The CEO who eats McDonald’s every day of the week in South Africa

McDonald’s South Africa chief executive officer Greg Solomon said he eats McDonald’s around five times a week, drinks their coffee, and is a regular McCafé visitor.

Solomon revealed his McDonald’s eating habits during the annual Hendrik van der Bijl Memorial Lecture at the University of Pretoria (UP) on 10 October 2024.

It is an annual event hosted by the South African Academy of Engineering in collaboration with UP’s Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology.

Solomon is a civil engineer and successful business leader who has been at the helm of McDonald’s South Africa since June 2009.

He started his career as a civil engineer at Bateman Engineering before joining McDonald’s South Africa as a construction manager in 1998.

He became operations director in 2006 and executive director in 2007. In 2009, he was promoted to managing director and CEO.

Under his guidance, the fast-food franchise has grown rapidly to around 400 restaurants and employs more than 15,000 people.

He said listening to the people who work for him and recognising when something needs to change were core to their growth and success.

“Technology, digitisation, and modernisation will play a bigger role in business, but people and culture will remain the biggest competitive advantage,” he said.

He told delegates that there are three essential aspects of leadership and management: leading yourself, leading others, and leading business.

Solomon added that a true leader has two prerequisites: trust and respect. “It is all about delivering on your promises and teaching someone something new today,” he said.

He advised future leaders to have contingency plans in place, be nimble, have an analytical mindset, and play out different scenarios for any future situation.

He cited three challenges that negatively impacted South African business – the COVID-19 pandemic, load-shedding, and the riots in KwaZulu-Natal.

McDonald’s South Africa, under his leadership, overcame these challenges by having prepared for future eventualities.

“To run a responsible business, you need to think ahead to respond to any unexpected challenge,” he says.

Speaking more broadly about the country, he said South African businesses, particularly the retail industry, are at a crossroads.

“We must find solutions to two important challenges: youth unemployment and purchasing power,” he said.

He believes one’s decisions can transform business, the youth, and the country. “Choices we make today will define our successes in the future,” he said.

Solomon said McDonald’s South Africa is an innovative company that likes leading rather than being fast followers.

“The question is now how we keep up with the competition, but rather how they keep up with us,” he said.

He explained that they created their own coffee and breakfast shops instead of acquiring businesses in these markets. It shows their innovative spirit.

A benefit to McDonald’s South Africa is that its counterparts in France, Germany, and Australia are ahead of them in terms of trends.

This informs many of the decisions in South Africa and the direction the business will take. “If you want to know what we are doing, just go to France,” he said.

He added that it is not all about innovation. Execution is the most important ingredient for success, and they excel at it.

“We are not here to come up with the greatest ideas. We must be strategic executors with the best service and fast and fresh food.”

Solomon added that while McDonald’s South Africa is well positioned, the competitive fast-food landscape is changing.

Their biggest challenge does not come from KFC or Burger King. Instead, it is from small businesses run by entrepreneurs.

These small businesses are gaining popularity and offer an attractive alternative to the large fast-food chains.

Eating McDonald’s nearly every day

During the question-and-answer session of the Hendrik van der Bijl Memorial Lecture, Solomon was asked how often he eats at McDonald’s.

“I am eating McDonald’s food around five times a week. I eat a lot of their breakfasts and drink a lot of their coffee. I am a big McCafé user,” he said.

He added that health is important to him. “I am an engineer, and I need to understand the health impact of what we do,” he said.

“I have spoken to many groups of medical doctors. Sometimes, it is about knowing what you eat.”

“The best thing we can tell our customers is to know how many calories they consume when they eat a Big Mac.”

Commenting on the popularity of plant-based food among younger people, he said it remains a small part of their business.

He said the younger generation focuses more on purpose, which makes the discussion about vegetarian and plant-based food relevant.

However, it is only around 1% to 2% of McDonald’s business, meaning driving too far in that direction is not economically viable.

Having said that, Solomon explained that plant-based alternatives create the impression of a progressive-thinking company. “We are, therefore, going that route,” he said.

He added that they must be honest and authentic and say they sell Big Macs, French fries, and strawberry milkshakes. “I am proud of that,” he said.

“We are a hamburger business with beef and chicken. That is what we want to focus on.”

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