New McDonald's boss has the right ingredients

Chicago

STEVE Easterbrook is the US$2.5 billion new man at McDonald's. That's how much shareholders added to the burger chain's value in after-hours trading when the veteran of the Golden Arches was announced as the replacement for current chief executive Don Thompson. Mr Easterbrook may well have just the ingredients the struggling fast-food chain needs to adapt to changing consumer tastes and revive sales.

He faces a supersize challenge. The change at the top comes less than a week after McDonald's reported some of its weakest results in years. Revenue at restaurants open for more than a year was down 1 per cent in 2014 - the worst annual showing since 2002. And net income slipped 15 per cent as the company was stung by falling customer traffic and a food safety scandal in Asia. To add to its problems, activist fund Jana Partners reported a stake in the company three months ago.