PERSON: Steve Easterbrook

McDonalds

CEO

Easterbrook, 47, attended Watford Boys Grammar School in North London. He continues to support Watford FC. Even at a young age, he was a McDonald’s fan, telling The Guardian in 2008: “Me and my mate used to go across the park, jump on the Met line to get the tube into Harrow. There was a sports shop we always used to go into, and there was a McDonald’s. We used to go off with three or four quid in our pocket. That would cover our train fare, mooching around Harrow, and going to McDonald’s. It was the first time I had shakes and fries.” He then studied natural sciences at Durham University in the UK. After graduating he went on to work for the professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as an accountant. In 1993 he joined McDonald’s as a financial reporting manager in London. He spent 18 months at “Hamburger University,” the McDonald’s corporate training academy near Chicago. He worked in various roles in operations and finance before being promoted to vice president for the UK’s southern region in 2001. In 2006, Easterbrook became the boss of McDonald’s UK, overseeing more than 1,200 outlets and an estimated £35 million marketing budget. During his time there he was credited with turning around the business in the region by introducing a sharp focus on employee training, adding healthy options to the menu, and implementing a major restaurant redesign.

— businessinsider.com