President, McDonald's USA
Joe Erlinger is President of McDonald’s USA, where he is responsible for the business operations of more than 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the United States. Most recently, he served as President, International Operated Markets, with overall responsibility for McDonald’s wholly-owned markets outside the U.S.
Joe began his McDonald’s career in Strategy and New Business Development in 2002. From there, he moved on to roles of increasing scope and responsibilities that included regional and international leadership such as Vice President & General Manager of the Indianapolis Region and Managing Director, McDonald’s Korea. In 2015, he stepped into the Chief Financial Officer role for McDonald’s High Growth Markets.
From 2016 to 2018, Joe led the High Growth segment as President. He was responsible for 6,000 McDonald’s restaurants across China, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland. During his tenure, the China and Hong Kong markets were converted to developmental licenses in the largest re-franchising transaction completed in McDonald’s history.
Joe is an alumnus of Georgetown University and lives in Chicago, IL, with his wife and three kids.
