Jill McDonald (businesswoman)
{{short description|British businesswoman (born 1964)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jill McDonald
| image =
| image_size =
| caption = Former Costa Coffee CEO Jill McDonald.
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1964|05|15}}
| birth_place = Birmingham, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = Sevenoaks School
University of Brighton
| occupation = Businesswoman
| known for = Former CEO of Halfords
Former CEO of McDonald's UK
Former CEO of Costa Coffee
| spouse =
| parents =
| children = 2
| relatives =
| website =
}}
Gillian Clare McDonald (born 15 May 1964) is a British businesswoman. She has previously been the CEO of Costa Coffee, CEO of Halfords, CEO of McDonald's UK and head of Marks & Spencer's non-food business, overseeing clothing, home and beauty.
Early life
McDonald was born on 15 May 1964{{Cite web |date=13 February 2011 |title=So Mrs McDonald, would you like fries with that? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/so-mrs-mcdonald-would-you-like-fries-with-that-chl8rwsmvxz |work=The Sunday Times}} in Birmingham, and grew up in Sevenoaks.{{cite web|title=Jill McDonald: North West Division President and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's UK|url=http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Aboutus/Newsroom/staff_biogs/jill.html|website=McDonald's|accessdate=23 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402193351/http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Aboutus/Newsroom/staff_biogs/jill.html|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}} She was educated at Sevenoaks School and graduated from the University of Brighton with a first class degree in business studies.‘McDONALD, Gillian Clare’, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017
Career
She began her career as a graduate marketing trainee with Colgate Palmolive. In 1990, she joined British Airways as a brand manager, and worked there for 16 years, rising to head of global marketing, before joining McDonald's in 2006.{{cite web|title=Executive Profile: Jill McDonald|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=27290587&ticker=MCD|website=Bloomberg|accessdate=23 March 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Barber|first1=Lynsey|title=Halfords names Jill McDonald new chief executive to replace Matt Davies|url=http://www.cityam.com/212195/halfords-names-jill-mcdonald-new-chief-executive-replace-matt-davies|accessdate=23 March 2015|work=CityAM|date=23 March 2015}}
In 2006, she joined McDonald's as chief marketing officer for the UK and northern Europe, and in 2010, was promoted to CEO of McDonald's UK and president of North West Europe.{{cite news|title=McDonald's UK CEO Jill McDonald swaps burgers for bikes and car parts|url=http://fortune.com/2015/03/23/mcdonalds-uk-ceo-jill-mcdonald-swaps-burgers-for-bikes-and-car-parts/|accessdate=23 March 2015|work=Fortune|date=23 March 2015}}
She was appointed to the board of InterContinental Hotels Group in 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ihgplc.com:443/en/about-us/our-leadership/our-board/jill-mcdonald|title=Jill McDonald|website=InterContinental Hotels Group PLC|access-date=3 December 2019}}
In May 2015, McDonald replaced Matt Davies (who left to join Tesco), as CEO of Halfords,{{cite news|last1=Farrell|first1=Sean|title=Halfords hires McDonald's UK boss|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/mar/23/halfords-hires-mcdonalds-uk-boss-jill-mcdonald|accessdate=23 March 2015|work=The Guardian|date=23 March 2015}} on a basic salary of £500,000 plus bonuses.
In May 2017, McDonald was announced to be taking over Marks & Spencer's non-food business in the autumn, and in her role reported to CEO Steve Rowe.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39789694 |title=Marks and Spencer hires Halfords boss Jill McDonald |work=BBC News |accessdate=3 May 2017}}{{cite news |last=Armstrong |first=Ashley |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/03/ms-poaches-halfords-bossjill-mcdonald-run-struggling-clothing/ |title=M&S poaches Halfords boss Jill McDonald to run struggling clothing business |work=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=3 May 2017}}{{cite news |last=Butler |first=Sarah |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/03/marks-and-spencer-halfords-clothing-jill-mcdonald |title=M&S hires Halfords chief to run struggling clothing arm |work=The Guardian |date=3 May 2017 |accessdate=3 May 2017}}
In July 2019, McDonald left Marks & Spencer after failing to secure an uplift in clothing sales, with Rowe assuming responsibility of the clothing and home division.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48956183|title=Marks & Spencer ousts fashion boss|work=BBC News|date=11 July 2019|access-date=11 July 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/m-s-sacks-fashion-boss-mcdonald-with-ceo-to-lead-turnaround-11761040|title=M&S sacks fashion boss McDonald with CEO to lead turnaround|work=Sky News|access-date=11 July 2019}}
In November 2019, McDonald was named CEO of Costa Coffee, and started on 2 December 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodbev.com/news/costa-coffee-appoints-jill-mcdonald-as-new-ceo/|title=Costa Coffee appoints Jill McDonald as new CEO|last=Upshall|first=Emma|date=22 November 2019|website=FoodBev Media|access-date=3 December 2019}} On 13 July 2022, Costa Coffee announced that McDonald was stepping down as CEO of the company to join McDonald's in an international role.{{Cite web|url=https://costanewsroom.vuelio.co.uk/press/press-releases/56dfe0f0-0dd3-4149-bfdb-c2bd7f34eacd/jill-mcdonald-to-step-down-as-costa-coffee-ceo|title=Jill McDonald to step down as Costa Coffee CEO|website=Costa Newsroom|access-date=13 July 2022}}
Personal life
References
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Category:People educated at Sevenoaks School
Category:Alumni of the University of Brighton