McDonald's USA has appointed Alyssa Buetikofer, CMO of McDonald's Canada, to the role of senior vice-president, CMO and customer experience officer of McDonald's USA.
She will return to the U.S. and assume the role on Feb. 15, replacing current chief marketing and customer experience officer Tariq Hassan, who will step down to spend time with his family, according to the company.
McDonald’s USA president Joe Erlinger shared the news about his departure in a letter to the system that was also shared to the company’s website, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
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“It was clear it was not a choice he made lightly. Tariq loves this brand, loves this system and loves the team he has assembled,” Erlinger said. “But as he shared with me, and as I know we can all appreciate, he’s at a point now where he feels the team and the work is in very strong shape.”
Hassan, a former Petco marketer, was named U.S. marketing chief of the fast-food chain in 2021, succeeding Morgan Flatley after she was promoted to global CMO.
“He steered the brand’s marketing as it confronted rising food costs, which it answered with both higher prices and a new $5 meal deal, and franchisee backlash over a Famous Orders promotion with rappers Cardi B and Offset,” according to The Wall Street Journal. “He was also at the marketing helm when Grimace, the chain’s fuzzy purple character, became a TikTok sensation. McDonald’s said in November that it was spending about $35 million on marketing for its U.S. business to help its restaurants recover from an E. coli outbreak tied to onions served on its Quarter Pounders.”
Buetikofer joined McDonald's in 2011 and worked across a range of departments. Her achievements as CMO of McDonald's Canada include launching the loyalty program, introducing menu expansions such as the McCrispy and Chicken Big Mac and enhancing beverage options.
“Prior to McDonald’s, Buetikofer was a strategist at Omnicom Media Group agency OMD,” according to Adweek. “While there, she worked on the McDonald’s account and oversaw media strategies to maximize reach and engagement and drive return on investment (ROI) with consumer-focused strategies. Buetikofer worked at OMD from 2004-2011."