McDonald's COO Tim Fenton To Retire

(RTTNews) - Fast food giant McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said Thursday that Chief Operating Officer Tim Fenton has decided to retire from the company, effective October 1, 2014.

Fenton, 56, will continue to serve as COO during a brief transition period, and thereafter, as a special advisor to President and Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson focused on global franchising, restaurant portfolio optimization and other strategic business initiatives.

"I'm making a difficult and personal decision to retire," said Fenton. "It's widely known that I battle severe asthma. I simply cannot continue to meet the global travel demands of this position and will focus on improving my health closer to home. I intend to always be of service to this great company, our employees, customers and suppliers."

Upon notification of Fenton's retirement, the company's Board of Directors has approved several reporting structure changes designed to continue driving McDonald's business for the long-term.

McDonald's Area of the World presidents, responsible for the operations of McDonald's 35,000 restaurants worldwide, will now report directly to Thompson.

The company said it will not replace the COO role, but will broaden responsibilities for two senior leaders. Pete Bensen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will assume oversight for Worldwide Supply Chain, Development and Franchising functions. Steve Easterbrook, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer, will assume oversight for the Restaurant Solutions Group; Corporate Strategy; and the Global CSR, Sustainability and Philanthropy department. The company's Board has elected Bensen and Easterbrook Senior Executive Vice Presidents.