New Leader for McDonald's APMEA

McDonald's Corp. ( MCD - Analyst Report ) recently announced the appointment of Dave Hoffmann as the president of the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region, as Tim Fenton, who currently holds the position is set to become the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company, effective July, 1.

Tim Fenton succeeds Thompson, who in the wake of the retirement of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jim Skinner, will become the CEO of McDonald’s effective July 1, 2012.

Dave, who is presently the Senior Vice President of McDonald’s Asia, Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA), will also join his new office from July 1. He boasts of valuable experience of 16 years with McDonald's and played a key role in the development of APMEA in the last five years. During his time at McDonald’s, he has served in an array of pivotal roles.

As President of McDonald's APMEA, Dave will be responsible for 5,500 restaurants in APMEA and will report to Fenton. However, the Japan operations will continue to be under the responsibility of Fenton only.

Earlier, Dave was the restaurant manager for McDonald's USA and was in charge of a various field and operational work. Prior to that, Dave worked as Senior Director for both North America and Global Strategy and Execution. He also spent four years of his career with the McDonald's Japan Executive Team and contributed significantly in the successful restructuring of Japan's franchising system.

We remain optimistic about Dave’s appointment and expect the region to flourish under his leadership. We also expect the transition to be smooth as all the promotees have long been associated with the company.

McDonald's, which competes with The Cheesecake Factory Inc. ( CAKE - Analyst Report ) and Yum! Brands Inc. ( YUM - Analyst Report ) , currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. We are maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.