Jack M. Greenberg

Last updated
Jack M. Greenberg
Born (1942-09-28) September 28, 1942 (age 81)
Nationality American
Education DePaul University
Occupation(s)Accountant, Lawyer, Business executive, President, CEO McDonald's, 1999–2002
Years active1981–2002
SpouseDonna P. Greenberg
ChildrenIlyse Greenberg, Allison Orlinsky, David Greenberg

Jack M. Greenberg (born September 28, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois) was Chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation from 1999 through 2002, when he was replaced by James R. Cantalupo. He was promoted to CEO in 1998, succeeding Michael R. Quinlan in that role as Quinlan retained the title of Chairman.

A 21-year veteran of the company, Greenberg held the top spot during a tumultuous period, with the company suffering earnings declines in each of the last seven quarters of his tenure. As Greenberg explained, "We were going through a transition from what I call a founder's company to a modern, global enterprise. There is a cultural shift from what we were to where we want to end up."[ citation needed ]

A graduate of the DePaul University College of Commerce (renamed the Driehaus College of Business in 2012), Greenberg also earned a juris doctor degree from the DePaul University College of Law. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Society and the Chicago Bar Association, where he served as former chairman of the federal tax committee, and was president of the board of trustees of the Chicago Bar Foundation. Greenberg is a member of the DePaul University Board of Trustees. Greenberg is currently Non-Executive Chairman and Presiding Director of The Western Union Company[ citation needed ]. [1]

He originated the "Made for You" production system, [2] a cooking platform that facilitated a broader variety of menu offerings by allowing stores to precook meat patties and finish them to order. Previously the McDonald's chain had used a "build to stock" manufacturing process, precooking, dressing and wrapping most food prior to receiving customer orders. By postponing the finishing process (dressing and wrapping sandwiches), McDonald's could offer a wider variety of sandwich combinations without significantly increasing customer wait time. [3]

Awards

Jack M. Greenberg was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2003 in the area of Business. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel K. Skinner</span> White House chief of staff

Samuel Knox Skinner is an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. Skinner served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation and White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. Prior to the Bush administration, Skinner served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois under President Gerald R. Ford from 1975-1977, succeeding James R. Thompson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Cantalupo</span> American businessman

James Richard Cantalupo was an American businessman. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of McDonald's Corporation until his sudden death by heart attack at the age of 60.

Edward Barry Rust Jr. was chairman of the board of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Bloomington, Illinois. He is a former President and Chief Executive Officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm Life Insurance Company and other principal State Farm affiliates. Ed Rust stepped down on September 1, 2015; when Michael Tipsord was named the new President and CEO of State Farm Insurance. Ed Rust's father Edward Sr. and his grandfather Adlai Rust before him also led State Farm.

Michael Robert Quinlan is a graduate, and former chairman of the board of trustees, of Loyola University Chicago, where he was initiated into the Alpha Delta Gamma National Fraternity. Quinlan served as a director of McDonald's Corporation, from 1979 until his retirement in 2002. He was the chairman of the board of directors of McDonald's from March 1990 to May 1999 and chief executive officer from March 1987 through July 1998. Quinlan became President and COO in 1982. Quinlan started with McDonald's in 1963 in the mailroom and worked his way up to senior management. Quinlan got the job through his roommate John Martino, the son of June Martino McDonald's secretary.

Edward A. Brennan was chairman of the board, president (1980–1995) and chief executive officer (1984–1995) of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Tilton</span>

Glenn Fletcher Tilton is a retired American oil and airline industry executive. Tilton spent most of his career working for Texaco, and as CEO guided its merger with Chevron Oil in 2001. He was chairman, president, and CEO of UAL Corporation from 2002 to 2010. He stayed on as non-executive chairman of United Continental Holdings Inc., (NYSE:UAL), the parent company of the merged United Airlines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. from October 1, 2010, until 2012. Tilton was Midwest chairman and a member of the executive committee at JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), from June 6, 2011, until his retirement in June, 2014.

William A. Osborn is an American bank executive.

R. Eden Martin is an American lawyer. Martin was a partner at the law firm Sidley Austin LLP from 1975 to 2004. Martin has served as President of The Commercial Club of Chicago since 1999. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Nicor Inc., a Life Trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University. He has been an Aon Corporation director since 2002 and serves as Chairman of Aon Foundation. He has also served on the boards of the University of Illinois Foundation, the Chicago History Museum, and the Ravinia Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowell McAdam</span> American businessman (born 1954)

Lowell Clayton McAdam is an American businessman. He is the former chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, a company he joined in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mellody Hobson</span> American businesswoman

Mellody Hobson is an American businesswoman who is president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. She is the former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, having stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., by NBCUniversal in August 2016. In 2017, she became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago. She was also named to chair the board of directors of Starbucks in 2021, making her one of the highest profile corporate directors in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Ryan (executive)</span> American businessman

Patrick G. Ryan is an American billionaire insurance businessman. He is the founder and retired chairman and CEO of Aon Corporation. In 2010, he founded Ryan Specialty Group (RSG) as a holding company aimed at providing specialty services to insurance brokers, agents and carriers. RSG's first subsidiary, ThinkRisk, began business in December 2009 to provide underwriting and claims management services for media, technology, advertising and network security.

Paul L. Cejas is a Cuban-born American businessman and former diplomat.

James Alan Skinner is an American business executive. He was the executive chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance. He was the vice chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation.

John A. Canning Jr. is a private equity investor and sports executive. He is the founder and chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners, the large Chicago-based private equity firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Schriesheim</span>

Alan Schriesheim is the Director Emeritus and the retired CEO of Argonne National Laboratory, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest research centers. In a January 2008 announcement issued by Penn State University upon the establishment of the Schriesheim Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, it was noted that "Schriesheim is an internationally acclaimed chemist and technology executive. With a career spanning 50 years in industry, academia, and government, Schriesheim was a pioneer in transforming large and highly complex research organizations to yield productive commercialized technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business</span> Business school of Loyola University-Chicago

Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business encompasses the undergraduate, graduate, and executive-level business programs of Loyola University Chicago in downtown Chicago, Illinois, with campuses and partnerships in Rome, Italy; Beijing, China; and Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. As a top 3 MBA program in Chicago and the city's No. 1 undergraduate business school, Quinlan is the city's only Jesuit business school and was founded in 1922 to help working-class employees move from the factory floor to the front office. In 2012, it was named for Michael R. Quinlan, the University's two-time alumnus, who worked his way up from the mailroom to the boardroom of McDonald's as chairman and CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert W. Lane</span>

Robert W. Lane, served as chief executive officer of Deere & Company from 2000 to 2009 and retired as the chairman of the board in February 2010. He served on several boards including: The Northern Trust Company, General Electric Company, BMW AG and Verizon Communications. He was ranked 10th by Forbes Magazine’s Top CEOs based on compensation in 2009.

Donald Thompson is an American engineer and business executive who was the president and chief executive of McDonald's Corporation from 2012 until 2015. He announced on January 28, 2015, that he would retire from the company and leave his position on March 1, 2015, and was succeeded by Steve Easterbrook, the senior executive vice president and chief brand officer. He is currently the CEO of Cleveland Avenue, an investment group and accelerator that focuses on building new food, beverage, and restaurant concepts, which he founded in 2015. Cleveland Avenue has invested in Beyond Meat and Taste 222, among other food industry companies, and Thompson has served as a member of the board of directors at Beyond Meat since October 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lincoln Academy of Illinois</span>

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to recognizing contributions made by living Illinoisans. Named for Abraham Lincoln, the Academy administers the Order of Lincoln, the highest award given by the State of Illinois. Each year several persons are selected as Lincoln Laureates at a ceremony presided over by its president, the Governor of Illinois. The organization gives an annual Student Laureate award to one student from each four-year degree-granting institution of higher learning in Illinois, plus one student from the state's community colleges. Many prominent Illinoisans have received the Order of Lincoln.

Andrew James McKenna Sr. was an American businessman and chairman emeritus of McDonald's from 2016 until his death, having been chairman from 2004 to 2016, and a director from 1991.

References

  1. "Our Board of Directors" Archived 2016-11-19 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed 11 May 2016
  2. Khwaja, Ameen. "McDonald's CEO to Retire", Entrepreneur, 16 December 2002. Accessed 11 May 2016.
  3. Sherri Day (2002-12-06). "Chief Executive Of McDonald's Plans to Retire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  4. "Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois". The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
Business positions
Preceded by CEO of McDonald's
1999-2002
Succeeded by