Roberts Resigns as McDonald's COO

25/08/06 Jim Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s Corporation has announced that Mike Roberts, President and Chief Operating Officer of McDonald’s, has decided to resign.

Skinner also announced that effective immediately Ralph Alvarez, President of McDonald’s North America, will succeed Roberts as President and Chief Operating Officer, McDonald’s Corporation, and that Don Thompson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, McDonald’s USA, has been named President, McDonald’s USA.

In announcing his resignation, Roberts said in a message to the McDonald’s system: “It has been my absolute highest honor to serve this company, the Board of Directors, Jim and the entire management team for 29 incredible years.

Ralph Alvarez, 51, takes over as President and Chief Operating Officer of McDonald’s Corporation after 12 years with the system. Most recently, he has led the continued momentum of McDonald’s U.S. business, which has produced 40 consecutive months of positive same-store sales.

In naming Alvarez to his new position, Skinner said, “I have tremendous confidence in Ralph’s ability and look forward to working closely with him as we continue to evolve the business through our unwavering focus on our Plan to Win. Ralph has an exemplary track record in both our domestic and international businesses. He is a tremendous leader and team player.”

In accepting his new assignment, Alvarez said, “There is no greater brand than McDonald’s, and I am honored and humbled to serve as McDonald’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “

Alvarez said, “I am delighted that my partner Don Thompson will lead the U.S. business. The future of the McDonald’s system has never been brighter, and I look forward to partnering with Jim Skinner and learning from his 35 years of experience as we work to make our system even stronger.”

Alvarez began his career with McDonald’s in 1994 after a distinguished career in the quick service restaurant industry. Prior to his current position as President of McDonald’s North America, where he is responsible for 15,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, Alvarez served as President of McDonald’s USA. Prior to this, he was Chief Operations Officer, McDonald’s USA, and before that, President of the Central Division for McDonald’s USA.

Alvarez also served as president of McDonald’s Mexico, and as Regional Director for Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Alvarez earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami in Florida. He and his wife have two adult children.

Don Thompson, 43, began his career with McDonald’s in 1990 as a Restaurant Systems Engineer. In his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for McDonald's USA, he was responsible for restaurant operations in the U.S., with more than 13,800 restaurants in three divisions, along with the Restaurant Systems, U.S. Support, and Strategy and Planning functions.

Previously, Thompson served as Executive Vice President and Innovation Orchestration Leader, McDonald's Restaurant Solutions Group. In this capacity, he and his team were responsible for McDonald’s innovation pipeline.

Prior to this position, he served as President, West Division, McDonald’s USA, where he was responsible for the six geographic regions in the western United States, covering 16 states.