CHICAGO _ McDonald's has announced that two more longtime executives will leave the company at the end of the year.
Karen King, McDonald's USA's chief field officer, and Erik Hess, senior vice president of customer experience, have decades of combined experience at the world's largest burger chain. King was brought out of retirement in 2014 as the company's chief people officer. In her most recent role, she oversaw franchising and franchise relations, a critical role in McDonald's transformation and a position that faced pressure from the union-backed campaign to organize workers at its U.S. restaurants.
Hess has been with McDonald's, headquartered in suburban Chicago, since 1991. He's responsible for research and consumer insights to steer the brand and its evolving menu.
"While Karen and Erik will be greatly missed, their retirements provide an opportunity to change our organizational structure to further enhance our connectivity with our owner-operators and our customers," McDonald's said in a statement.
After the two executives leave, the U.S. zone presidents will report directly to Chris Kempczinski, the incoming U.S. president. He is replacing McDonald's veteran Mike Andres, who also is leaving at the end of the year.
McDonald's Chief Administrative Officer Pete Bensen retired last month after nearly 20 years with the company.
The executive changes have capped one of the most transitory periods in the company's history _ with the launch of all-day breakfast, the start of a transition to all cage-free eggs and a number of other efforts to improve the quality and health perception of McDonald's food _ under CEO Steve Easterbrook.
The company also has undergone a massive effort to refranchise more restaurants, a move the company hopes will lessen corporate liability but also improve the performance of those sites. And in perhaps the biggest planned change, McDonald's announced its intention to leave its decades-old, custom-built headquarters for a new home base in Chicago. That's expected to be completed in 2018.
