Category: Grains & Cereals

MINNEAPOLIS — While the company celebrated multiple financial successes achieved in fiscal 2023, weak volume trends at General Mills Inc. loomed ominously at the start of the company’s new fiscal year.

Executives at the company spoke hopefully about prospects for stemming the decrease in sales volume in fiscal 2024, but the investment community appeared skeptical. In trading on Wall Street June 29, General Mills’ shares dropped 5%, closing at $76.72, down $4.18 from the day before. At the closing price, the company’s shares were down 16% from the recent high of $90.89 reached in mid-May.

Net income at General Mills in the year ended May 28 was $2.59 billion, equal to $4.36 per share on the common stock, down 4% from $2.71 billion, or $4.46 per share, in fiscal 2022. Net sales were $20.09 billion, up 6% from $18.99 billion the year before. Adjusted earnings per share rose 10% in constant currency.

While sales for the year were up 6% from fiscal 2022, volume was down 8%, with price/mix contributing 15 points of growth and foreign exchange a 1% headwind.

“We delivered excellent results in fiscal 2023, including generating double-digit growth in organic net sales and constant-currency adjusted diluted EPS and exceeding $20 billion in annual net sales for the first time in our company’s history,” said Jeffrey L. Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer of General Mills. 

In comments June 29 to investment analysts, Harmening noted that fiscal 2023 was the fifth straight year General Mills has achieved or topped its targets for sales and earnings growth. Reviewing the company’s results last year, he said General Mills pursued its Accelerate strategy relying on competing effectively in its categories, investing in the future and continuing to reshape its portfolio.

The company said it held or gained share “in 53% of our priority businesses globally,” though the figure incorporated an adjustment for “an unusual competitive dynamic in cereal last year” and viewed the category on a two-year basis. The company’s largest competitor, Kellogg Co., endured supply disruptions because of a fire and then a work stoppage in 2021 and 2022, skewing the comparison.

With the adjustment, Harmening said General Mills gained share in cereal, refrigerated dough, fruit snacks, hot snacks, soup and seasonings.

In terms of investing for the future, Harmening said the company’s media spend in fiscal 2023 was 35% greater than before the pandemic and that General Mills added production capacity for “constrained platforms,” including fruit snacks, pet foods and hot snacks.

Since fiscal 2018, General Mills has “reshaped more than 20% of our portfolio,” Harmening said. The past year featured one acquisition and two divestitures.

For fiscal 2024, General Mills is predicting net sales growth of 3% to 4%, adjusting operating profit growth of 4% to 6% and adjusted earnings per share growth of 4% to 6%, from a base of $4.30 in fiscal 2023.

Keys to the company’s performance in the new year will be the economic health of consumers, easing cost inflation and a more stable supply chain environment, the company said.

“For the full year, input cost inflation is expected to be 5% of total cost of goods sold, driven primarily by labor inflation that continues to impact sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics costs,” the company said.

Harmening pointed out the 5% cost inflation projected for this year compares with 13% in fiscal 2022.

“While certain commodity spot prices are down from their highs, we continue to see labor as the main source of ongoing inflation, showing up in our suppliers’ conversion costs, at our co-packers facilities, in our own plants and downstream in our warehousing and logistics network,” he said.

He said supply chains are currently in line with pre-pandemic levels, adding that General Mills’ customer service levels have climbed to the low 90% range. Capacity constraints in products such as fruit snacks, cereal and hot snacks have kept service levels from reaching the upper 90% range, Harmening said.

Kofi A. Bruce, chief financial officer, drilled more deeply into sales volume trends and offered an upbeat view of prospects for the new year. He said a reduction in retailer inventory was a significant headwind for volume in fiscal 2023, shaving three points from the company’s sales growth in the fourth quarter alone. He and Harmening said such reductions were not expected to be a problem this year.

Price/mix contributions to sales growth will be smaller in fiscal 2024 than in fiscal 2023, Bruce said. Some benefits in the new year will be gained from pricing actions taken later in fiscal 2023. Volume trends should benefit from easing inflation and other factors, he said.

“We see three key drivers of improved organic pound volume performance in fiscal 2024 relative to the decline we posted in fiscal 2023,” he said. “First, we expect less of a headwind from pricing as our price/mix steps down significantly from fiscal ‘23 to fiscal ‘24. Second, a more stable supply chain should allow for much stronger commercial activity, including increased distribution, innovation, brand building investment and quality merchandising. Third, we have added capacity on many constrained platforms, including fruit snacks, pet food and hot snacks.”

Several analysts posed questions about expectations for volume in the new year. Harmening predicted volume decreases in fiscal 2024 would be more modest than in fiscal 2023.

“We said our top line will grow 3% to 4% (in fiscal 2024), and we’ll have mid-single-digit inflation, roughly 5%,” he said. “And so we do see pricing this year. I’m confident that our pounds will be better in fiscal ‘24 than they were in fiscal ‘23, which is to say they’ll certainly decline less. Whether they get to positive or not? We’ll see. That’s a really difficult thing to call, especially because of the mix factor involved.”

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, General Mills’ net income was $614.9 million, or $1.04 per share, down 24% from $822.8 million, or $1.36 per share. Sales were $5.03 billion, up 3%. Adjusted net income was up 1% in constant currency. Sales volume fell 6% in the fourth quarter, with a 10% positive contribution from price/mix and a 1-point decrease from foreign exchange.

MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills Inc. is making several changes to its senior leadership team, including the naming of new leaders for its North America Retail, Pet and International, and US Morning Foods units, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Dana McNabb has been promoted to president of North America Retail, General Mills’ largest and most profitable segment, according to the company. McNabb most recently was chief strategy and growth officer since August 2021. Earlier, she was group president of Europe and Australia. She also spent more than four years as president of the company’s North America Retail Cereal and Snacks operating units.

Jonathon J. Nudi, formerly president of North America Retail, has been named president of Pet and International. Nudi has been with General Mills for more than 30 years. Other roles he’s held at the company include president of Europe and Australasia, president of Snacks and various marketing and sales roles.

Ricardo Fernandez, newly promoted to president of International, will report to Nudi. Fernandez most recently was president of US Morning Foods since January 2020. He earlier was president of the Latin America region. He also has worked as global vice president of marketing at Cereal Partners Worldwide (a joint venture between General Mills and Nestle) as well as vice president of marketing for the frozen division, managing director for Brazil, and marketing director for Latin America and South Africa.

Succeeding Fernadez as president of US Morning Foods will be Bethany Quam. Quam has been president of Pet since 2019. Earlier, she held a variety of sales and finance positions at General Mills.

General Mills said Kofi Bruce, chief financial officer, will oversee the company’s strategy and growth efforts on an interim basis while a search is conducted for a new chief strategy and growth officer. In addition, Sean Walker, currently president of International, will retire on Feb. 28, 2024.

“We are making these strategic changes to best position General Mills for today’s dynamic landscape,” said Jeffrey L. Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer, General Mills. “These moves enable us to best match our deep bench of senior talent to fast-growing and important consumer areas and occasions. I am confident this will help us advance our next chapter in our Accelerate enterprise strategy.” 

MINNEAPOLIS — Top management of General Mills Inc. voiced guarded optimism in September about prospects for a rebound in unit volume sales in the final months of 2023 following a period of weakness attributed to rising prices. In the company’s latest financial update, the optimism about sales growth had evaporated.

In lowering sales guidance for fiscal year 2024, General Mills chairman and chief executive officer Jeffrey L. Harmening conceded the company was experiencing “slower-than-expected volume recovery in the second quarter amid a continued challenging consumer landscape.” In addition to what Harmening referred to as the “still stressed” consumer, stepped-up competition in the ready-to-eat cereal business factored in weaker results and the lowered guidance for the company.

Responding to General Mills’ dimmer outlook for the year, its shares fell in early trading Dec. 20 on the New York Stock Exchange as much as $2.81, or 4.2%, from the Dec. 19 close of $66.71. At the morning trough, shares were trading not much above the stock’s 52-week low of $60.33 set in September.

Net income in the second quarter ended Nov. 26 was $595.5 million, equal to $1.03 per share on the common stock, down 2% from $605.9 million, or $1.01. Net sales were $5.14 billion, down 2% from $5.22 billion in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share in the first quarter rose 14% on a constant-currency basis.

Second-quarter results included $124 million in restructuring, impairment and other exit costs, versus $11 million in such charges the year before. Most of the fiscal 2024 charges related to a $117 million charge related to the company’s Latin America reporting unit.

In its guidance, General Mills is forecasting organic net sales to range between a decrease of 1% and flat from fiscal 2023, a four-percentage point cut from previous guidance of up 3% to 4%.  The change was attributed by the company to “slower volume recovery.”

Adjusted diluted earnings per share are forecast to increase 4% to 5%, versus its previous growth guidance of up 4% to 6%. General Mills said the lower sales growth will be “largely offset by higher HMM (holistic margin management) cost savings and greater elimination of disruption-related costs in the supply chain.”

The sales guidance represents a reversal from the outlook shared by Harmening in September. With consumers feeling pinched, they would likely be eating out less, he said at the time.

“We would think that at-home eating will probably pick up a little bit,” he said. He added, “We’ll find out.”

Commenting Dec. 20 on the shift in the outlook, Harmening said certain factors were falling in line with the company’s expectations, including a return toward historical price elasticities.

“(But), we’re seeing consumers continue to display stronger-than-anticipated value-seeking behaviors across our key markets, and this dynamic is delaying volume recovery in our categories,” he said.

General Mills also has felt pressure from competition “improving their on-shelf availability, an area where General Mills was already performing well,” Harmening said. The company has seen near-term market share pressure as a result.

On-shelf availability was the subject of considerable discussion between management and investment analysts in a Dec. 20 call, and Harmening said General Mills’ availability has continued to improve but not as fast as competitors.

He said General Mills had anticipated increases for competitors but not as quickly as it materialized.

“Our competitors have increased quite a bit and now have kind of drawn even with us after trailing for like four years,” he said. “…We anticipated it, but not the rate of change.”

In addition to highlighting steps General Mills is taking to cut costs and boost margins, Harmening cited steps the company was taking to build its brands in the currently challenging environment.

“For example, our brands are leaning into key consumer moments, like gathering with friends for game night tacos with Old El Paso and making family memories over the holidays with Pillsbury rolls, breads, and cookies,” he said. “We’re also partnering to provide value-added incentives to consumers, such as our Free Stories initiative on Motts Fruit Snacks, or Free Milk with participating purchases of Big G cereals. And as consumers continue to feel pressure, we’re reminding them of the convenience and value that we deliver every day, through products like Totino’s Pizza Rolls and Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula pet food.”

He said the company continues to have success with new products, noting that four of the top five products launched in the US cereal category are Big G products.

“We plan to build on that success with our new Loaded Cereals platform,” he said. “These products feature a vanilla cream filling wrapped in a crunchy shell of our iconic brands like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix, and Cocoa Puffs.”

In the yogurt category, Harmening said General Mills is introducing Yoplait Protein in January, a product with 15 grams of protein and only 3 grams of sugar.

“We are adding new flavors to successful product lines, like double chocolate chip Nature Valley Muffins, and new ‘Pistachio and Cream’ and ‘Chestnut Tart’ varieties of Häagen-Dazs pints,” he said.

Asked during the call about the new product pipeline, Mr. Harmening was upbeat.

“As I look across our big billion-dollar businesses, our innovation lineup is really good and frankly, better than it was last year,” he said.

The North America Retail segment of General Mills saw the slowest operating profit growth of any of the General Mills divisions in the second quarter (up 3% versus 17% to 94% for the other businesses). The division accounted for 79% of the company’s profits in the quarter and 64% of sales. Volume during the quarter was down 5%, partly offset by a 4% contribution from price/mix.

Operating profit of North America Retail in the quarter was $859.9 million, up from $837.1 million in the same period last year. Net sales were $3.31 billion, down 2%. In the first half of the fiscal year, operating profit was $1.66 billion, up 3%. Net sales were flat at $6.38 billion.

“Net sales performance outpaced Nielsen-measured retail sales growth in the quarter due to faster growth in non-measured channels,” the company said. “Net sales were down mid-single digits for the US Snacks and US Morning Foods operating units. Net sales were up low-single digits for US Meals & Baking Solutions and were up high-single digits for Canada.”

Asked about promotional activity during the quarter, Harmening said the environment has remained disciplined.

“The promotional environment has been a very rational promotional environment against some thoughts to the contrary,” he said. “We have seen the number of promotions pick up this year as we expected because of on-shelf availability.”

General Mills said its after-tax earnings from joint ventures, which includes Cereal Partners Worldwide, were $24 million, down 5% from the second quarter last year. Net sales were up 11% for CPW, “driven by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by lower pound volume,” the company said.

Year-to-date net income at General Mills was $1.27 billion, or $2.18 per share, down 11% from $1.43 billion, or $2.38, in the first half of fiscal 2023. Net sales were $10.04 billion, up 1%.

CHICAGO — Consumer purchasing behaviors that emphasized value continued to impact Conagra Brands Inc.’s financial performance during the second quarter of fiscal 2023. As a result, the company lowered its full-year guidance to reflect what is turning out to be a longer-than-expected downturn.

“After tremendous initial resilience in the face of a record inflation super cycle, US consumer behavior shifts did emerge last spring in our industry as the cumulative effect of inflation caused consumers to begin to stretch their budgets,” said Sean M. Connolly, president and chief executive officer, during a Jan. 4 conference call with securities analysts. “This resulted in a reprioritization of food choices as shoppers adjusted purchase behavior towards more stretchable meals.

“At that time, we told you that we expected these trends to be transitory. We still believe that to be the case. But the pace of the shift back to normal consumer behavior has been slower than we initially expected, and that pressured our volume, performance and mix in the second quarter.”

Connolly’s sentiments echoed those of Jeffrey L. Harmening, the chairman and CEO of General Mills Inc. when he discussed his company’s second-quarter results on Dec. 20. And like Conagra Brands, General Mills also lowered its full-year guidance.

Conagra Brands’ net income for the second quarter ended Nov. 26 was $286.2 million, equal to 60¢ per share on the common stock, and down 25% from the same period last year when the company earned $381.9 million, or 80¢ per share.

Quarterly sales fell 3.2% to $3.21 billion from $3.31 billion the year before.

Conagra’s Refrigerated & Frozen business unit had a sales decrease of 5.8% during the quarter to $1.3 billion. Unit volume fell 3.3% due to lower consumption trends and price/mix decreased 2.5% during the quarter. The price/mix decline was partially attributable to an increase in investments, according to the company.

In the Grocery & Snacks segment, quarterly volumes fell 3.7% and price mix ticked down 0.4%. As a result, quarterly sales fell to $1.3 billion.

The company’s International and Foodservice business units fared better during the quarter, seeing sales rise 8.1% and 4.3%, respectively. International segment sales reached $280 million, reflecting a 5.6% increase in organic net sales and a 2.5% favorable impact on foreign exchange. Volumes increased 3.3% during the quarter while price/mix contributed 2.3%.

Foodservice sales reached $295 million due to strong price/mix recovery of 6.8%. Volume sales decreased 2.5% during the quarter.

For the year, Conagra Brands lowered its organic net sales growth guidance from 1% to a decrease of 1% to 2%. Adjusted earnings per share are now forecast to be in a range of $2.60 to $2.65 per share, down from the original guidance of $2.70 to $2.75 per share.

“… From a planning posture standpoint, we are not banking on major improvement in the macro consumer environment or signing up for a huge consumer response,” Connolly said. “So, one might interpret that as we’ve got the investment in there, but what we’re banking on in return is conservative.

“Look, in this current environment, that’s probably not a bad posture to be in because this volume recovery has been more elongated than people expected. But I think that is a fair characterization of kind of what we’re looking at.”

Conagra’s net income for the first six months of fiscal 2023 rose 99% to $605.9 million, equal to $1.27 per share, and up from $304.4 million, or 63¢ per share the year before. During the first quarter of fiscal 2022, Conagra Brands recorded a loss of $77.5 million. An impairment charge of $244 million associated with the Birds Eye business contributed to the loss.

Sales for the first six months of fiscal 2023 fell 1.7% to $6.11 billion from $6.22 billion.

MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills Inc. named two new members of its board of directors: Benno O. Dorer and John G. Morikis.

Dorer is currently on the board of American global apparel and footwear company VF Corp., where he held the roles of interim president, chief executive officer and lead independent director. Dorer was also a board member of the carbon negative materials company Origin Materials and an executive adviser for the investment management company KKR & Co. Inc. Outside of board memberships, Dorer held multiple positions at Clorox, including executive chairman, chairman, CEO and chief operating officer. Prior to joining Clorox, he held various US and European marketing and sales roles at the Procter & Gamble Co.

Meanwhile, Morikis is currently a board member for the home and security products manufacturer Fortune Brands Innovations. He is also an executive chairman of the paint and coatings manufacturer and distributor Sherwin-Williams Co., where he previously held the roles of chairman and CEO.

Both Dorer and Morikis began their terms as General Mills board members on Jan. 29.

SALISBURY, MD. – Fourth-generation, family-owned protein processor Perdue Farms announced on Feb. 27 that Todd Tillemans would work as the new chief commercial officer (CCO). 

Tillemans will focus on the company’s growth strategies, which include overseeing the marketing and sales of Perdue’s legacy brands and products while driving forward new innovations.

“Todd’s extensive experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry combined with his deep knowledge of and obsession with our consumers will help Perdue keep delivering the quality, great tasting products they expect, while also introducing exciting new innovations,” said Kevin McAdams, chief executive officer of Perdue Farms. “Todd also brings a laser-focus on excellent customer service that will be critical to deepening existing relationships with our retailers and unlocking more ways to partner as we ultimately look to better serve consumers, together.”

Tillemans previously worked as the CEO of Cynosure, a leading developer and manufacturer of light-based aesthetic and medical treatment systems. Before that, he served as the US president of The Hershey Co.

Prior to Hershey, he led multiple businesses across global markets for Unilever and, before that, held positions at General Mills.

“I’m thrilled to join the Perdue Farms team and I look forward to all that we can accomplish in partnership with our customers, on behalf of our consumers,” Tillemans said. “We have an incredible opportunity to keep accelerating growth by staying true to the company’s legacy of responsible food and agriculture while tapping even further into our associates’ spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.”

Tillemans is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also served in the US Marine Corps.

MINNEAPOLIS — Totino’s, a frozen snack brand of General Mills Inc., has launched its first foray into the frozen breakfast aisle: breakfast snack bites.

The new microwaveable snacks come in three flavors: pork shoulder bacon and cheese scramble, which features a crispy crust filled with shoulder bacon and cheese; sausage and cheese scramble, which features bits of pork sausage and cheese wrapped in a golden crust; and cheesy chorizo scramble, which features smoky chorizo crumbles and cheese in a bite-size pocket.

“Totino’s is all about making every day epic and we’re bringing everything fans love about us to the morning,” said Taylor Roseberry, brand experience manager of Totino’s. “These bite-size pockets are the perfect poppable addition to breakfast — no utensils required.”

Totino’s breakfast snack bites are currently available at select grocery stores, with expanded availability at Walmart and Kroger in the summer, for a suggested retail price of $7.19 for a 40-count package. 

NEW YORK — While upbeat directionally about General Mills Inc.’s business, the company’s top executive said reaching its long-term sales growth target in the just-started fiscal year may be a stretch.

Jeffrey L. Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer, offered an update on many aspects of the company’s business in a May 29 discussion with Alexia J.B. Howard, senior analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. The discussion was part of the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference.

Declining to offer specific financial guidance for fiscal year 2025, Harmening said it may be tough for General Mills to hit sales growth of 2% to 3%, the company’s long-term target.

“Our goal will be to be competitive within our categories, and I think we can achieve that in this coming year,” he said. “As we have, by the way, the last four years. We’ve grown in 50% of our categories our market shares.”

While unit volume trends remain weak, Harmening said there is good cause for optimism.

He noted that volumes in the company’s categories were down 3% in the first quarter of 2023 and only 1% in 2022. Decreases at General Mills specifically were steeper but have been improving, too.

Key to trends going positive will be consumers adjusting to cost inflation totaling more than 30% over the past three years, Harmening said.

“Consumers are stretched financially right now,” he said.

When they “feel more economically sound” and acclimate to the higher pricing, market conditions in the food and other industries will improve, Harmening said.

“It’s probably a 12- to 18-month process before consumers really land on, okay, what is the true price of this good going to be?” he said. “And I think it’s particularly difficult for consumers.”

Even as discussions about health and wellness and concerns about ultra-processed foods may have intensified, the most important driver of consumer demand remains taste, Harmening said.

“It’s not to say that consumers don’t care about nutrition as well, but I don’t want to get lost in the conversation,” he said. “News flash — people like food that tastes really good. One of the things that General Mills does really well is make food that tastes good and is good for you. And to the extent that consumers are looking at ingredients more closely, I think that’s a benefit for us, and I think that’s going to be an opportunity for us.”

Regenerative agriculture is important to General Mills “because the climate is changing,” Harmening said.

“We depend on the climate, and particularly certain crops like wheat, for example, for flour, or oats, which we make Cheerios and Nature Valley,” he said. “And so regenerative agriculture is a really important step for us because it improves soil health, takes carbon out of the atmosphere, sequesters carbon better, keeps nutrients better, just makes the whole cycle more resilient.

“And so we have a goal of getting to 1 million acres of regenerative agriculture by 2030. We’re more than halfway there, and we set this goal only a few years ago. So we’ve made great progress. There’s more progress yet to make.”

For context, Harmening said 1 million acres equates to a fourth of the land mass required for the company’s ingredient needs.

“It’s not an inconsequential level of space,” he said.

Capping off the presentation was a discussion of why investors should find ownership of General Mills’ shares appealing. Harmening said General Mills has distinguished itself by an ability to “pivot faster than many of our peers” during challenging times.

“If you think the environment ahead of us is going to be really stable, maybe that doesn’t matter,” he said. “If you think that the environment ahead of us is rocky, either because of climate change or geopolitics or say the consumer is influx or that inflation we may or may not know what’s coming, if you think that there’s an air of volatility ahead of us, I think you should bet on us.” 

MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills Inc. named Asheesh Saksena as its chief strategy and growth officer, effective Aug. 26. Saksena succeeds Dana McNabb, who was promoted to group president of North America Retail in January.

Saksena will oversee global accountability for the company’s strategic planning process and for building long-term, sustainable plans and capabilities to accelerate growth, according to the company.

Before joining General Mills, Saksena most recently was chief growth officer for Gap Inc. Prior to Gap Inc., he was president at Best Buy Health.  

 “Over the course of his career, Asheesh has consistently demonstrated a clear track record of driving growth across a range of industries,” said Jeff Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer of General Mills. “As we continue to boldly build our brands, relentlessly innovate and revamp our portfolio for today’s families, I am confident Asheesh will be instrumental in helping build consumer love for our iconic core brands.”

McNabb joined General Mills in January 2016 as president of North America Retail’s cereal and snacks operating units.  

He later was group president for Europe and Australia and was later promoted to chief strategy and growth officer in Aug. 2021.

CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. announced the promotion of Tiffanie Boyd to executive vice president and global chief people officer, effective Aug. 19. Boyd will succeed Heidi Capozzi, who has decided to leave the company at the end of the month for a new opportunity.

In her new role, Boyd will oversee the company’s human resources operations around the world, including talent management, talent acquisition, total rewards, learning and development, DEI, culture, and organization effectiveness.

“Tiffanie is an exceptional HR leader, who understands that great people are the bedrock of the McDonald’s business,” said Chris Kempczinski, chairman and chief executive officer of McDonald’s. “Since she joined the company a few years ago, Tiffanie has quickly established herself as a collaborative, values-driven leader who has championed several transformational programs like our People Brand Standards and talent development initiatives that have turned our US business into a role model within the system.”

Over the course of her career, Boyd has led teams in the United States, Canada and around the world to elevate talent management and employee development. She joined McDonald’s in 2021, leading the development of the McOpCo Total Reward strategy, changes in McDonald’s talent strategy and improvements to its career planning and development philosophy. Previously, Boyd spent over two decades working with General Mills in various capacities, overseeing talent initiatives, organization design, culture change and employee engagement. She began her career as a consultant at Hewitt Associates.

Currently, Boyd serves on the board of Thrive Scholars, which helps students of color from low-income backgrounds attend top colleges and pursue meaningful careers.

Boyd graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in finance and earned an MBA in organization behavior from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

“At McDonald’s, we’ve built our people strategy on a simple idea: The employee experience fuels the customer experience,” Boyd said. “There is already great work underway, and we are seeing the impact of a focus on employee experience. I look forward to partnering with our teams across segments, markets and functions to power a culture of care so robust that our people and business thrive like never before.”