McDonald’s boss hands back £79m over office affairs
‘Morally bankrupt’ British chief returns severance cash after lying about flings
‘Exploited his position’
THE ousted British chief executive of McDonald’s has been forced to hand back his multi-million-pound severance payment after being accused of lying about multiple flings with colleagues.
Steve Easterbrook, who is originally from Watford, issued a humiliating apology over the scandal yesterday as he finally settled a long-running lawsuit with the fast-food giant.
He has agreed to pay back £79million to McDonald’s, despite receiving only £30 million in his severance payout. It is thought to be one of the highest clawbacks in corporate America and is seen by many experts as an unprecedented case.
Mr Easterbrook, 54, apologised for failing ‘at times’ to uphold McDonald’s values and to fulfil all of his responsibilities as a leader of the company. The divorced father of three said: ‘I apologise to my former coworkers, the board, and the company’s franchisees and suppliers for doing so.’
Mr Easterbrook was fired in November 2019 after it emerged he had sent explicit photos to a colleague in what was described as a consensual and non-physical relationship. But after paying him an estimated £30million, the company received a tip last year that Mr Easterbrook had sexual relationships with three other colleagues in the year before he left. It sued him, claiming he had used his corporate email account to send and receive ‘dozens’ of nude photos and videos with various women, including the three alleged relationships.
McDonald’s yesterday said Mr Easterbrook would not have received any money if he had ‘been truthful’ about the extent of his philandering ‘at the time of his termination’.
But the amount it managed to reclaim from the former boss in the form of cash and shares far exceeded what Mr Easterbook, who earned £12million a year, received when he left.
McDonald’s chairman Enrique Hernandez said: ‘This settlement holds Steve Easterbrook accountable for his clear misconduct, including the way in which he exploited his position as chief executive.
‘The resolution avoids a protracted court process and allows us to move forward. It also affirms the board’s initial judgment to pursue this case.
‘With this settlement, company employees, management and the board can continue to focus their attention on the growth of the business and building community both inside and outside the system.’ Mr Easterbrook admitted when he left the company that he exercised ‘poor judgment’, but he initially fought back against the lawsuit.
The company branded his challenge ‘morally bankrupt’ and a ‘brazen attempt at table-turning’.
Mr Easterbrook became chief executive of McDonald’s – which is based in Chicago – in 2015. He was born in Watford and was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys before studying natural sciences at Durham University. He worked at Price Waterhouse after he graduated, before joining McDonald’s as a manager in London in 1993.
Mr Easterbrook left briefly in 2011 to head first Pizza Express and then Wagamama, before returning to McDonald’s in 2013. It is around this time that he reportedly separated from his wife Susie – the couple divorced in 2015 – and began his first ‘office romance’.
Bosses said his relationship with Denise Paleothodoros, who was assigned to the McDonald’s account by her PR firm, did not breach any rules. But they took a different view in 2019, and sacked him when his sexting relationship with a junior colleague came to light.
McDonald’s was founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald.
It is the world’s largest restaurant group by sales and is worth nearly £150billion, with more than 39,000 sites in over 100 countries. The vast majority of its restaurants are owned and run by franchise holders.