McDonald’s Corp. said Tuesday it named Steve Easterbrook, current CEO of its U.K. division and president of Northern Europe operations, to the newly created role of global chief brand officer.
The world’s largest burger chain said Easterbrook will oversee marketing, menu innovation, consumer insights and other brand assets. Easterbrook, a 16-year McDonald’s veteran, assumes the post Sept. 1.
Jill McDonald, current chief marketing officer for Northern Europe, will succeed Easterbrook in the U.K. and Northern Europe roles.
Last month, McDonald’s posted a 12 percent rise in second-quarter net income as customers around the globe gobbled up its cheap food and U.S. diners responded to its profitable frappes and other drinks on its hit McCafe menu. McDonald’s has outpaced many of its competitors in recent years, particularly in the U.S. where its value menu helped insulate it from much of the economic weakness that’s hurt rivals.
The chain operates more than 32,000 restaurants around the globe, including almost 14,000 in the U.S.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More