Alyssa Buetikofer is stepping down as McDonald’s U.S. chief marketing and customer experience officer, leaving two other top executives in charge on an interim basis as the company searches for her replacement, the company told the system on Thursday.
Buetikofer is leaving to spend more time with family, according to a system message seen by Nation’s Restaurant News.
Morgan Flatley, the company’s global chief marketing officer, and herself a former top U.S. marketing chief for the fast-food giant, will serve as interim chief creative officer while the company searches for Buetikofer’s replacement.
Charlie Newberger, a 17-year company veteran who most recently led the company’s global beverage strategy, will serve as interim U.S. chief marketing and commercial officer. It’s not certain how long the interim leadership structure will be in place.
Danica Cunningham will serve as interim category leader for global beverages and desserts as Newberger shifts his focus.
“These shifts help enable us to establish clear ownership and dedicated focus, which will enable us to move faster and execute with greater precision while setting up our 2027 priorities,” Skye Anderson, president of McDonald’s USA, Jill McDonald, global chief restaurant experience officer, and Flatley said in the system message.
Buetikofer will remain with McDonald’s through Dec. 18 to “ensure a smooth transition.” And McDonald’s described the changes as the natural outgrowth of her decision to leave the company.
Buetikofer “has helped shape some of our most impactful work, including the returns of Snack Wraps and Monopoly, the launch of our new beverage platform and the record-breaking Grinch Meal,”
Yet the changes come as McDonald’s looks to overhaul its domestic marketing strategy following a tough spring and summer that saw several marketing efforts fall flat. That includes the company’s value messaging, notably a $3 and Under value menu, along with a K-Pop Demon Hunters marketing promotion, and McDonald’s FIFA World Cup promotion.
Company executives had indicated that it was too much at the same time. “You’ve got a K-Pop Demon Hunters message, then you have a value message, then you have a beverage message, then you have a FIFA message,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in August. “It’s tough to drive awareness when you’re sort of jumping around and giving those two, three, at most four-week windows.”
Flatley herself said that the company needed to move away from “borrowed IP,” despite successful promotions such as the Grinch Meal and a previous promotion involving Minecraft.
Flatley was the U.S. chief marketing and digital customer experience officer from 2017 through 2021 and was behind some of the chain’s notable marketing promotions, including its “Fan Truths” strategy and its “Famous Orders” campaign, such as the Travis Scott Meal.
Newberger was head of the CosMc’s test before he led McDonald’s beverage strategy. “These experiences have given him both breadth and depth across the customer and crew experience and have positioned him well to take on this new role,” the message said.
