McDonald’s on Wednesday named Bethany Tate Cornell its new chief learning and development officer.
Cornell, who will take the position on Nov. 2, will modernize the company’s Hamburger University training program.
In a letter to employees seen by Restaurant Business, McDonald’s Chief People Officer Heidi Capozzi said Cornell would focus on improving the company’s digital acumen.
“We will have a strong focus moving forward on digital acumen for our teams as our systemwide focus on technology advancements will continue to evolve and elevate,” Capozzi said. “I am very confident that Bethany is the right leader to help lead the learning and development efforts to support those very important priorities.”
Cornell comes to McDonald’s from Boeing, where she was the vice president of leadership, learning and organizational capability. Capozzi, who was named CPO in March, also came to McDonald’s from Boeing.
Cornell’s focus on digital acumen, particularly at Hamburger University, comes as the company has shifted its focus in recent years on digital orders, either through drive-thru technologies, mobile ordering and delivery.
Capozzi said Cornell is joining McDonald’s “at an important and exciting time for our People team.”
“The work we are driving is helping support the business in such heightened ways this year,” she said. “We have tremendous opportunity to bring new and innovative ways of supporting our learning, development and leadership capabilities throughout the system.”
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