Donald Thompson embraces talents in workforce diversity and innovation

Aug 15, 2015Enoch Antwi

Donald Thompson, a Fortune 500 executive, brought workforce diversity and innovation into corporate leadership at McDonald’s.

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It is inspiring to see workforce diversity embraced by corporate leadership. Without controversy, Donald Thompson braved the corporate storm and led his organization with service and humility. Even in his low moments, he continued to show substance in leadership.

Mission made possible

Donald Thompson joined McDonald’s in 1990. His first assignment was to develop robotic equipment that will ease the transportation of food in customer services. In addition, they assigned him to design a control circuit for cooking, which he did successfully.

Little did he know that an invitation to put his engineering capabilities to the test will land him a job of significant importance. One that will soon make him one of the few black men to climb the corporate ladder and become a Fortune 500 corporate executive. Including earning the first black Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the McDonald’s chain restaurants.

Donald Thompson's installation into leadership showed the company's commitment to support and value workforce diversity at all levels, and most importantly, at the helm of corporate governance.

Donald became CEO of McDonald’s in July 2012. He served in this capacity for three years but had to step down from this position in 2014 amidst a sales decline because of some business decisions. Around this same period, there were rising low-income protests by workers in the food chain industry across the board. The impasse contributed to overall industry performance.

McDonald’s involved Thompson into the company’s Black Career Development program to train all employees. He quickly rose through the ranks, showing competence in leadership. Thompson’s competence in corporate leadership quickly propelled him to the positions of Project Manager and Staff Director after only two years of service. In 1992, he successfully supervised the Quality Development Department.

Determined to go further in the company, he spent some time in the operations department in 1994, where he learned at firsthand the running of a typical McDonald’s restaurant as a floor manager. This corporate strategic move helped him to understand the culture within a typical business and the need for a creative culture to improve the business. The training has prepared him for his next important role. He becomes the regional manager for the San Diego, California area, having 350 restaurants under his supervision in 1998.

Donald Thompson became the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of all United States restaurants. He handled the business performance of almost 14000 restaurants. Donald Thompson was also instrumental in directing the global strategy and operations of McDonald’s establishments in 119 countries, which comprises over 33000 restaurants. His insights into corporate social responsibility and organizational growth made him a successful corporate leader.

Since he started his career as a mechanical engineer at McDonald’s, Donald Thompson held many other corporate positions before becoming CEO, including executive vice president and divisional president at different levels. He has built an indestructible corporate image with his personal and corporate success.

Continues learning and hard work rewards

Donald Thompson earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Purdue University in 1984. The university had since awarded him with its Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineering Award. He also gained recognition as a fellow of Perdue University's Old Master Fellowship.

He earned a master’s degree from the Excelsior College and currently serves on Exelon Corporation’s board. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies, including the Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

There are speculations that McDonald's is in the process of employing Donald Thompson as a consultant after his resignation in 2014. There has, however, been no confirmation of the speculation by the restaurant giant. He lives with his wife and two children.

Lessons from Donald Thompson

Donald Thompson believes that using our talents well helps us to achieve a thriving livelihood. We must all strive to maintain high standards and believe that we can accomplish our mission in life. However, making both smart knowledge-based and intuitive business decisions is critical in asserting business authority and organizational growth.

Enoch Antwi

Enoch Antwi is the managing editor at The Business Frontal. He worked as a business and an environmental journalist in the late 1990s with the Business and Financial Times. His passion is to provide on-demand valuable information and insights on business, entrepreneurship, leadership, innovative technologies, and principles for corporate success in today's business world.