McDonald’s HR head announces departure from company a day after CEO’s firing

McDonald’s human resources chief David Fairhurst announced his departure from the fast-food giant Monday, one day after the company announced it had ousted President and CEO Steve Easterbrook, according to The Associated Press.

Fairhurst is a longtime friend of Easterbrook, who was fired over a relationship with a subordinate, but the company said the HR head’s departure was unrelated.

{mosads}“I have decided the time has come for me to move on to my next career challenge,” Fairhurst said in a statement posted on his LinkedIn page, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, McDonald’s said Easterbrook will relinquish millions in unvested stock options under his severance package but receive six months’ pay. His 2018 compensation came to $15.9 million, about $1.3 million in salary and the rest in the form of stock options and incentives.

The company board has named Chris Kempczinski, previously president of its U.S. division, as Easterbrook’s replacement, with analysts speculating he will continue with initiatives championed by Easterbrook, such as more digitally savvy store redesigns in the U.S.

“We believe these initiatives will continue largely unchanged and Mr. Kempczinski’s legacy will hinge on his ability to generate traffic growth in the U.S., which neither of his two predecessors were able to achieve,” capital investment firm BTIG Managing Director Peter Saleh said in a note to investors, according to the AP.