Lauren Schultz joined the UK&I McDonald’s Senior Leadership Team as Chief Executive Officer, in September 2025. Lauren is a proven leader with experience across many areas of the business during her 16-year career at McDonald’s. Most recently, she served as Vice President of the Columbus Field Office, which spans 1,200 restaurants and around 180 Owner/Operators across seven U.S. states.
During her three-year tenure, she led a regional turnaround in Columbus with a relentless focus on transforming talent and culture, inspiring a growth mindset, and driving accountability and partnership across all three legs of the stool. During that time, the Field Office has been able to achieve - and sustain - some of the highest sales across the U.S. System.
Prior to her time in the Field, she managed marketing and communications at RMHC Global, where she fell in love with the charity’s mission and positive impact on local families and communities. On the U.S. Menu team, she led the strategy for our Burger and Chicken categories, including development of the now fan-favourite McCrispy Sandwich and a successful U.S. Menu Simplification initiative. As the lead of U.S. Delivery, she fortified vendor partnerships, execution priorities and marketing principles to ensure Delivery was well positioned to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lauren’s favourite McDonald’s menu item is the Smarties McFlurry.
