McDonald’s UK lost one of its most appropriate executives, and Zoe Hamburger resigned just 18 months after senior vice president and chief restaurant officer.
Hamburger joined the UK leadership team in 2024 to oversee the UK’s franchise and delivery operations. Now, she has been promoted to managing director of McDonald’s Holland.
During her tenure, her name often caught the attention of people – she once joked that “something should be done”, acknowledging the dominant determinism of running a restaurant in a company known for flipped burgers. “Hamburger is also my name for life, so, as you can imagine, it has always made people do a certain dual perspective.”
Hamburg worked for more than a decade at and around McDonalds, starting her career in advertising and PR before taking senior roles in the U.S. business. She previously led the Bethesda Field Office, which covers six states and over 1,200 restaurants.
Her McDonald’s biography describes her as a “passionate leader” who “embraces the collaboration on all three legs of the stool, a term for franchisees, suppliers and employees of the brand. Despite her last name, she admits that her favorite McDonald’s menu item is a double cheeseburger.
Her departure is McDonald’s UK’s latest senior leadership transfer. Britain and Ireland Alistair Macrow announced last week that he had been in the business for more than 18 years and he resigned, calling it the “right time” for the new leader to take over.
Despite the highest churn rate, McDonald’s UK is still in a strong financial position. Profits nearly doubled in 2024 to £120 million, up from £66.3 million the previous year, even as chains cut more than 2,000 jobs. The figure is slightly lower than the £120 million released in 2022.
Hamburger has been taken over as chief restaurant officer of the UK by Patrick Gerber, who has taken over the responsibility for restaurant business across the country. Gerber does not assume any responsibility for French last name means, for vomiting or vomiting in language.
