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McDonald’s CEO Retires
Don Thompson, president and chief operating officer of McDonald’s Corp. Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) said Chief Operating Officer Don Thompson will take over as chief executive officer, becoming the first black CEO of the world’s largest restaurant chain, after Jim Skinner retires this year.
Thompson, 48, who became president and operating chief in January 2010, will assume his new role July 1, Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s said in a statement yesterday. Skinner, 67, who ran McDonald’s for more than seven years, also will retire from the board, where he serves as vice chairman.
“It will be a seamless transition,” Peter Saleh, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group in New York, said in an interview last night. “They’re not going to skip a beat going from Jim to Don,” he said.
Thompson takes over as the company works to keep boosting sales and profit amid increasing competition and higher commodity prices. Wendy’s Co. and Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM)’s Taco Bell chain recently have been testing breakfast foods at some U.S. locations. Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) also began selling soft- serve ice cream and more upscale menu items last year in a bid to lure McDonald’s diners.
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[SNIP] ” Don Thompson will take over as chief executive officer, becoming the first black CEO of the world’s largest restaurant chain,”
I like how they couldn’t just say the new McManager’s name without mentioning he’s black.
As if we were going to mistake him for the janitor or the guy working the fryers.
Snowball the Sourpuss
March 22nd, 2012
Is he the first McDognuts CEO to wear glasses? Is he left handed? Does he walk with a limp? Does he have a tattoo on his ass? C’mon now, these things are IMPORTANT!!
In all seriousness though, I congratulate Mr. Thompson and wish him all the best.
Now when are we going to see McDognuts first green CEO?
bitterclinger
March 22nd, 2012
Meh, won’t matter to the Unibammer and his Marxist buds. They just want Mickey D’s GREEN. Now hand it over.
Anonymous
March 22nd, 2012
Meh, it won’t matter to the Reverends JJackson, AlSharpton, etc
They’ll say if he’s a CEO then he’s not really black and thus MickyD’s still should fork over reparation$.
grayscape
March 22nd, 2012
Nice to have yet another refutation of the leftist race-mongers who tell us that blacks have no opportunity in America.
MNHawk
March 22nd, 2012
I wonder if he’s smart enough and civilized enough to get a simple ID?
old_oaks
March 22nd, 2012
Overheard at a McDonald’s in Chitcago.
“Fryer? Why I gotta work fryer and not the register today? How am I supposed to make any money?”
John Cooper
March 22nd, 2012
“As if we were going to mistake him for the janitor or the guy working the fryers.”
You mean like the Albanian delegation mistook Madeleine Albright for a cleaning lady, telling her, ‘Give us five minutes and please go away’…
Tim
March 22nd, 2012
Was he born a negro or is he just being stylish?
Wyatt, Insensitive Jerk
March 22nd, 2012
I was going to make some smart-ass comment about Thompson doing some sort of menial work, but the fact of the matter is that Ray Kroc was not above grabbing a mop to, among other things, at least shame employees into cleaning the restaurant. Sometimes the best CEOs do start at the bottom, and aren’t demeaned by menial work.
Oh…I was just informed that the above comment was not approved by the OWS crowd, to whom any work is demeaning. Never mind.
Jarhead Cracka
March 22nd, 2012
I find it interesting that after Tony Dungy won the Super Bowl, then the ‘newness’ of it wore off. What I mean is that nobody asked Mike Tomlin (Steelers) what it felt like being the SECOND black head coach to win the Bowl. It wasn’t a big deal anymore. And that is how it should be. I had a faint hope that is where we would be now that we’ve elected a Black Pres. But stories reported in a manner like this prove I was wrong in that hope.
eternal cracker p
March 22nd, 2012
Author wanted to mention he was also “clean and articulate,” but didn’t want to portray Obama as some sort of common folk.
TooMuchTime
March 22nd, 2012
At least they said black instead of the awful and incorrect african american.
Remember this guy? I’ll give you hint. He was born in South Africa and lives in this country now. Yes, it’s Dave Matthews. Wikipedia calls him “South-African American.” Get it? It’s the liberal way to say whitey without saying it.
From now on when I hear a libtard say african american, I’m going to correct them with American of African descent.
Schmucks.
scr_north
March 22nd, 2012
Good for him. McD’s executive ranks are mostly populated by people who came up through the ranks either as crew or as a mgmt trainee. I’m proud to have worked at McD’s. They taught me the value of hard work, teamwork, organization and good customer interplay that served me well in my careers. One of the few things that wind me up these days is when some smart ass prog or hollywood douche uses the perjorative “McJobs” in an attempt to describe menial, pointless labour. Stupid bastards really don’t understand that a job is better than government handouts.
Annie
March 22nd, 2012
Same for blah, blah,blah … the first woman.
Its as if they are qualifying the person: “in spite of”
Frosteetoes
March 22nd, 2012
Well….ok. Good for him. A lot of people who go thru the ranks only make it so far because of health problems, blocked arteries, stroke, heart attack….this is usually by the time when they make district manager and how long and what age they started working at McD’s.
Boobie the Rocket Dog
March 22nd, 2012
THOMPSON/CAIN 2016!!
scr_north
March 22nd, 2012
@Frosteetoes; what you say can be said for any corporation. The truth is that McD’s is one of the very few corporations where your advancement is dependent on your drive, desire and ambition. I’ve seen 30 year old area supervisors and area managers that had been with the firm for as little as five years (through the mgmt trainee program). I’ve also seen senior management who started as staff, took advantage of education assistance, earned a degree or diploma part-time then went fulltime and worked their way up.
Rappin' Ralph
March 22nd, 2012
♫ Gonna hafta renege ♫
Stymie
March 22nd, 2012
Oh boy, you’re on thin ice.
Stymie's babysitter
March 22nd, 2012
Ralph, you can’t even hide behind pig-latin.
I said PIG.
TooMuchTime
March 22nd, 2012
@scr_north — I worked at Chevron for 15 years; most in Marin County, CA. Pumping gas (Full serve, remember that?), turning wrenches, and doing the books. You learned how to do everything on the station because one day, you might just be the guy. I’ve cleaned my share of windows and gas pumps, restrooms and lube-bay floors, coffee pots and coke machines. Most of the customers were nice but the 2-3% that were @$$holes were of the royal variety. I still have two letters thanking me for outstanding service; one from a customer and one from the Chevron CEO. It was tough work but it was worth every minute of it.
Robert Fine
March 23rd, 2012
No one mentioned if he was gay or not.
grayjohn
March 23rd, 2012
Damn! See how THE WHITE MAN kept that brother down? Repression! Discrimination! Get Reverend AL on the phone!!
Boobie the Rocket Dog
March 23rd, 2012
@ Ralph -
You’ve actually HEARD that on the radio?
twolaneflash
March 23rd, 2012
Does this mean McRib on the menu year-round?