McDonald’s new CEO will end culture of late-night partying that took place under Steve Easterbrook

McDonald’s new CEO Chris Kempczinkski is trying to change the company culture after the last head chief was ousted for having an affair with a subordinate employee. 

Kempczinkski became head chief of the fast food company in November 2019, after former McDonald’s boss Steve Easterbrook, 52, was fired for acknowledging he had a consensual relationship with an unnamed company staffer. 

In his first few months at the helm, Kempczinkski is trying to restore a more professional culture in McDonald’s offices. 

Current and former employee noted that under Easterbrook, McDonald’s staffers and executives alike would socialize late at night at bars where men would flirt with female employees, according to a Wall Street Journal report.  

The last head chief Steve Easterbrook (right) was outed for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordination employee

McDonald’s new CEO Chris Kempczinkski (left) is trying to change the company culture after the last head chief Steve Easterbrook (right) was outed for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordination employee.

The new chief said in addition to changing company culture, he’s also keen to improve restaurant performance and has met with employees and restaurants in the US, UK, Germany, France and Switzerland in his first two months as CEO. He’s expected to share what he’s learned from that trip this month. 

‘There is a cultural shift here now,’ one person familiar with Kempczinkski’s plans  who did not participate in the late-night socializing said. ‘Some people perceived there was this macho, guys club. That has now progressed to a more open leadership under Chris.’

McDonald’s firing of Easterbrook was praised by women in the company, people familiar with the matter said. 

At the time of his ousting, a representative for Easterbrook said he ‘acknowledges his error in judgement and supports the Company’s decision.’ 

‘I have to be able to look at every single one of my senior leadership team members and say, “Do I believe that they personify the values of our company?”‘ Kempczinkski said during a town hall meeting held shortly after he assumed office. ‘And if they don’t, they’re not on the senior leadership team.’ 

According to current and former employees, McDonald’s has long had a culture of fraternizing and late night drinking where staffers of all levels mixed. 

Employees would get together at the headquarters in Chicago and a frequent conventions and meetings for decades. 

Some sources said they were surprised Easterbrook and former human resources chief David Fairhurst participated in the partying after they took their roles in 2015. They were often seen at local bars and drank with staffers after work hours, current and former employees said. 

Easterbrook had worked with the company for nearly two decades and upon becoming CEO moved the company’s headquarters from suburban Oak Brook, Illinois to Chicago’s downtown West Loop neighborhood. The top floor of the nine-story office had a corporate cash bar that hosted happy hours on Thursday for employees. 

Easterbrook, though CEO, was notorious for flirting with female employees, current and former staffers told WSJ. 

Current and former employee noted that under Easterbrook, McDonald's staffers and executives alike would socialize late at night at bars. Easterbrook, though CEO, was notorious for flirting with female employees, current and former staffers said

Current and former employee noted that under Easterbrook, McDonald’s staffers and executives alike would socialize late at night at bars. Easterbrook, though CEO, was notorious for flirting with female employees, current and former staffers said

‘There were a couple of women who talked to me about his flirting. It was enough for them to feel uncomfortable,’ one former executive said. 

A formal complaint led to an investigation in October that culminated in the company board voting him out. 

Human resources chief David Fairhurst also stepped down. A complaint was filed against him for openly making physical contact with one of his subordinates during a drinking gathering in late 2018. He was allowed to keep his job, but resigned when Easterbrook stepped down. 

However, employees say that romantic relationship at McDonald’s is pretty common and senior executives from different departments have gotten together. 

Some couples even married after meeting at McDonalds and their unions were dubbed ‘McMarriages’, one former executive said. 

Still, the company does not allow managers to date direct or indirect reports. 

During a company town hall meeting Kempczinkski reiterated the company’s dating policy saying rules applied to everyone.

He said McDonald’s mission isn’t ‘just selling more burgers and fries’. He said: ‘We’re going to be a lot better, a lot closer to where we want to be, where we aspire to be as a company.’ 

 

 

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