Fired for having an affair with a subordinate, the head of McDonald’s paid the company $100 million

The agreement would make Easterbrook “accountable for clearly inappropriate behavior.”

The former head of McDonald’s, Steve Easterbrook, has reached a settlement agreement with the company in which he returned his severance package of $105 million – securities and cash. The company’s board of directors stressed that the deal would make Easterbrook “accountable for clear misconduct.” 

Easterbrook was appointed CEO of McDonald’s in 2015 and was fired in late 2019 after it became known that he had an affair with one of his subordinates. The company estimated that the top executive had thus violated existing corporate bylaws. In the summer of 2020, the case took a new turn when the media reported that Easterbrook had affairs with three more corporation employees. After that, a settlement agreement was reached. 

“During my tenure as CEO, I sometimes failed to adhere to McDonald’s values and fulfill some of my responsibilities as a company executive. I apologize to my former colleagues, the board of directors, franchisees, and suppliers of the company for this,” the former McDonald’s CEO commented.

During the period when Easterbrook was managing the business of McDonald’s, the value of the company has almost doubled. However, the total number of clients of the largest fast-food chain has decreased amid consumers’ rejection of unhealthy food.