McDonald's Adds Leadership Talent

The company’s board of directors appointed two new positions to help drive the plan forward. David Fairhurst, corporate executive vice president, chief people officer effective Oct. 1 will oversee global human resources with additional responsibility for global training. He will report directly to McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook.

Fairhurst, joined McDonald's UK in 2005 as vice president of people and he was promoted to chief people officer of northern Europe in 2007. In 2011, he was appointed chief people officer of Europe.

"David will build on the substantive work that Rich led in making talent development a priority at McDonald's," said Easterbrook. "As we thank Rich for his contributions, we're confident that David is the leader we need to continue supporting the business turnaround and driving our global people strategy."

Chris Kempczinski, also been appointed as corporate executive vice president of strategy, business development and innovation, effective Oct. 26. His role is to report to Easterbrook, Kempczinski will oversee all aspects of strategy development, planning, innovation and new concepts to drive growth for the company.

Kempczinski oversaw Kraft's overall corporate growth agenda with responsibility for the company's strategy, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, insights and breakthrough R&D functions.

"At this crucial time in our business, Chris brings an unparalleled level of strategic expertise coupled with a fresh perspective to our management team," said Easterbrook. "Chris is a proven global leader with a solid track record of success and will play an instrumental role moving our Brand forward."