McDonald’s announced Monday it has tapped company veteran Manu Steijaert as its first global chief customer officer in its latest step to improve the digital and in-person customer experience.
In Steijaert’s new role, which starts Aug. 1, he will report to CEO Chris Kempczinski and serve as the head of the newly created customer experience team. Marketing, data analytics, digital customer engagement and McDonald’s new loyalty program will all fall under his purview.
“Our customers should be able to move seamlessly between the in-store, takeaway and delivery service channels so that we offer even more convenience and better personalization,” Kempczinski said in a message to the McDonald’s system viewed by CNBC. “As I thought about this future, I concluded that we needed to remove some internal barriers and silos that ultimately lead to a fragmented customer experience.”
Steijaert has worked for McDonald’s since 2001, but his ties to the fast-food giant date back several more decades. His parents used to be McDonald’s franchisees in Belgium. Since 2019, he has served as vice president of international operated markets, a segment that includes France and Australia.
Shares of McDonald’s have risen 13% this year, giving it a market value of $181 billion. The company is expected to report its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday.