Christopher Whitfield Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

Bolingbrook, Il, Us

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Operations Officer for Chicago and Greater Indiana, comprising over $2B in annual sales. Responsibilities including franchising and operations execution. Accelerated Operations Program; selected development program, focused on operations and field responsibilities.

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Enterprise innovation (most recently: Head of Innovation, McDonald’s Global)• Program Lead of CEO-sponsored innovation program focused on automation, transforming customer and restaurant experiences through the application of AI, robotics, and digital solutions• As Program Lead, set new strategic direction and delivered to milestones on time and within budget, responsible for product / cross-functional leadership team of 75+ and annual budget of $40M+, reporting to an SLT-level steering committee • Adopted a new-to-McDonald's, product-based operating model to deliver innovation program work, which helped maintain pace of program execution through 2020 despite COVID-19 uncertainty • Applied lessons from this new approach to enterprise-wide innovation in subsequent years, leading change effort and capability build by improving resource allocation and integrating milestone-based planning and design thinking into McDonald's innovation processes• Drove maturation of 'Automated Order Taker' technology, a conversational voice AI order-taking system, and played lead role in McDonald's sale of Apprente to IBM in ‘Q4 2021• Led initial sprint evaluation and development efforts for 'Order Ahead Lane' opportunity, a digital-first restaurant currently operating in Dallas-Fort Worth• Outlined vision for new innovation facility 'Speedee Labs' due to open early 2024 at McDonald’s HQ in downtown Chicago, and led architecture and design process for the site• Selected for 'Committed To Lead' 2021 Cohort, one of 14 high-potential leaders chosen for top McDonald's training program

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Chicago, Illinois, Us

• Drove storyline, analysis, and overall meeting preparation for annual Board Strategy Session• Led annual planning process including synthesis of performance and outlook across top 10 global markets, focused on digital, delivery, estate modernization, and operations excellence• Established new competitive intelligence capabilities to build awareness of restaurant competitor activities, which are still utilized by senior management today• Drove analysis of total shareholder return profile to inform overall growth algorithm • Enabled deployment of the Experience of the Future (EOTF) program by sharing learnings across global markets; program modernized 30,000+ restaurants with digital elements

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• Led revenue growth management program at global food manufacturer with $10B+ revenue; objectives included enhancing effectiveness of promotions to drive top- and bottom-line growth while maintaining the health of the business, and instilling the organization and governance approach to drive impact with retailers; expect annual impact of $150M+ from implementation • Led transformation program at a $9B regional US grocer focused on pricing and promotions, integrating new promotions planning processes, pricing methodologies, and consumer segmentations; objectives were to improve share and store-on-store sales in declining regions and categories, targeting a $200M annual impact; advised senior merchants on success factors for transformation

• Led winner of McKinsey New Venture Competition to secure seed funding from internal investment board, enabling development of minimum viable product and business development activities• Successfully led team to meet seed investment round milestones, including leading the build of a client pipeline of 30+ small commercial insurance carriers not currently clients of McKinsey• Defined path the scale venture, outlining 18-24 month vision for solution and commercial model

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Defined course of action for global beer manufacturer in event of major transaction (the largest in industry history), including sizing and evaluating feasibility of potential top-line synergies from the deal, such as price realization through improved innovation deployments

On secondment from McKinsey for six months.• Led cross-functional team to define optimal future distribution network structure based on tradeoffs between costs, inventory levels, and customer service considerations• Outlined call-to-action for increasing consumer database capabilities to support marketing activities, shared by CMO with Board of Directors • Diagnosed opportunity to optimize value-added-services in the Kraft distribution network, sizing financial opportunity and operational tradeoffs

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Representative Engagement Summary (Engagement Manager, Associate, and Business Analyst roles)Corporate Strategy• Developed next-generation technology platform for leading US retailer, outlining overall strategic approach and specific elements of the platform aimed at improving merchant decision-making• Analyzed and sized opportunities to drive growth in cross-category shopping for leading US retailer, including ID of category-specific strategies to improve customer perception and shopping experience• Defined sustainability strategy for packaged goods client, including approach to valuing client sustainability activities based on economic, environmental, and social impacts; approach piloted in several global BUs• Devised brand portfolio strategy for large food manufacturer, including identification of potential acquisition targets• Recommended retail brand launch for large food manufacturer, evaluating viability of channel entry based on price and consumer segment dynamics; included modeling retail channel opportunity, accounting for impact of price elasticity, cannibalization and halo effect between channelsOperational / Organizational Improvements• Optimized water footprint of a mining and chemical processing client by providing strategy to minimize fresh water consumption and address long-term liabilities associated with water retained at facilities• Developed a shared services strategy for centralization of back office processes at large packaged goods company; included evaluating maturity of processes, benchmarking locations for new site, and defining end-state organizational structure• Identified gross margin improvement opportunities for power generation client through analysis of current plant performance and potential to improve responses to power market signals• Managed multiple cross-functional client teams to drive generation of material cost savings ideas as part of a $200M cost transformation program at business aviation manufacturer

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• Managed day-to-day operations at three $0.5M private equity portfolio companies, including human resource decisions• Led proposal meeting for transportation partnership with local area hospital focused on providing cancer patientstransportation to daily chemotherapy appointments; modeled financial impact for both hospital and Turris Capital• Developed internal medical billing capabilities, followed by management of outsourcing tasks to a specialized firm

• Diagnosed pricing processes for an information solutions company, highlighting best practices and areas for development• Examined and modeled pricing and rebate options in the managed care space for a pending pharmaceutical launch• Developed and led a cross-functional workshop, preparing client for market developments related to drug launch

Century City, Ca, Us

Boston, Ma, Us

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Marketing

B.S., Materials Science & Engineering

Education record

Education record