McDonald's beefs up US staff, promotes three to exec posts

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 27, 1995 by Louise Kramer

OAK BROOK, Ill. - McDonald's Corp. has made several top-level promotions, including a new title for Rob Doran, a member of the burger giant's executive management team that was formed recently to oversee its rapidly expanding U. S. operations.

Separately, the company announced the appointment of Brad Ball, a partner and president of one of its key outside regional advertising agencies, to the internal position of senior vice president, U.S. marketing, the No. 3 spot in the department.

Doran, 49, a 29-year veteran of McDonald's with a background in operations, was promoted from senior vice president to executive vice president of McDonald's U.S.A. He will report to Edward Rensi, president and chief executive of McDonald's U.S.A. The executive management team, led by Rensi, includes Doran and Patrick Flynn, executive vice president of McDonald's Corp. and senior U.S. operating officer.

Doran and Flynn, both viewed by observers as strong executives, were quietly brought into the U.S. executive suite earlier this fall.

"I saw that the enormous scope of our U.S. business, now embracing more than 11,000 franchised and company-owned restaurants, together with our unprecedented pace of expansion, called for the formation of a U.S. executive management team," Rensi said in the Nov. 14 announcement of Doran's promotion.

"Our joint responsibility is to provide the leadership and strategic focus to optimize the customer satisfaction and operating efficiency produced by McDonald's U.S. restaurant system," he said.

Doran, who joined McDonald's in 1967 as an assistant restaurant manager, was a senior vice president and U.S. zone manager for the past 13 years. His main responsibilities in his new role will be for all field operations, including direction of U.S. zones and regions, the company said. Flynn's chief responsibilities will be to lead day-to-day application of the U.S. strategic plan and "to ensure that corporate support departments provide the business tools and resources needed by U.S. operations," the company said.

Also promoted are Win Christiansen, 48, from senior vice president for worldwide restaurant development to executive vice president, and Shelby Yastrow, 60, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, to executive vice president, general counsel and secretary.

Christiansen joined McDonald's as a crew person when he was in high school, and since 1983 he has been directing the company's restaurant development and global site development. Yastrow joined the company in 1978 as vice president, chief counsel of litigation and assistant secretary.

Ball, the new marketing executive, was a partner and president of Davis, Ball & Colombatto Advertising, based in Los Angeles, an agency serving McDonald's for the past 25 years. He will report to David Green, senior vice president, marketing, for McDonald's Corp. Ball will be responsible for strategic planning and promotions, media buying, U.S. field marketing and creative strategy development.

Revell Horsey, an analyst with Alex. Brown & Sons, Baltimore, said McDonald's is apparently "trying to increase its focus on the U.S. business and make sure they have the right people in place to address what is clearly a more competitive market than they expected it to be."