Laura Townsend Email & Phone Number

United States

In my role as VP, People & Culture I now focus the majority of my time on organization and people management which has been only a portion of my prior role as COO. Advocacy for our people has been a feel good and rewarding experience which led me to choose this direction. In this role I lead and direct the functions of all people efforts including support to the CEO on strategic plans for the organizational structure and related roles & responsibilities to foster growth and the future evolution of MAG supporting its mission. I have oversight of overall talent management including building job requirements, prospect recruitment, hiring and onboarding staff, career path and succession planning. I lead compensation planning & management including employment benefits, bonus & merit processes, policies & practices. I oversee the employee performance management processes, learning & development, employee satisfaction evaluation & improvement efforts, culture and value development, and human resource data and analytics management. Finally, I have oversight for MAG's relationship with our external Professional Employer Organization and related systems/platforms they offer to support Human Resource efforts.

Greater Chicago Area

Lead MAG efforts on payments operations as the subject matter expert and primary relationship to members, sponsors, and payment brands driving positive change in the payments industry through collaboration and advocacy of merchants’ interests. • Spearhead technical and operational efforts regarding merchant payments including assessment of network rules, regulatory matters, and their implications on payment processing.• Influence operational improvements and future roadmaping for industrywide payment innovation to enhance the payments ecosystem that is equitable among all stakeholders.• Provide information and education on topics of interest to the merchant community, and the payments industry as a whole, in an effort to increase member knowledge and peer-to-peer sharing on operational best practices.• Represent MAG to various standards’ bodies and forums with focus on payments operations and advocating for merchant member interests which align with MAG strategic plans.

Oabkrook, Il

In addition to all cashless/digital payment product responsibilities, my product management role expanded to lead a team of product owners responsible for all omni-channel capabilities including customer profile/preferences, menu/nutrition/ordering, deals, cart/checkout/payment, analytics, and accessibility.Team's responsibilities include:- Capability roadmap alignment and prioritization with channel and engagement leads- Alignment and calibration with applicable channel and engagement leads- Collect market requirements + define global requirements - Participating in design sprints defining the user experience- Participation in grooming sessions with IT as part of the development efforts - User acceptance testing of the capability experience + any remediation efforts- Definition, measurement, and action plans in response to KPIs- Engagement in usability plans & testing

Oabkrook, Il

In addition to cashless payment acceptance, my responsibilities expanded to include product management of digital payment within the newly formed the Global Digital Office under the Chief Digital Officer.• Lead effort to develop digital payment products across various customer interactions including mobile, web commerce, self-order kiosk and other emerging innovative consumer experience opportunities around payments• Influence global strategic direction for partnerships, innovation, and execution of payment solutions• Create customer experience strategy and product roadmap for a variety of digital payment experiences• Author payment experience definition artifacts including narratives, requirements, and use cases• Collaborate with cross functional teams in the areas of customer experience design and brand marketing to align and execute consumer digital payment program strategy• Lead digital activation strategy for Ronald McDonald's House Charities with a team of skills based volunteers

Oakbrook, Il

• Advisor to the Treasurer, CIO, CFO, AOW leadership and US Owner/Operator leadership as the subject matter expert regarding cashless acceptance • Lead negotiator of cashless acceptance contracts • Advisor to APMEA, Europe, US, and Canadian cross-functional cashless program teams on building relationships and negotiation of acceptance deals with card networks and acquirer/processors leveraging global relationships• Partnered in the launch of the first Global Cashless Summit bringing a cross functional team of experts across all AOWs and Corporate to develop a global strategy for cashless knowledge sharing, development of standards, and best practices.• Primary McDonald’s and QSR small-ticket merchant representative in industry forums intended to influence the future of payments among industry stakeholders including Treasurer and seat on the EMV Migration Forum Steering Committee and Merchant Advisory Group Board of Directors• Lead on cross-functional team for strategic roadmap of cashless payment initiatives and priorities including advanced smart routing and digital payments • Lead of a small-ticket special interest group to document a comment letter regarding the Dodd-Frank to the Federal Reserve co-authored by the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR), a sub-team of the National Retail Federation (NRF), and the International Franchise Association (IFA)

• Lead representative from Treasury in cross-functional launch of the US national cashless acceptance and gift card programs resulting in estimated sales growth of 2-3%.• Developed and implemented pilot program of domestic payroll cards for McOpCo employees resulting in a $600K reduction of corporate costs annually, increased store manager efficiency by 2-3 hours per pay period, and a 3% reduction in employee costs per pay period. • Assessed, implemented, and administered the European Pooling program resulting in over $1.5 million in cost savings annually across the corporation and 10 international subsidiaries. Developed and maintained monthly financial reporting for senior management on program results. • Managed Corporate Cash Management team responsible for $50B in funds transfers annually, $8M in domestic bank fees, activity in 1,000+ domestic bank accounts daily, $100M in intercompany loans, $600K in outstanding short-term investments, $800K in outstanding commercial paper borrowings, and $4B in foreign exchange transactions.• Managed the selection and monitoring of investment managers responsible for a portfolio of $1.5B on behalf of the Administrative Committee to the corporation’s Profit Sharing and Savings Plan. • Managed the selection and monitoring of $125M in mutual fund investments for the pooled McDonald’s charities Investment Program (McCIP).• Educated corporate personnel on treasury management and related products available in the marketplace that offer efficiencies across the global organization for our international subsidiaries, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and McDonald’s Ventures including Redbox, Boston Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Pret A Manger

Oakbrook, Il

• Manage team responsible for processing functions including sales & use tax returns, store insurance, FCC licenses, bank reconciliations, sales deposit forecasting, vendor maintenance, financial statements, accounts receivable/payable, fixed assets, crew payroll, and garnishments for corporate restaurants• Provide financial analysis and customer service to regional personnel and other corporate departments• Manage team responsible for the accounting of restaurant acquisitions and sales between the corporation and franchisees• Review account reconciliations to ensure application of proper accounting practices related to gain line recognition, joint partnership formations/dissolutions, asset recording, and like-kind exchanges• Prepare and analyze monthly profit & loss statements of company owned McDonald’s restaurants with ~ $1.5M in annual sales• Provide financial management training and consulting to regional personnel at the restaurant level with emphasis on critical profitability measures including food cost and crew labor

Chicago, Il

auditor for the client of CNA insurance

Bachelor Of Science, Accounting

Accounting