Senior Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, North America, McDonald’s USA
Michael Gonda is the Senior Vice President and Chief Impact Officer of North America for McDonald's. In this role, Michael leads efforts to drive one holistic brand strategy across Communications, state and local Government Relations, Sustainability & ESG and Philanthropy in the U.S. and Canada. Together, the teams he oversees work to engage stakeholders and communities to protect and enhance the McDonald’s brand.
Prior to his current position, Michael served as McDonald’s Global Chief Communications Officer, where he was responsible for increasing brand trust and communicating the vision and values of the business. In this role, Michael developed strategies and creative content to make McDonald’s one of the most admired brands in the world, contributing to an unprecedented increase in positive brand sentiment, employee engagement and business growth.
Before joining McDonald's, Michael held the role of Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Chobani, where he solidified brand identity and recognition, earning certifications like “Great Place to Work,” Fortune’s “Change the World,” and Fast Company’s “25 Brands that Matter Now”. Michael began his career as a reporter and earned a BA with Honors from Brown University.
Michael has been recognized as one of the 50 most influential communicators by PRWeek’s US Power List in 2022 and as one of the 100 most influential in-house communicators by PRovoke Influence in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Michael currently serves as the co-executive sponsor of McDonald’s African American Council (MA2C) where he is committed to driving representation, equity and inclusion throughout McDonald’s by putting action to allyship.
He lives in Chicago with his wife, Emma and two children, Lazlo and Indie.
