Ryan Roslansky’s Post

Transcript

- One of my first bosses said, "The most important brand you're ever gonna manage is the Chris Kempczinski brand." - Welcome to "The Path". I'm Ryan Roslansky, the CEO of LinkedIn. Today, my guest is Chris Kempczinski. Chris is the CEO of McDonald's, overseeing over 40,000 restaurants serving millions of people every day around the world. But before the Happy Meals and Golden Arches, Chris spent 15 years climbing the ranks at PepsiCo and Kraft, honing his most important skills, building great brands, and building great relationships. His journey began as a young boy in Cincinnati, Ohio, washing dishes for extra cash, unsure of what his future holds. Here's how Chris Kempczinski paved his path. (upbeat music) I wanna go way, way back to a young Chris growing up, and when you can remember the first time, what you wanted to be when you grew up. - When I was a kid, it was all about wanting to be in sports. My natural athletic ability actually made it pretty evident that that was not gonna happen. - How did you think about school in those early days? What did school mean to you early on? - Well, my parents were very strict, and basically, I couldn't do anything unless I was keeping my grades up. So that really kept me on task. - Chris started working when he was just 16, washing dishes, taking tickets at a local amusement park, and even caddying at golf courses. Do you remember at all, you know, what you picked up or learned professionally in those early days? - You learn how to work with a lot of different people under different situations. When to speak, when not to speak, when to maybe push back on somebody, when to just bite your tongue and keep your mouth shut. - Yeah, that kind of EQ about knowing how to work with people. You know, things that are really hard to learn sometimes in school, but if you can pick up early on, they're so valuable. So at a certain point now, you decide that college is the right path for you. How did you make that decision- - Yeah. - To go to college? - I went in there pre-med for no other reason other than my dad was a doctor. My chemistry teacher quickly helped me discover that I had other talents. I thought about, geez, should I maybe go to law school? Actually, one of my summers, I worked at a law firm, and all the lawyers there were telling me, "Whatever you do, Chris, don't become a lawyer." (both laughing) So I went back, I was like, "All right, scratch off law school." And then, you know, I found that I just, I enjoyed kind of learning about the economy and sort of how things work there. - Chris earned his degree in economics and landed his first job in Proctor & Gamble's soap sector, working on brands like Mr. Clean and Comet. A friend had told him great things about working there, and with his mom battling illness, a job in Cincinnati allowed him to be closer to home. Proctor & Gamble, working in soap. So, did that sound like an exciting job to you at the time? - No, it didn���t, and in fact, I remember when I went, told my mom, she was like, "You're a mess, you're a pig." (Ryan laughs) "You're the furthest thing from wanting to be able to do that." I think the thing that when you go to a place like P&G or something like that, it's just learning the expectations that they set. You're surrounding yourself with people that are talented people, amongst the best. When you're in that environment, especially as a first job, and you see what great looks like, for me, it just, it's kind of an indelible imprint on you that you carry through to every other job thereafter. (upbeat music) - Chris made many career decisions that were influenced by the people he cared about in his personal life. After his girlfriend was matched to a hospital in Boston for a medical residency, he decided to move there with her, and eventually earned himself a spot at Harvard Business School. Chris then joined BCG as a consultant for a few years, then got hired by one of his clients, PepsiCo. He spent eight years there, climbing to senior positions, diving deep into the consumer sector. Chris then spent seven years at Kraft, eventually leading the international business. When Heinz acquired Kraft, Chris helped navigate the big transition. - You know, now I'm in my, I don't know, I was maybe 44 or something like that, what do I want to do? For me, I thought of it, it's a now or never. Like, if I'm going to pivot outside of packaged goods, I better do it now. And so one of the introductions that I got, the new CEO at McDonald's, it started with a, "Hey, I'm thinking about what the strategy for McDonald's needs to be. I'm a new CEO, and I just want to pick your brain." And one thing led to another, and ultimately, I made the move over to McDonald's. So, it's another example where opportunities in my career came about through relationships with people. - But was there anything else at that time that you were thinking about that drew you further to kind of the opportunity as well at the time? - One was just my affinity for the brand. This was a brand that I, as a kid, remember going with my grandmother. I remember going after high school football games. I remember when my wife was pregnant, running out, getting her hot fudge sundaes. And then the other thing was just the opportunity to make an impact. When something happens at McDonald's, it has a ripple effect that kind of goes all the way out across so many different industries, across so many different countries. And I could have gone smaller company, probably private equity and been a CEO, and that was one path that I thought about. Was that going to be something that I was going to be excited about? Would I define my career success on whether I ever became a CEO or not? Because certainly, if I went to McDonald's, the likelihood that I would ever be CEO at McDonald's was low. And ultimately, I concluded for myself that the title wasn't the end all and the be all for me, but it's the work that you're doing which is actually what makes a difference. - Chris took a leap and joined McDonald's as head of strategy, shifting from packaged goods to a whole new industry. Instead of trying to prove himself right away, he listened, asked questions, and took the time to learn the business. A year and a half later, he was promoted to President of McDonald's USA. (upbeat music) - I was out on a run on Saturday, and I typically, when I go for a run, I don't bring my phone and I don't listen to music. And so when I got home, I had like, I don't know, a lot of texts on my phone. Basically, something along the lines of, "Where the F are you?" I had the night to sort of like, all right, am I getting fired? Am I getting promoted? Like, I don't know what. Something big is happening, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. - Turns out the board had to make a sudden change at the top, and they asked Chris to step in. He didn't hesitate. On Monday morning, Chris walked into McDonald's headquarters as the new CEO. Looking back over your time as a CEO, how would you characterize what it's been like to be the CEO of McDonald's? - For me, it's such a privilege, honestly. We're able to be the on-ramp for literally millions of people entering in the workforce, to people who don't have a degree, special needs people that we bring into our restaurants to work there. The number of people who tell me their first job or one of their earliest jobs was working in McDonald's, and how they all took something away from that experience. - Just a few months in, barely settled into the CEO role, the pandemic hit. Thousands of McDonald's restaurants had to shut down, and revenue dropped 30% almost overnight. Chris got to work. He doubled down on what McDonald's does best, core menu items, bold marketing, and faster service. By year's end, the company was more aligned with changing consumer behavior, and sales were back. I'm sure you get this question a lot, but when people ask you, "Chris, what's your best career advice," what do you tell them? - One of my first bosses said to me, he said, "Chris, what's gonna be the most important brand that you manage?" And being at P&G, I thought, I don't know, Tide or Crest or Pampers, or something like that. But he corrected me and he said, "No." He's like, "The most important brand you're ever going to manage is the Chris Kempczinski brand." As my career evolved, so many of the opportunities that became available to me came through personal relationships. And I'd like to think that that's all because I had a positive brand halo out there. You can actually write down on a piece of paper a set of adjectives that you want your brand to stand for, and then just refer back to that every few years to feel like, are you on track with your brand positioning? And I think the second thing is to be a yes person is way better than to be a no person. So, as those career twists and turns happen, the more that you're seen as someone who's willing to say yes and to go do something, it just, it means you're going to get that next call and you're going to get the next call, and you're going to get the next call. Keeping kind of a yes mindset I think is so important for building up some of that momentum you need. (upbeat music) - So here's my takeaway. Chris started out washing dishes, taking tickets, and caddying, learning how to read people, stay patient, and deliver under pressure. At Duke, he ruled things out, medicine, law, and stayed open until something clicked. At P&G, ge didn't chase passion, but learned how great companies operate. His next step wasn't strategic, it was personal, but that choice set a pattern. Relationships would shape his path in ways no plan ever could. When the CEO opportunity came knocking, he didn't hesitate. He listened, adapted, and kept the business moving forward. Chris's story isn't about having the loudest vision. It's about knowing when to speak, when to step up, and how to earn trust in every room you're in. (upbeat music continues)