McDonald’s taps Raising Cane’s vet to lead development

Bryan Brown will help advance the fast food giant’s NEXT strategy, which includes restaurant redesigns and improved hospitality and employee experiences.

• McDonald’s USA hired Bryan Brown as chief development officer , effective July 14, McDonald’s U.S. chief operating officer Skye Anderson wrote in a statement this week.

• Brown, who most recently worked at Raising Cane’s, succeeds Tabassum Zalotrawala, who has moved into the position of senior vice president, global development and restaurant design. She has been at McDonald’s for three years and previously worked at Chipotle.

• Brown will help advance McDonald’s NEXT strategy , which focuses on growth, productivity, improved food quality, menu innovation and customer experience.

Brown has over 30 years of experience in restaurant development, real estate and design, including over a decade with Raising Cane’s. He helped the chicken tender brand expand from a regional concept to a national restaurant chain, Anderson said. During that expansion, Brown maintained a focus on restaurant operations and long-term performance. He has worked at a handful of other restaurant companies , including Brinker International, Schlotzky’s Deli and Pizza Hut, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Throughout his career, Bryan has worked closely with operations leaders to ensure business decisions support the needs of restaurants,” Anderson wrote. “As we advance McDonald’s NEXT, that perspective is what this moment calls for — combined with deep experience leading growth, modernization, and reinvestment efforts.”

In his new position, Brown will support the shifting needs of customers, employees and owner/operators, while his experience “balancing growth, modernization, and operational excellence will be invaluable as we continue building the future of our restaurants together,” Anderson added.

McDonald's NEXT plan includes a push to redesign restaurants in order to improve experiences for employees and customers and produce additional efficiencies. McDonald’s said in the past that the new design philosophy could include adding a bit more playfulness to its stores. The chain is also planning to test automated order taking and is working to improve hospitality.

McDonald’s currently has 13,706 locations in the U.S., of which 13,062 were franchised, according to its franchise disclosure document. The chain has added over 250 net locations since 2023. It projects 231 franchised openings this year in the U.S., per its FDD.