Big Mac boss’s £21m takeaway Payoff for McDonald’s chief as he’s ousted just 24 hours after admitting office affair
THE British boss of McDonald’s is set to walk away with a pay package worth up to £21million after being sacked for having an affair with a colleague.
Steve Easterbrook, 52, admitted yesterday that he had showed ‘poor judgment’ after starting a consensual relationship with a fellow employee.
The identity of the other person remained shrouded in mystery last night as the Watford-born high-flyer lined up PR teams on both sides of the Atlantic, including a crisis management lawyer in the US who specialises in ‘celebrity disgrace events’.
His family are in the dark about the circumstances behind his sacking.
Mr Easterbrook’s brother-in-law Mark Baxter, 55, who is married to his sister Joanne, said yesterday: ‘[It] looks like Steve has been a naughty boy.
‘We heard on Sunday that he had been fired. We don’t know any other details.’
The burger chain was rocked further last night when a second Briton, the company’s human resources boss hired by Mr Easterbrook, also left with immediate effect.
No reasons were given for the departure of 51-year-old David Fairhurst, who comes from Wigan and relocated to the US under Mr Easterbrook as both men rose through the company’s ranks.
Mr Easterbrook was dismissed swiftly by the McDonald’s board as his ‘recent consensual relationship’ came to light.
The divorced father-of-three then sent an email to all staff admitting that his behaviour fell short of the standards expected.
He wrote: ‘Given the values of the company, I agree with the board that it is the time to move on.’
The love life of the man who grew from branch manager to company chief rocked the global fast-food giant, wiping £3.4billion off its market value yesterday.
Mr Easterbrook, who earned £12.3million in pay and perks last year, leaves the company with six months of his basic salary, worth around £520,000.
But according to filings submitted in the US yesterday, his contract was deemed to have been terminated ‘without cause’.
This means he remains eligible for previous bonuses due to pay out over the next three years. So if McDonald’s hits its yearly targets, he is line to receive a bonus worth between £1.8million and £3.7million.
Company filings also show he had amassed 122,986 shares from previous bonuses by the end of last year – worth around £17.8million at today’s prices. It is not clear when those shares are due to pay out or how many have paid out already.
As part of the deal, Mr Easterbrook has signed a gagging order agreeing not to say anything that ‘disparages or damages’ McDonald’s reputation. He is also banned from working for a rival, such as Burger King or KFC, for the next two years.
Bob Goldin, head of the Chicago-based food industry consultancy Pentallec, said: ‘As I understand, the board found out on Friday morning and it was all done within 24 hours.
‘Normally executives argue about the length of the noncompete clause and two years is a very long time for that.’ The scandal marks the end of Mr Easterbrook’s successful spell of almost five years in charge of the company, during which he almost doubled its market value.
McDonald’s policy bans management staff from having relationships with those who report to them. Stephen Woodhouse, of Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said: ‘McDonald’s stance does appear to be a strict one but as we know very little about the other individual, we are not party to all factors in the decision.’
Desiree Moore, a US lawyer representing Mr Easterbrook, said he was ‘deeply grateful for his time at McDonald’s’.
Mr Easterbrook is thought to have divorced from his wife Susie around the time he moved to Chicago in 2013 as a senior executive at the firm’s headquarters.
‘It looks like he has been a naughty boy’