Big cheese at Golden Arches; Don Thompson's promotion to president of McDonald's USA caps 16-year career.DON THOMPSON Donald Thompson, Donald Thomson, Don Thompson or Don Thomson are names shared by the following individuals:
Prior to becoming President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Alvarez served as President, McDonald's North America. , who was promoted to president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of McDonald's Corp. McDonald's is one of BE's 40 Best Companies for Diversity. "I am delighted that my partner Don Thompson will lead the U.S. business," says Alvarez. Thompson's promotion is particularly impressive because McDonald's is such a high-profile company, says Carl Brooks, president and chief executive officer of The Executive Leadership Council, an organization representing the most senior African Americans African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. in corporate America. "When you think of logos and symbols of corporate America, McDonald's is one of those that catches your attention. To have an African American in such a visible leadership position at McDonald's is a big deal," says Brooks. As executive vice president and chief operations officer of McDonald's USA, his most recent position, Thompson oversaw o·ver·saw v. Past tense of oversee. the operations of more than 13,800 restaurants in the U.S. Previously, Thompson served as innovation orchestration orchestration Art of choosing which instruments to use for a given piece of music. The sections of the orchestra historically were separate ensembles: the stringed instruments for indoors, the woodwind instruments for outdoors, the horns for hunting, and trumpets and drums leader for McDonald's Restaurant Solutions Group. Thompson, 43, started with McDonald's in 1990 as a restaurant systems engineer. Thompson's rise exemplifies the importance of having African Americans in all levels of corporate America so that they will be ready to take over the reins reins pl.n. The kidneys, loins, or lower back. of leadership as the current crop of corporate leaders retires. "Opportunities are created all the time, but if we don't have talented people ready to move into those positions, then nothing happens," says Brooks. "In this situation, McDonald's developed Don through a series of managerial moves in which he gained increasing responsibility. This is a natural thing that occurs in a progressive company that's really utilizing its full talent." |
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