James R. Cantalupo, in apparant good health, suffered a sudden heart attack, at the start of a global meeting of McDonald's franchisees in Florida, and died.

Cantalupo, who had served with McDonald's for 28 years, retired as president and vice chairman at the world's largest restaurant chain in 2001, when Jack M. Greenberg replaced him.

However Cantalupo was called out of retirement in 2003, to reinvigorate the company, and McDonald's stock had risen 50% in just 15 months.
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MCDONALD'S CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIES
New York Times
By Kenneth N. Gilpin
April 19, 2004

James R. Cantalupo, chairman and chief executive of the McDonald's Corporation, died this morning in Orlando, Fla., apparently of a heart attack, the company said. He was 60.

Mr. Cantalupo died while attending a global meeting of McDonald's franchisees.

"Our entire McDonald's system mourns this tragic loss," Andrew J. McKenna, presiding director of McDonald's board of directors, said in a statement.

"Jim was a brilliant man who brought tremendous leadership, energy and passion to his job. He made an indelible mark on McDonald's system."...

Mr. Cantalupo joined McDonald's in 1974 after working at Arthur Young & Company. He was named a vice president in 1975 and senior vice president in 1981. In 1987, he was appointed president of McDonald's International and president and chief executive of the corporation in 1991...

Shortly after the announcement that Mr. Cantalupo had died, McDonald's said its board had named Charles H. Bell, the company's president and chief operating officer, was adding the title of chief executive.

The appointment was not a surprise. Mr. Bell, 43, was named president and chief operating officer in late 2002. Previously, he had held a number of top international positions, including president of McDonald's Europe. And he is a longtime McDonald's employee, having started with the company when he was fifteen years old.

"Like Mr. Cantalupo, Mr. Bell has strong international experience," ...a restaurant industry analyst said,..."He has worked for McDonald's for nearly 30 years. As they say, ketchup runs in his veins." ...

A longtime McDonald's executive, Mr. Cantalupo retired as president and vice chairman at the world's largest restaurant chain in 2001, apparently ending a 28-year career.

But in December, 2002 McDonald's, which was under fire from disgruntled investors, franchisees and board members due to declining earnings and erosion in its market share to rivals like Wendy's International, said that Jack M. Greenberg, who succeeded Mr. Cantalupo, would be retiring at the end of the year, and named Mr. Cantalupo to replace him.

The announcement came just nine months after McDonald's had asked Mr. Greenberg to stay on the job until 2005.

Since January of last year, Mr. Cantalupo re-energized the business, sparking higher sales by appealing to health-conscious customers, introducing entree-sized salads and offering Happy Meals with fruit and vegetables.

To placate franchisees, Mr. Cantalupo and his management team not only slowed the building of new restaurants but closed hundreds of existing ones, choosing to cultivate relationships with new and old customers.

"He can be credited with being very decisive and making very sound capital allocation decisions," said Coralie T. Witter, a restaurant analyst at Goldman Sachs. "Very quickly he convinced investors that rapid growth in the number of restaurants was no longer the right strategy."

Ms. Witter said she did not expect the strategy to change much with Mr. Bell leading the company.

"I would be very surprised if there were major changes," she said. "Mr. Bell and Mr. Cantalupo crafted a lot of this together, so it would not be logical to see a change in direction."

At the company's annual meeting in May, 2003, Mr. Cantalupo told shareholders that the goal was to significantly improve customer service, food offerings and the overall cleanliness and appearance of the restaurants.

In a speech he gave last month to Wall Street analysts, Mr. Cantalupo said "we don't want McDonald's to look and feel 50 years old to our customers. We want McDonald's to be forever young."

To emphasize that theme, the company had introduced a global advertising campaign meant to appeal to younger and hipper customers.

Ads show people break dancing, diving into the ocean with a surfboard or speeding down a water slide, all to a pop music soundtrack.

The shift in tactics was financially successful.

Last year, net income at McDonald's rose by 65 percent, to $1.47 billion. Extended restaurant hours and lower hamburger prices also contributed to rising sales in the United States during the twelve months ended March 31.

Wall Street took notice: after three years in decline, last year McDonald's stock gained 54 percent.

During early trading this morning, McDonald's stock was quoted at $26.66, down 80 cents a share....

The company, which was founded by Ray Kroc, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2005. McDonald's first offered shares to the public in 1965.

From a single hamburger stand in Southern California, today McDonald's has more than 30,000 restaurants worldwide and more than 400,000 employees....

The New York Times > Business > McDonald's Chairman and Chief Executive Dies
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Additional Biographical Information:

After eight years with Arthur Young & Company, Mr. Cantalupo joined McDonald's as Controller in 1974. He was promoted to Vice President in 1975 and Senior Vice President in 1981. Since then, Mr. Cantalupo served as District Manager in the Chicago Region, and in 1985, he was appointed a Zone Manager, Northeast U.S. He was appointed President of McDonald's International in 1987.

In December of 2002, the board booted Chairman and CEO Jack Greenberg, whose demise had been rumored for nearly a year, and brought back 28-year veteran Jim Cantalupo.Cantalupo, who succeeds Greenberg Jan. 1, 2003 is expected to pave the way to the top for Charlie Bell, 42, who is being promoted to president and chief operating officer from his current post as president of McDonald's Europe.

Cantalupo, 59, made a name for himself as head of McDonald's Corp.'s international division starting in 1987. He directed restaurant openings from Moscow to Beijing as he presided over a more than six-fold expansion in the number of overseas locations.

McDonald's operates 30,000 restaurants worldwide, including 13,300 in the United States.Yet Cantalupo, who lost the race for the top job to Greenberg four years ago and had been retired since May, is considered by investors and franchisees to have a firmer grasp of McDonald's field operations than Greenberg, a former chief financial officer.

Cantalupo is expected to scrutinize many of Greenberg's initiatives, such as acquiring ownership stakes in non-burger chains Chipotle Mexican Grill, Donatos Pizzeria, Boston Market and British-based sandwich maker Pret A Manger. Greenberg's penchant for expansion also included a McDonald's partnership with Italian fast-food chain Fazoli's to build Fazoli's restaurants in new markets.

Mr. Cantalupo is a member of the Board of Directors of Sears, Roebuck, and Company, Rohm and Haas Company, the Chicago Council of Foreign Relations, Illinois Tool Works, Inc., the Mid-America Committee, and World Business Chicago. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Chicago chapter, and served for two years as its Chairman. He is a past President of the International Federation of the Multiple Sclerosis Societies and currently serves on its Board of Directors.

Mr. Cantalupo serves on the Board of Trustees of Ronald McDonald House Charities, and previously served as a director of the Northern Trust Bank/DuPage. He is a resident of Chicago, and a graduate of the University of Illinois.