McDonald's U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl and two other U.S. executives are being replaced at the Golden Arches, with PepsiCo's Morgan Flatley being named to the top U.S. marketer spot. Ms. Wahl is out after three years at McDonald's. She joined in 2014.
The changes, announced Tuesday night, come after Chris Kempczinski was promoted to president of McDonald's U.S., effective Jan. 1. Along with the U.S. CMO shakeup, Farhan Siddiqi was promoted to the role of head of U.S. digital and Starbucks VP Linda VanGosen is being brought in as McDonald's head of U.S. menu. All three are set to begin their new roles this month, McDonald's said.
Ms. Wahl, who helped the chain bounce back from a prolonged sales slump with marketing for All Day Breakfast, also led the selection and creation of a new dedicated creative agency for McDonald's U.S. business, We Are Unlimited, last year. She could not be immediately reached for comment.
Ms. Flatley, who had been chief marketing officer for PepsiCo-owned Gatorade and Propel, in late summer took on a new role of CMO for the global nutrition group and senior VP-global grains. She had been in various roles at PepsiCo over more than a decade and is most closely associated with her work on the Gatorade business. Before joining PepsiCo, Ms. Flatley handled work on Tide and Tylenol while at Saatchi & Saatchi.