--- title: "McDonald's new U.S. president comes in at a crucial time" url: https://burnaze.com/article/013846c0-3252-4134-b077-39f8c69dbdf3 source: "Restaurant Business" original_url: https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/mcdonalds-new-us-president-comes-crucial-time category: "Burger" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Burger" topics: ["People"] published: 2026-09-23T12:35:07.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T14:43:45.226Z image: https://cdn.informaconnect.com/platform/files/public/2026-09/background/McD%20Restaurant%20NEXT%20Design%20Concept_Drive-Thru.jpg?VersionId=aMcj4txK8Mri81MUQE7KuxP36fl5QLPT --- # McDonald's new U.S. president comes in at a crucial time **TL;DR:** McDonald's new U.S. president Skye Anderson is overseeing $8.5 billion upgrades to improve efficiency and profitability. The company is asking franchisees to spend money on remodels and new technology, including an AI-based operating system, in an effort to improve efficiency by 250 basis points. *originally published in Restaurant Business on 2026-09-23. [Read the original](https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/mcdonalds-new-us-president-comes-crucial-time).* ## Key facts - McDonald's invests $8.5 billion in upgrades - Franchisees to spend money on remodels and new technology - Changes aim to improve efficiency by 250 basis points ## Story Skye Anderson hasn’t been given an easy assignment. McDonald’s new U.S. president, elevated to the job early last month, comes into the role at a crucial time. The fast-food giant’s same-store sales have been slow, despite a furious set of efforts that put a lot of pressure on those operators, including discounts, new marketing partnerships, and new beverages. And now the company is about to ask franchisees to spend a lot of money on an extensive series of upgrades. They include remodels required every 10 years. But they will also include new operations and kitchens improvements that the company believes will make their restaurants more efficient and profitable. ## Franchisee relations Anderson, the former president of McDonald’s West Zone who has spent more than two decades in various roles with the chain, has spent the past six weeks talking extensively with franchisees. Those conversations have been both about ways to make life easier in the short-term for the operators, as well as what the company is asking them to do over the coming years. “There has been a lot of honest conversations that we’ve had with our owner-operators,” Anderson said in an interview with Restaurant Business and Nation’s Restaurant News. “And I would tell you that we are very aligned on our biggest opportunities and how to tackle them.” ## Upcoming upgrades McDonald’s on Wednesday revealed a lengthy set of upgrades to the way it operates and markets restaurants. The company is vowing to invest $8.5 billion over the next decade, including $5 billion by 2030, in the form of rent relief and capital spending. The company believes that the new technology and operations will improve efficiency by 250 basis points and cash flow by $100,000 per store, generating a return within four years. Yet that still costs operators a lot of money. Adding the “Next” changes, which include an AI-based operating system known as Arch IQ, will add to franchisees’ existing costs connected with their upcoming remodels. In addition, the company is quickly expanding testing for hand-breaded chicken, which will add work inside the kitchens. McDonald’s is planning a massive training effort on new hospitality and quality initiatives starting next month, too, called “Make It Golden.” Add it all up, and the company is asking franchisees to do more, coming off a tough quarter in which the company’s initiatives generated weak top-line results. All those conversations, Anderson said, gave her an opportunity to fix some issues. “It’s given me a chance in the last six weeks to make quick decisions,” she said. “We just needed to create a little bit of release in the business.” “We certainly acknowledge through the first half of the year, we just put too much on the restaurants,” she added. “What we’ve really looked at is the balance of the year, and how we want to make sure we’re very intentional about the programs that we have, and also creating more capacity in our restaurants to make sure our restaurants are ready for the programs we have in the back half of the year.” ## Operational improvements CEO Chris Kempczinski said that many of the efforts the company is undertaking are designed to improve the way restaurants operate. McDonald’s changes could reduce food waste, for instance, and help managers do their jobs better. “Some of the things that we’re doing with Next are actually going to create more capacity in the system,” he said. “They’re going to take the pain points out. If you’re a restaurant manager or shift leader, it’s going to make your job easier. So some of those we tried to front-load into the plan to create that capacity, when maybe some of the other things that are going to require more investment come later.” And some of the things will improve the company’s relationship with customers. For instance, the chain is adding scales to its kitchens that can tell whether an order is accurate simply by weight. The scale has been found to cut mistakes in about 10% of the chain’s orders. McDonald’s executives acknowledged that there is some pressure. Franchisees want improved profitability. The company’s value push has come amid rising costs for beef and other issues. And now franchisees are being asked to spend money on more improvements. “Part of what we’ve talked about is going to require investment,” Kempczinski said. “But we’ve also talked openly that we’re going to drive some significant productivity. And when you think about it, there’s three ways this plan is going to be funded. It’s going to be funded through franchisee investment. It’s going to be funded through productivity. But it’s also going to be funded through the company partnering. “There’s always a lot of questions, which are understandable. But we feel really confident in our ability to go and deliver against it.” ## Entities - unit expansion (topic) - QSR (sector) - menu pricing (topic) - McDonald's (company) - Restaurant Business (publication) - Chris Kempczinski (person) - franchisee relations (topic) - operational improvements (topic) - Skye Anderson (person) - upcoming upgrades (topic) --- Originally reported by Restaurant Business (https://restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/mcdonalds-new-us-president-comes-crucial-time). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/013846c0-3252-4134-b077-39f8c69dbdf3).