McDonald picks insider finance veteran as new US boss

Dive Brief:

McDonald’s appointed Skye Anderson, a 26-year company veteran who has been COO of McDonald’s USA since April, as president of McDonald’s USA, according to a press release.
Her appointment was effective Tuesday, the same day her predecessor, Joseph Erlinger who has led the U.S. business for seven years, told the company that he intended to step down from the role, according to a securities filing.
Anderson, a chartered accountant, was a business analyst at Deloitte Australia early in her career before joining the hamburger chain in 2000 to serve as operations controller, and later for nearly three years as CFO of McDonald’s Australia, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Dive Insight:

The Chicago-based company’s leadership shake-up came as the company reported some disappointing Q2 results for its U.S. operations.

While strong execution, menu changes and creative marketing led to fiscal second-quarter results that were in line with the company’s expectations in international markets, in the U.S., business “slowed significantly,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in an earnings call. U.S. comparable sales growth slid to 0.8% in the quarter despite starting the year off strong, Kempczinski said.

“We don't have a strategy problem,” Kempczinski said, according to a transcript of a Tuesday call. “We simply didn't execute at the level we needed to in the second quarter.”

CFO Ian Borden said the company has been working to simplify restaurant operations by cutting some activities so that restaurant teams can better focus. “In short, we're acting with urgency to improve our baseline guest traffic and put the U.S. business in a stronger position as we exit 2026,” Borden said on the call.

Kempczinski, who previously led the U.S. Business, expressed confidence in Anderson’s ability to tackle the U.S. market during the call.

“Throughout her career, she has consistently been a hands-on leader who has demonstrated strong business judgment and operational discipline,” he said. “Skye is a change agent driving positive performance.”