Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2004 Jim Cantalupo, chief executive and chairman of fast-food chain McDonald's, has died of an apparent heart attack. The company said the 60-year-old had been attending a meeting of restaurant franchise owners in Orlando, Florida, when he fell ill. Mr Cantalupo, who took over the reins of the company in January 2003, had been widely praised for turning around its then flagging fortunes. McDonald's has named Charlie Bell as Mr Cantalupo's successor. Mr Bell was previously the company's president and chief operating officer. Healthier options Under Mr Cantalupo's leadership McDonald's posted its highest sales gain in 30 years. Its shares fell by 80 cents or 2.9% to $26.66 after Monday trading started on Wall Street following the announcement of his death. In a statement, McDonald's said Mr Cantalupo was "a brilliant man, who brought tremendous leadership, energy and passion to his job". "He made an indelible mark on McDonald's system," it added. The worries are that perhaps there may not be a strong number two Art Hogan, Jefferies & Co McDonald's share price Sales turnaround Mr Cantalupo was credited with turning around McDonald's since he was brought back from retirement to lead the company in January 2003. The company has had to face changing market conditions He had retired a year earlier after 28 years with the company. A former vice chairman and president, his focus on introducing new items such as salads and grilled chicken - in the face of criticism that its traditional products were too high in fats, salt and sugar - saw revenues recover. Not to forget also against the backdrop of the mad-cow disease scare in the US, which put many consumers off eating beef. Mr Cantalupo also saw McDonald's slow down its historically high-speed expansion and the closure of hundreds of under-performing restaurants. Big shoes "The worries are that perhaps there may not be a strong number two, since he was known as the one with the strong vision," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst for investment adviser Jefferies & Co. Only last week McDonald's introduced a new Adult Happy Meal in the US that included a pedometer to encourage people to walk more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted April 19, 2004 Jim Cantalupo, chief executive and chairman of fast-food chain McDonald's, has died of an apparent heart attack. The company said the 60-year-old had been attending a meeting of restaurant franchise owners in Orlando, Florida, when he fell ill. Mr Cantalupo, who took over the reins of the company in January 2003, had been widely praised for turning around its then flagging fortunes. McDonald's has named Charlie Bell as Mr Cantalupo's successor. Mr Bell was previously the company's president and chief operating officer. Healthier options Under Mr Cantalupo's leadership McDonald's posted its highest sales gain in 30 years. Its shares fell by 80 cents or 2.9% to $26.66 after Monday trading started on Wall Street following the announcement of his death. In a statement, McDonald's said Mr Cantalupo was "a brilliant man, who brought tremendous leadership, energy and passion to his job". "He made an indelible mark on McDonald's system," it added. The worries are that perhaps there may not be a strong number two Art Hogan, Jefferies & Co McDonald's share price Sales turnaround Mr Cantalupo was credited with turning around McDonald's since he was brought back from retirement to lead the company in January 2003. The company has had to face changing market conditions He had retired a year earlier after 28 years with the company. A former vice chairman and president, his focus on introducing new items such as salads and grilled chicken - in the face of criticism that its traditional products were too high in fats, salt and sugar - saw revenues recover. Not to forget also against the backdrop of the mad-cow disease scare in the US, which put many consumers off eating beef. Mr Cantalupo also saw McDonald's slow down its historically high-speed expansion and the closure of hundreds of under-performing restaurants. Big shoes "The worries are that perhaps there may not be a strong number two, since he was known as the one with the strong vision," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst for investment adviser Jefferies & Co. Only last week McDonald's introduced a new Adult Happy Meal in the US that included a pedometer to encourage people to walk more. If only their healthy menu had been released a few weeks earlier... -=Mike ..."Who in the world would've figured that a thick, creamy milkshake might have a bit of fat in it?!?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swift Terror 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2004 Maybe the dork who did the documentary portraying his 30-day all-McDonalds-all-the-time experiment will croak too. If the founder of Papa Johns dies, let's put restrictions on pizza please. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2004 He was 60. A heart attack can almost be expected at that age. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrigidSoul Report post Posted April 19, 2004 I hope when I die the stock of a major corporation drops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nanks Report post Posted April 20, 2004 Interesting. An Australian is now in charge of, more or less, an American icon. Further interestingly, Charlie Bell has been working in Macca's since he was 15 years old. That's a pretty cool story for mine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2004 I can't wait until the PETA people get their paws around this one... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2004 ..."Who in the world would've figured that a thick, creamy milkshake might have a bit of fat in it?!?" But McDonalds' milkshake isn't creamy. It doesn't even have milk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted April 20, 2004 ..."Who in the world would've figured that a thick, creamy milkshake might have a bit of fat in it?!?" But McDonalds' milkshake isn't creamy. It doesn't even have milk. Well, it's thick. -=Mike ...Haven't had a shake in years --- but I'm not surprised at the lack of milk in a milkshake there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest FrigidSoul Report post Posted April 20, 2004 That's why they don't call them MilkShakes. They call them Shakes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2004 That's why they don't call them MilkShakes. They call them Shakes. Using this precedent, should I be worried that they call their chicken nuggets, "Mcnuggets"? Never understood all the Mcdonalds hate. You know what you're eating's not good for you, but not much food is anyway. You shouldn't be eating fastfood more than once or twice a week anyway, and if you are it's your own problem (although Wendy's, Burger King and like every other fast food chain is way better)- whoa, didn't we have a fast food forum at one point, or am I just losing it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandman9000 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2004 That's why they don't call them MilkShakes. They call them Shakes. Using this precedent, should I be worried that they call their chicken nuggets, "Mcnuggets"? Never understood all the Mcdonalds hate. You know what you're eating's not good for you, but not much food is anyway. You shouldn't be eating fastfood more than once or twice a week anyway, and if you are it's your own problem (although Wendy's, Burger King and like every other fast food chain is way better)- whoa, didn't we have a fast food forum at one point, or am I just losing it? With the mcnuggets, yes, yes you should. I'd go purge now if I were you. And you shouldn't be eating fast food at all, and if you absolutely must, once a month at most. If you plan on eating fast food once or twice a week, you better be planning on running a marathon to burn it all off as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites