year reinvigoration of our business that has led to our current position of strength.”

Ozan, left, has been with McDonald's since 1997, when he joined from Ernst & Young.

“Kevin leads with an incredible combination of head and heart,” Kempczinski said. “He's helped guide our system through so much the last seven years — from onboarding two CEOs, to navigating through COVID, dealing with activist investors and, most recently, our exit from the Russian market. Kevin has seen and done it all.”

In his new role, Ozan will continue to lead the strategy team and spearhead several strategic initiatives. He plans to retire from McDonald's by mid-2023, Kempczinski said

Borden, left, who currently serves as president of McDonald’s international division, has been with the system for 30 years.

“Ian is well-known for being a values-based leader with a tremendous amount of system knowledge,” Kempczinski said. “He first joined our system in Canada in 1994. From there, he went on to serve in roles including as CFO for our Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region and CFO for Russia and Eastern Europe.”

Borden and his family will relocate to Chicago, he said.

Gross will succeed DeBiase, who has been with McDonald’s since 1991.

“The strength and resiliency of our supply chain is a cornerstone of our competitive advantage and a mark of Francesca's leadership,” Kempczinski  said. “The strategic relationships Francesca has forged throughout the supplier community — based on transparency, inclusion and trust — have been key to our success in creating a best-in-class supply chain that is the envy of our industry, and so many others.”

Gross, left, has worked with McDonald’s for 29 years, Kempczinski added.

“She had already been a part of the System for several years having managed transportation and logistics at HAVI,” he said. “At McDonald's, she first managed the supply of several national product categories before taking on strategic supply chain initiatives across 36 distribution centers. Most recently, Marion has been responsible for executing the strategic direction of McDonald's supply chain across the U.S. and Canada. 

Gross’s successor will be named before the September transition, he said.

Kempczinski said Katie Fallon, who served as McDonald's first chief global impact officer, would be leaving the company as of July 15. While the company searches for Fallon’s successor, he said Ozan would oversee the global impact team.

McDonald's has more than 39,000 locations in over 100 countries.

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