McDonald’s New CEO Is Officially on the ‘Gram

Kim K.? More like Chris K. 

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski launched an Instagram page Monday (@chris_mcd), signifying either his plans to be a transparent leader who champions the burger brand’s core values on a public platform or to become an Instagram influencer. Probably the former.

After Steve Easterbrook got the ax as a result of carrying on a consensual relationship with an employee, Kempczinski became the CEO in early November. Since then, McDonald’s has had a rough couple of months, with lawsuits for sexual harassment and failure to address workplace violence, mass employee exits, and falling shares.

Last November, the newly tapped CEO also solicited feedback from employees through a survey of more than 1,000 employees. Now, he’s taken the info from that feedback and is hoping to bring a brighter future to the McDonald’s brand.

“Opportunity, Community, and Solutions: three things that make me proud of our McDonald’s System,” Kempczinski said in his first Instagram post. “I firmly believe that McDonald’s can change the world in a way that no other company can, and we’re just getting started. I’m thrilled to be using Instagram to connect with and share the stories of our community.”

It appears he’s already received quite a range of responses in the comments, including everything from: “Please improve your animal welfare!” to “This year can we get a sweet tea slushie?”

So far, the self-described “proud dad, husband and @dukeuniversity alum” has 2,200 followers. 

As successful corporate marketing in the franchising industry becomes increasingly tied to personalized social media profiles, time will tell if any CEOs of other popular QSR and fast casual brands will follow suit.