McDonald’s has strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointment of Ugwechi Amadi as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, bringing in a seasoned strategy executive with experience at Nike, LIV Golf and Boston Consulting Group to help accelerate the company’s long-term growth ambitions.
Amadi succeeds Emily Reasor, who has transitioned to the role of Managing Director for McDonald’s New Zealand. The appointment was announced by McDonald’s Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden, who said Amadi would play a central role in executing the company’s recently unveiled NEXT strategy and identifying new avenues for growth.
“Ugwechi will help bring our strategy to life across the business, spotting new opportunities and keeping our priorities grounded in what matters most to our customers, communities, and the brand,” Borden said in a LinkedIn announcement welcoming her to the leadership team. He added that Amadi brings “deep experience in strategy, transformation and business leadership,” with a proven ability to align priorities, strengthen execution and drive innovation.
Amadi joins McDonald’s after serving as Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy and Development at LIV Golf. Prior to that, she held senior strategy roles at Nike and spent several years as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, building expertise across corporate strategy, transformation and business growth.
In her own LinkedIn post, Amadi said she was excited to join the world’s largest restaurant company and build on its strong foundation while helping create new opportunities for sustainable growth.
The appointment comes as McDonald’s rolls out its NEXT strategy, introduced earlier this year, which focuses on enhancing hospitality, improving food quality, modernising restaurant designs and accelerating technology-led innovation across its global system. The strategy also aims to unlock future growth through operational excellence and a stronger customer experience.
With more than 43,000 restaurants worldwide, approximately 95% of them operated by franchisees, McDonald’s continues to rely on strategic investments in digital capabilities, restaurant modernisation and franchise support as it pursues its next phase of global expansion. The addition of Amadi underscores the company’s focus on long-term strategic execution as it works to strengthen its position across both company-operated and franchised markets.
