Sundar PichaiSundar Pichai earned $164M in 2023

Stephen J. Easterbrook served as the CEO of McDonald's from March 2015 until November 2019. He focused on making the company more efficient and modern by introducing the Velocity Growth Plan, aimed at revitalizing the brand and increasing efficiency. Before...

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Stephen J. Easterbrook

Ex-CEO of McDonald's

Education

Not specified

Field of Expertise

Sales & Marketing - Marketing

Sector of Economy

Consumer Cyclical

Born

January 1, 1967 - 58 years ago

CEO of McDonald's for

4 years 8 months (Mar 2015 - Nov 2019)

Previous Experience

CEO of Wagamama Limited and PizzaExpress Limited.

Holdings

See how much did Stephen J. Easterbrook make over time.

As of the end of 2023, Stephen J. Easterbrook held 5,086 shares in McDonald's, valued at over $800,000. His stock holdings saw significant fluctuations over his tenure at the company. In 2019, during a high point in his career, his...

Mar 11, 2025

Total Stock Sold

$65.99M

MCD

$65.99M

389,120 MCD shares

What if they kept their stock?

If Stephen J. Easterbrook didn't sell their stock, today they would have:
Extra MCD389,120 shares worth $71.48M.
This is 8.32% and $5.49M more than what they got when they sold the stock.

Insider Trading

See recent insider trades of Stephen J. Easterbrook.

WMT

211 shares

WMT

Sep 30, 2019

Received

WMT

226 shares

WMT

Jun 30, 2019

Received

WMT

1,676 shares

WMT

Jun 5, 2019

Received

WMT

256 shares

WMT

Mar 31, 2019

Received

WMT

268 shares

WMT

Dec 31, 2018

Received

MCD

$35.32M

MCD at $175.63/share

Oct 24, 2018

Sale

WMT

266 shares

WMT

Sep 30, 2018

Received

WMT

103 shares

WMT

Jun 30, 2018

Received

WMT

2,080 shares

WMT

May 30, 2018

Received

MCD

$28.88M

MCD at $168.32/share

Nov 21, 2017

Sale

Compensation History

See how much did Stephen J. Easterbrook make over time.

Easterbrook's compensation during his CEO years was a mix of salary, bonuses, and significant stock awards. His pay peaked in 2019 at over $17 million. Of this, about $12.9 million came from stock grants that vested based on the company’s performance metrics. This model shows a strong alignment between his earnings and McDonald’s financial success, emphasizing a pay-for-performance strategy. However, the years before 2019 saw his pay drop significantly in line with McDonald's performance philosophy. This type of compensation structure is common for high-level executives, encouraging them to drive company growth while also tying their income closely to shareholder interests.

Year

2019

Total Compensation

$18.11M

Salary

$1.16M

Board Justification

The compensation philosophy emphasizes pay-for-performance alignment, with a significant portion of compensation tied to the company's financial performance and shareholder value.

Bonus

$3.06M

Board Justification

The bonus is based on the short-term incentive plan (STIP) which rewards growth in annual operating income and comparable guest counts, with a payout of 145.5% of target for 2019.

Other

$954.81K

Board Justification

Other compensation includes contributions to retirement plans, perquisites such as car allowance, financial planning, and personal use of corporate aircraft.

Restricted Stock

$12.93M(74.13K RSU)

Board Justification

The stock awards consist of performance-based restricted stock units (PRSUs) that vested based on the company's performance metrics over the three-year period ending in 2019.

Performance Metrics

The performance metrics for 2019 included operating income growth and comparable guest count growth.