McDonald’s Splits U.S. Marketing Role as Alyssa Buetikofer Exits

Leadership decision

McDonald’s split its top U.S. marketing role after Alyssa Buetikofer chose to leave the chain after 15 years. The company is searching for a permanent U.S. chief marketing officer, and Morgan Flatley will add interim U.S. chief creative officer duties to her global CMO and new business ventures remit.

McDonald’s U.S. comparable sales dipped 0.2% in the third quarter, while global comparable sales rose 1.5%. The mixed results give the reorganization a measurable commercial backdrop, although the report does not link the sales moves to the leadership change.

McDonald’s said the new structure should help the chain “move faster.” Buetikofer’s reason for leaving is personal: according to an internal memo obtained by Adweek, she wants to spend more time with her family.

Her succession came after Tariq Hassan’s 2025 departure. Buetikofer had held the combined U.S. chief marketing and customer experience officer role for less than two years before deciding to step down.

Flatley served as U.S. chief marketing and digital customer experience officer from 2017 to 2021. She returns to the market as interim chief creative officer while retaining her global marketing and new business ventures responsibilities.

What does this change for U.S. marketing?

For now, McDonald’s has a temporary creative leader and an open permanent CMO position. Flatley will handle chief creative officer duties while continuing her global work. The company has not disclosed who will own the customer experience side of Buetikofer’s former position.

The practical change is a temporary division of leadership responsibilities. It gives the chain a named executive for U.S. creative work and a continuing interim executive for the broader U.S. CMO search. It does not settle who will run the combined marketing and customer experience remit after a permanent CMO arrives.

Flatley’s U.S. tenure gives her experience with the market and digital customer experience. Her current remit differs from the combined role Buetikofer held, while also adding a U.S. assignment to an already global portfolio. The structure therefore relies on the interim executive to operate across both levels.

The operating backdrop

The U.S. sales result was negative while the global measure was positive in the period cited. The 0.2% U.S. dip and 1.5% global increase do not explain the reorganization, and the available figures do not establish a cause. They do show that McDonald’s entered the leadership change with different sales trajectories in the U.S. and globally.

The personnel timeline is short. Buetikofer followed Hassan in 2025, then moved toward an exit after less than two years in the role. Flatley’s interim appointment brings back an executive who previously held U.S. marketing and digital customer experience responsibilities from 2017 to 2021.

Leadership timeline

• 2017-2021: Morgan Flatley served as U.S. chief marketing and digital customer experience officer.
• 2025: Tariq Hassan departed, and Buetikofer succeeded him as U.S. chief marketing and customer experience officer.
• Less than two years into the role: Buetikofer chose to leave McDonald’s after 15 years at the company.
• Current interim period: Flatley will add the U.S. CCO remit while McDonald’s searches for a permanent U.S. CMO.

McDonald’s has not disclosed the permanent CMO’s start date. Until that appointment, Flatley’s additional remit is the operating arrangement for U.S. creative leadership, and the search is the next disclosed decision point.