McCEO

McCEO Named 2009 CEO of the Year, McDonald’s Jim Skinner transformed an icon with a simple and powerful recipe for leadership.

Chief Executive, June 24, 2009 — The recession has been the graveyard of many CEO reputations. So it may come as a welcome surprise that some leaders have not only survived but boosted their company’s performance the old-fashioned way-they earned it-through sticking to steady if unglamorous organic growth. Last February, a committee of his peers met at the NYSE and chose Jim Skinner, 64, CEO of McDonald’s, to be the 2009 Chief Executive of the Year for transforming an iconic brand by rebuilding its purpose, strengthening its internal talent and realigning that talent with a return to the company’s fundamental principles. In doing this, Skinner and his senior team had to rethink much of what had been proven successful since the days when founder Ray Kroc and his ideas suffused the organization.