View source for Chris Kempczinski

{{Short description|Chief executive officer (CEO) of McDonald's since 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Chris Kempczinski
| image              = 
| image size         = 300px
| caption            = Chris Kempczinski
| birth_name         = Christopher John Kempczinski
| birth_date         = {{birth based on age as of date |51|2019|11|3}}<ref name="WSJ">{{cite web |last=Haddon |first=Heather |title=McDonald's Fires CEO Steve Easterbrook over Relationship with Employee |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-fires-ceo-steve-easterbrook-over-relationship-with-employee-11572816660 |access-date=November 4, 2019 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=November 3, 2019 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
| birth_place        = Boston, Massachusetts, US
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = [[Duke University]] (BA)<br>[[Harvard University]] (MBA)
| title              = President and CEO, [[McDonald's]]
| term               = 2019–present
| predecessor        = [[Steve Easterbrook]]
| successor          = 
| spouse             = 
| children           = 2
}}
'''Christopher John Kempczinski''' (born 1968) is an American business executive, and the president and [[chief executive officer]] (CEO) of [[McDonald's|McDonald's Corporation]].

==Early life==
Christopher John Kempczinski was born in [[Boston]],<ref name="McDonalds bio pdf">{{cite web |title=Christopher Kempczinski President & CEO and Member of the Board |url=https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/MCD%20Chris%20Kempczinski%20Infographic.pdf |website=McDonalds |access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref> and raised in [[Cincinnati|Cincinnati, Ohio]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Allen|date=2019-11-23|title=20 Things You Didn't Know Zbout Chris Kempczinski|url=https://moneyinc.com/chris-kempczinski/|access-date=2020-09-15|website=Money Inc|language=en-US}}</ref> He is the son of Richard Kempczinski, who was Professor of Surgery and Chief of Vascular Surgery at the [[University of Cincinnati]] Medical Center,<ref name="father obituary">{{cite web | title = Richard Kempczinski Obituary - Cincinnati, Ohio | url = https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/cincinnati/obituary.aspx?n=richard-kempczinski&pid=184420882&fhid=22510 | website = [[Legacy.com]] | access-date = November 3, 2019}}</ref> and Ann Marie Kempczinski ({{nee|Campbell}}), who was a primary school teacher at Terrace Park Elementary in Cincinnati, Ohio.<ref name="American Advertising Federation"/> He graduated in 1987 from Indian Hill High School in suburban Cincinnati.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brunsman |first1=Barrett J. |title=New McDonald’s CEO is Indian Hill High grad who began career at P&G |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/11/04/new-mcdonald-s-ceo-is-indian-hill-high-grad-who.html |publisher=Cincinnati Business Courier |date=4 November 2019}}</ref>

Kempczinski earned a bachelor's degree from [[Duke University]] in 1991,<ref name="NRN:Ruggless">{{cite news |last1=Ruggless |first1=Ron |title=Who is McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski? |url=https://www.nrn.com/quick-service/who-mcdonald-s-ceo-chris-kempczinski |publisher=Nation's Restaurant News |date=4 November 2019}}</ref> and an MBA from [[Harvard Business School]] in 1997.<ref name="Bloomberg profile">{{cite web | title = Bloomberg profile: Chris Kempczinski | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/18660246 | website = [[Bloomberg Markets]] | access-date = November 3, 2019}}</ref><ref name="HBS Alumni"/>

==Career==
Kempczinski started his career with Procter & Gamble in brand management, and worked for four years in its soap sector division, before leaving to attend Harvard Business School (HBS). After HBS he became a management consultant at the [[Boston Consulting Group]], focusing on consumer products and pharmaceuticals.<ref name="American Advertising Federation">{{cite web | title = The Advertising Hall of Achievement: 2008 Inductees | url = http://76.12.169.172/default.asp?id=864 | website = [[American Advertising Federation]] | access-date = November 3, 2019}}</ref>

In 2000, Kempczinski joined PepsiCo in its corporate strategy & development group, and in 2006, was VP, Marketing, Non Carbonated Beverages, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages.<ref name="American Advertising Federation"/>

Before joining McDonald's, Kempczinski worked for [[Kraft Foods]] as executive vice president of growth initiatives, and president of Kraft International.<ref name="McDonalds bio">{{cite web | title = Chris Kempczinski | url = https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/leadership-team/chris-kempczinkski.html | website = [[McDonald's]] | access-date = November 3, 2019}}</ref> He left Kraft in September 2015.<ref name="HBS Alumni">{{cite web | last1 = Morrell | first1 = Dan | title = Happy Meals (Are Here Again) | url = https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-impact.aspx?num=6457 | access-date = November 3, 2019 | website = [[Harvard Business School]] Alumni | date = November 30, 2017}}</ref>

Kempczinski joined the McDonald's global strategy team in late 2015, and was promoted to president of McDonald's USA in October 2016 where he oversaw the business operations of approximately 14,000 restaurants.<ref name="HBS Alumni"/><ref>{{Cite web|last=Grothaus|first=Michael|date=2019-11-04|title=Who is Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's new CEO? 5 things you need to know|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90426246/who-is-chris-kempczinski-mcdonalds-new-ceo-5-things-you-need-to-know|access-date=2020-09-15|website=Fast Company|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Reuters Staff|date=2019-11-04|title=Factbox: Meet McDonald's new CEO: Chris Kempczinski|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mcdonald-ceo-factbox-idUSKBN1XE1JU|access-date=2020-09-15}}</ref> In November 2019, he succeeded [[Steve Easterbrook]] as president and [[chief executive officer|CEO]].<ref name="Evening Express">{{cite news | title = McDonald's CEO steps down after relationship with employee | url = https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/business/mcdonalds-ceo-steps-down-after-relationship-with-employee/ | access-date = November 3, 2019 | newspaper = [[Evening Express (Scotland)|Evening Express]] | agency = [[Press Association]] | date = November 3, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191105074524/https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/business/mcdonalds-ceo-steps-down-after-relationship-with-employee/ | archive-date = November 5, 2019 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 2021, Kempczincki apologized to employees and the public for private remarks he made about the gun deaths of children at McDonald's. In correspondence with [[Mayor Lightfoot]] of Chicago, he blamed parents of the victims: “With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you can’t say. Even harder to fix.” <ref name="WBEZ Chicago">{{cite news | title = McDonald's CEO sparks outrage with comments about parents of slain Chicago children | url = https://www.wbez.org/stories/mcdonalds-ceos-comments-outrages-workers-activists/7edf3ba2-b66b-467c-a5f7-5366cea9944e | access-date = November 2, 2021 }}</ref> Publication of the exchange "sparked outrage."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/04/mcdonalds-ceo-chris-kempczinski-texts-blame-parents-fatally-shot-children-chicago The Guardian]</ref> Chicago civic groups and the [[Service Employees International Union]] demanded Kempczinski apologize, saying “Your text message was ignorant, racist and unacceptable coming from anyone, let alone the CEO of McDonald’s.” <ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-ceo-apologizes-for-text-exchange-about-shooting-deaths-11636388549?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 The Wall Street Journal]</ref>

==Personal life==
As of 2008, Kempczinski was married with two children.<ref name="American Advertising Federation"/> He has run marathons,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vranica|first=Heather Haddon and Suzanne|date=2020-01-05|title=WSJ News Exclusive {{!}} McDonald's Looks Beyond Party Culture|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-looks-beyond-party-culture-11578243600|access-date=2020-11-01|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> and as of 2020 was running at least 50 miles a week.

==References==
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{{S-bef | before = [[Steve Easterbrook]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=CEO of [[McDonald's]]|years=2019–Present}}
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{{McDonald's}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempczinski, Chris}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:McDonald's people]]
[[Category:American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies]]
[[Category:Duke University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]]
[[Category:Kraft Foods people]]
[[Category:1960s births]]
[[Category:Boston Consulting Group people]]
[[Category:Procter & Gamble people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Cincinnati]]
[[Category:American chief executives of food industry companies]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Boston]]