On Monday, McDonald’s Corp announced the appointment of Tiffanie Boyd as their U.S. Chief People Officer. Starting January 4th 2021, Boyd will join the franchise at a dynamic time of lots of hiring changes under the stewardship of new president and CEO Chris Kempczinski, who also joined McDonald’s last year following the sudden departure of former CEO Steve Easterbrook. The news of Boyd’s appointment comes just three months after the previous HR leader, Melanie Steinbach, left the company. Boyd will reportedly be the company’s third CPO in six months. 

Boyd is a veteran of the consumer goods and retail talent acquisition sphere, having worked in HR at General Mills for 23 years, latterly serving as VP of Human Resource for their North America Retail division, which is the largest of the company. In this role, Boyd led 11,000 employees through a series of key transformations and changes. Boyd also spent time as a human resources executive in the supply chain division and as VP of Human Resources in Canada. 

“I look forward to working with franchisees to bring the McDonald’s values to life through our people and their employee experience, as well as the communities in which we operate,” Boyd said in a statement. “My goal is to ensure that McDonald’s is a place where people love the work they do, have opportunities to grow, and can make a meaningful contribution to society. As I step into my role, my first priority will be to spend time with employees, managers, crew, owner/operators and other partners who bring the iconic McDonald’s brand to life.”

A dynamic time for McDonald’s new hires 

McDonald’s CEO and president Chris Kempczinski has made a number of new hires since joining the corporation in November 2019. In March 2020, Kempczinski brought in former Boeing CHRO Heidi Capozzi as McDonalds’ EVP and Global Chief People Officer. In a statement on LinkedIn, Capozzi said Boyd is a focused leader with a track record of stepping into the challenge of change with tenacity and success. She is unyielding in her commitment to seek continuous improvement for the business, people and communities she supports. All of these attributes help to support and elevate the core values we share as a McDonald’s System. 

Back in late October, McDonald’s announced the appointment of Bethany Tate Cornell as senior vice president and chief learning and development officer, also joining after her tenure as Vice President of Leadership, Learning & Organizational Capability at Boeing. Furthermore, a few weeks ago in early November, it was also announced that Reginald Miller would become the company’s global chief diversity equity and inclusion, joining the company after working as the chief diversity officer at VF Corp. 

In a note to employees reported upon by Nation’s Restaurant News, Capozzi and Kempczinski  commented on the news of Boyd’s hiring, saying: “Tiffanie joins us at a time when our commitment to people has never been more critical. As part of our 2021-2022 U.S. Own the Ambition plan, crew experience is our most important growth priority. In partnership with owner/operator leadership, we intend to make bold moves for our people as we roll out our Employee Value Proposition and People Purpose throughout the system.”

Like many businesses and corporations, McDonald’s will be undergoing a reiteration of core values and a more people-centric cultural shift in response to the pandemic crisis and its fallouts. As the company reportedly strives to put its people at the centre of operations more than ever before, Boyd will play an absolutely crucial role in sourcing talent, driving change and negotiating the ongoing uncertainty created by the outbreak. 

Image Credits: McDonald's