McDonald’s Global CMO Silvia Lagnado leaving in October, Colin Mitchell elevated to senior VP role

McDonald’s Global Chief Marketing Officer Silvia Lagnado plans to leave the world’s largest restaurant company in October and the Golden Arches will move on without a global CMO, Ad Age has learned. Lagnado’s pending departure was announced Monday morning in a message sent to McDonald’s employees by CEO Steve Easterbrook. Lagnado, an executive VP and McDonald’s global CMO since 2015, has had a “significant” impact during her tenure, Easterbrook wrote. “With the team, strategy and work on strong footing, Silvia has decided this is the right time to pursue new challenges and opportunities,” Easterbrook wrote. McDonald’s is not naming a new global CMO. However, it did promote two men who reported to Lagnado to newly-created positions at the senior VP level. Colin Mitchell was named SVP, global marketing, reporting to Easterbrook. Bob Rupczynski was named SVP, marketing technology. Lagnado oversaw a broad range of marketing functions, including brand development, menu strategy, consumer and business insights, and media, merchandising and customer relationship management. “Silvia led a team that defined the brand’s purpose ‘making delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone,’” Easterbrook said in the message to employees. Lagnado helped create the universal visual identity McDonald’s has begun using, established a program to boost the creativity of the company’s advertising, and worked on improving its focus on customers through data, Easterbrook said in the note. Lagnado, he wrote, was also “the driving force” behind McDonald’s partnership with Disney, which was announced in 2018 and includes the return of toys tied to Disney properties in Happy Meals, such as the current one that includes toys based on “The Lion King.” Mitchell joined McDonald’s from Ogilvy & Mather in 2016 and reported to Lagnado in his role as global brand VP. Now, as SVP, global marketing, he will have oversight of insights and menu innovation and reports directly to Easterbrook. Rupczynski joined McDonald’s from Mondelez International in 2017 and reported to Lagnado in his role as VP, global digital engagement. Now, as SVP, marketing technology, he reports to Daniel Henry, executive VP and chief information officer. Lagnado joined McDonald’s in 2015, a few years after serving as CMO of Bacardi Limited. She previously spent more than 20 years at Unilever. McDonald’s did not provide details on whether Mitchell’s and Rupczynski’s prior positions would be filled and did not make its executives available for interviews.

McDonald’s Global CMO Silvia Lagnado leaving in October, Colin Mitchell elevated to senior VP role

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