Ralph A
Chairman of the Board
Board of Directors
Hatchtech
Spain
Biography
Ralph Alvarez is chairman of the board of Skylark Co., Ltd., a leading restaurant operator in Japan. He was elected to the board of directors of Eli Lilly and Company in 2009. Born in Cuba, he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami. Mr. Alvarez retired as president and chief operating officer of McDonald’s Corporation in 2009. Prior to joining McDonald’s in 1994, he held leadership positions at Burger King Corporation and Wendy’s International, Inc. He held a variety of leadership roles throughout his career, including chief operations officer and president of the central division, both with McDonald’s USA. Before joining the U.S. business, Alvarez was president of McDonald’s Mexico. From July 2004 until January 2005, he was president of McDonald’s USA, where he led a team that aligned employees, owner/operators, and suppliers behind the company’s “Plan to Win” strategy – the catalyst for the turnaround of the U.S. business. Alvarez served as president of McDonald’s North America from January 2005 until August 2006. In this role, he was responsible for all the McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. Alvarez became president and chief operating officer in August 2006. He set the global strategy and directed operations for 32,000 McDonald’s restaurants in 118 countries.
Research Interest
Business Management
