He succeeds Terence Haynes who moves to the US as controller.

Mackay's responsibilities utilise his experience in building the financial team and developing the franchising programme in this country. "He joins the board at an important time in the development of our UK business," said Andrew Taylor, president of McDonald's Restaurants. "His ability to manage growth and profitability and his attention to detail will make him an important contributor to our future plans," continued Taylor.

Mackay, 43, joined McDonald's 17 years ago, spending 11 of them in the UK. He joined the company as a financial accounting manager and in 1983 relocated to Frankfurt. Two years later he moved to London as an accounting manager. Mackay, became an officer of the company in 1987 and was promoted to UK controller three years later. He held this position until his recent promotion.