Christiaan Pilkington joined the UK&I McDonald’s Senior Leadership Team as VP, Operations, in October 2025.
Christiaan began his McDonald’s career in 2000, starting his journey in Sheffield, gaining hands-on restaurant experience at the heart of the business, progressing through key leadership roles in restaurants and Field Consultancy before joining the Global team as an Operations Manager for the deployment team.
He then rejoined the UK market in 2022 as the Director of Franchising in the north west and most recently led the National Operations team for the UK&I.
During his time at McDonald’s, Christiaan has worked on a number of high-profile projects including the 2012 Olympic Park operation, the deployment of Best Burger and Ready on Arrival. As the Global operations lead he supported restaurant teams as they navigated the COVID 19 pandemic.
His extensive experience, strategic mindset, and deep understanding of the business make him exceptionally well placed to lead McDonald’s Operations function into its next chapter.
Christiaan’s favourite McDonald’s menu item is the Double Cheeseburger.
