McDonald's on Monday named Desiree Ralls-Morrison the company’s general counsel and corporate secretary.
Ralls-Morrison comes to the Chicago-based burger giant from Boston Scientific, the medical products company. She will start at McDonald’s on April 26 and will be based at the company’s headquarters.
Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s CEO, hailed Ralls-Morrison’s “strong experience” and the “values-based leadership that has defined every aspect of her career.”
“As the leader of our global legal function, I’m confident that Desiree will build on the strong foundation in place to deepen our commitment to our communities, embed our values across all aspects of the system and help us further bring our Accelerating the Arches growth strategy to life,” Kempczinski said.
Ralls-Morrison will take over legal strategy at a key time in McDonald’s history—the company is facing a number of legal challenges, notably from Black employees and current and former franchisees charging the company with discrimination. It has also taken its former CEO Steve Easterbrook to court, seeking to get back his severance.
In addition to Boston Scientific, Ralls-Morrison has been general counsel with Boehringer Ingelheim and before that was general counsel at the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Group. She is currently on the bboard of directors at Dicks Sporting Goods.
“The challenges are complex, but the opportunities are significant,” Ralls-Morrison said of McDonald’s.
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