Stephen Easterbrook

Steve Easterbrook has been fired as chief executive of McDonald’s after he engaged in a consensual relationship with an employee that violated company policy.Mr. Easterbrook became the chief executive in March 2015. Mr. Easterbrook, who is divorced and has three daughters, will be replaced by Chris Kempczinski, who most recently served as president of McDonald’s USA.. A native of Watford, England, who previously ran the company’s British business, Mr. Easterbrook emphasized technological innovation, striking food-delivery deals with the third-party apps Uber Eats and DoorDash and acquiring smaller companies that specialize in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Last year, Mr. Easterbrook was paid more than $15 million. In December 2021, McDonald's settled a lawsuit with former CEO Steve Easterbrook, forcing the disgraced executive to repay his severance package of more than $100 million. The total amount of his severance package is $105 million in cash and stock. However, it's not clear how much of that is stock or cash.