Alistair Macrow to leave role as McDonald's UK chief executive

Alistair Macrow is to leave his role as chief executive officer at McDonald’s UK and Ireland after a difficult few years which has seen the business face hundreds of allegations of employee misconduct.

The fast food chain said Macrow “decided now is the right time to pursue other UK-based opportunities outside McDonald’s” after four years in the role.

Macrow will leave McDonald’s at the end of September after a transition period to provide support to his successor, Lauren Schultz.

Schultz joins from a role as field VP Columbus at McDonald’s USA, which spans 1,200 restaurants and 180 franchisees over seven US states. She will take the reins at McDonald’s UK and Ireland, which includes 1,450 restaurants employing more than 135,000 people, on 1 September.

Macrow has been with McDonald’s since 2007 and was global chief marketing officer before becoming UK chief executive in 2021.

Manu Steijaert, president of international operated markets at McDonald’s, said: “Alistair has led one of our most important markets outside the US with deep integrity. He leaves the business with trading momentum, growth and a strong brand.”

Since taking the reins in 2024 Macrow has been called in to give evidence to MPs on multiple occasions following reports of widespread staff misconduct at McDonald’s restaurants.

An initial BBC report in 2023 said it had heard allegations of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying from more than 100 current and former restaurant team members.

The chain signed an agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to protect staff from harassment in 2023.

But in January, Macrow told MPs McDonald’s UK had received 75 allegations of sexual harassment in the past year, with 47 people facing disciplinary action and 29 people being sacked.

More than 700 McDonald’s crew members have joined legal action against the chain over allegations of discrimination, homophobia, racism, ableism and harassment, which could see them entitled to compensation.

However, Macrow said the company had launched an internal plan to tackle harassment, which was “working”.

Pre-tax profits at McDonald’s UK almost doubled in 2024 to £120m in 2024, while turnover fell slightly from £1.83b to £1.82b.

Macrow said: “It’s been an honour to lead McDonald’s in the UK and Ireland. I’m proud we’ve emerged stronger from Covid and risen to the cost-of-living challenge for our millions of customers every day. This is a special company with great people operating across an unrivalled system.”