Leadership

McDonald’s names Jill McDonald head of its largest international markets

The former Costa Coffee CEO will be president of the burger chain’s International Operated Markets segment.
McDonald's executive change
Photo courtesy of McDonald's

McDonald’s on Wednesday named Jill McDonald to become the president of its International Operated Markets segment, which includes some of the company’s biggest markets outside the U.S.

McDonald had spent the past three years as the CEO of Costa Coffee. But she is a McDonald’s veteran, having worked with the company between 2006 and 2015, when she was head of the company’s U.K. division as well as Northern Europe.

“In her tenure, she sustained strong performance across all metrics of our business, including a strengthened brand, a reinvigorated employee experience, and double-digit sales growth, all while fostering successful franchisee performance and engagement,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a message to the system on Wednesday.

Jill McDonald

Jill McDonald/Photo courtesy of McDonald's.

In the process, McDonald’s is effectively splitting its international leadership in two, with McDonald leading its largest markets like the U.K., France, Germany, Canada and Australia, while Jo Sempels will lead its remaining growth markets, known as International Developmental Licensed Markets.

That move follows the promotion of Ian Borden to CFO. Borden had been McDonald’s president of international.

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