Mcdonald's Names New Cfo, Announces Fewer Company-owned Stores

(Tuesday, November 13, 2007) - McDonald's Corp., reaching inside its existing ranks to fill a looming vacancy, said Tuesday that senior vice president and Controller Peter J. Bensen will become chief financial officer of the Oak Brook fast-food giant, effective Jan. 1.

As CFO, Bensen will succeed 55-year-old Matthew Paull, who disclosed in July that he intended to retire from his post as McDonalds' top finance officer by year-end.

McDonald's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Skinner said Tuesday that the 45-year-old Bensen's promotion "caps a very comprehensive internal and external selection process."

Bensen, an 11-year veteran with McDonalds, began his career with the Chicago office of accountant firm Ernst and Young, the Oak Brook company noted.

Also during a meeting with investors at the company's suburban Oak Brook headquarters Tuesday, McDonald's announced plans to refranchise between 1,000 and 1,500 stores to local owners during the next three years. About 70 percent of McDonald's 30,000 restaurants already are owned by franchisees.

"It makes us not just a global brand, but a locally relevant one," said Ralph Alvarez, McDonald's chief operating officer.

McDonald's has been working to pare the number of company-owned restaurants, but executives said Tuesday they have no plans to cede ownership of all stores to franchise owners.

Executives said many of sites slated for refranchising are in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia and Canada. They declined to say how much the sale of those restaurants could bring in.

McDonald's also plans about 1,000 annual new store openings in coming years. That includes 160 stores in the fast-growing markets of Russia and China next year.

"We're more optimistic than ever about these markets," Paull said.

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