McDonald's Names New COO, Franchising and Transformation Leaders for U.S. Operations

Skye Anderson was named Chief Operating Officer of McDonald's USA in a system-wide leadership announcement on March 30 that simultaneously reshapes who oversees the chain's global franchising operations and its enterprise transformation agenda.

Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald's USA; Ian Borden, EVP and CFO; and Jill McDonald, EVP and President of International Operated Markets, co-signed the message and sent it to franchise and corporate leadership across the McDonald's system. The joint authorship, spanning finance, international markets, and U.S. operations, signals that the appointments carry enterprise-wide weight rather than representing routine departmental shuffles.

Anderson's return to McDonald's USA places her at the center of in-restaurant execution. The COO role shapes the priorities that filter most directly into restaurant operations: drive-thru performance, food quality standards, service speed expectations, and the rollout cadence for technology and menu changes that crew members and managers encounter first.

Mason Smoot was named Senior Vice President of Global Franchising & Delivery, stepping into a role that sits at the interface between McDonald's and its franchisees worldwide. The delivery component of Smoot's title also connects the position to one of the channels McDonald's has been building out under its Accelerating the Arches growth strategy.

Mattijs Backx was named Chief Transformation and Services Officer, a title built for a moment when McDonald's is managing significant organizational and technology change. The transformation mandate spans digital infrastructure, back-of-house systems, and the services that support restaurant operations and workforce management.

The announcement described the moves as "building on our momentum" and positioning the company with "the right leaders in place to drive growth, execution, and enterprise transformation across the McDonald's System." The practical translation of that language will arrive through system memos, updated standard operating procedures, and operational pilots in the months ahead.