Tabassum Zalotrawala has been named chief development officer, senior vice president of McDonald’s. The Chicago-based quick-service leader announced the hiring of the former Chipotle chief development officer on Wednesday.
Zalotrawala’s appointment will begin on April 24 and she will report to U.S. president Joe Erlinger. She announced her departure from Chipotle Mexican Grill on LinkedIn on Sunday night.
“Zalotrawala is a values-based leader and is committed to growing the business while providing opportunities for the betterment of people, customers, and communities,” Erlinger wrote in a letter to the U.S. McDonald’s system on Wednesday. “While working in development, she quickly realized how a career in the food service sector provided an opportunity to scale the influence of her work and aligned with her values — allowing her to create spaces for tens of thousands of guests, support small business owners, and create thousands of new jobs each year.”
The position of chief development officer was elevated to the senior leadership team at McDonald’s to “prioritize development as part of our Accelerating the Arches strategy,” according to Erlinger’s letter.
Accelerating the Arches 2.0 was announced in January with a continued focus on digital and marketing and is designed around three pillars — M-C-D — that include maximizing marketing, committing to the core and doubling down on the four Ds (delivery, digital, drive-thru and development).
After five years of modernizing and investing in capital, Erlinger thinks the chain has “earned the right to build new restaurants and set aggressive goals.”
During its fourth-quarter earnings call in January, CEO Chris Kempczinski said that a return to growth was possible in 2023 after eight years of remodels across the system. McDonald’s U.S. plans to open 400 new restaurants, a 25% growth from 2022.
This year, the company plans to focus on where units are located, not just growth for growth’s sake.
“I think sometimes in the past, we were looking at just putting units and looking at an absolute number and not maybe looking at the quality of the site,” Kempczinski said at the time.
Zalotrawala took over the role of chief development officer from John Wendel who was serving the role on an interim basis.
Prior to her four-and-a-half-years-long tenure at Chipotle, Zalotrawala held senior leadership positions at Panda Express and Arby’s. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from American Intercontinental University and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management program in 2018.
The new McDonald’s executive will relocate to Chicago from California with her family to begin her tenure.
Until her relocation, the development team will report to Mason Smoot, senior vice president and chief restaurant officer for the chain.