Business
McDonald's African American Executive Featured in New Advertising Campaign
By Nicole Neal
Mar 15, 2008, 05:27

One of McDonald's top African American executives is featured in new advertising highlighting career opportunities within McDonald's. This is the latest in an Employment Opportunity campaign that was first introduced in 2005.

James Collins, Vice President and General Manager of McDonald's Greater Southwest Region, oversees marketing, finance, operations, franchising, training and human resources for over 700 restaurants located throughout Oklahoma, New Mexico, northern Texas and Arkansas. Collins is featured in this year¡¦s campaign. Collins started as a McDonald's crew member back in 1976, went to work for other places and rejoined the company in 1985.

"I came back to McDonald's as a store management trainee because I recognized all of the opportunities that were available for me, not just at this one Cleveland-area restaurant, but also at other restaurants and the company itself," said Collins."I recognized then that McDonald¡¦s creates an environment for people to be successful. The company will make available resources-training, mentors and development opportunities-all of which motivate and inspire employees to excel."

The advertising campaign includes print ads in March issues of Rolling Out and JET magazines, and the April issue of Black Enterprise, as well as radio and online advertising, to showcase the great employment opportunities available at McDonald's.


McDonald's African American Campaign

Also as part of the campaign, Collins will have a page on the popular social networking site Facebook.com and MySpace.com, as well as BlackPlanet.com, where people can learn more about how James flipped his first job at McDonald's into a career. Collins' story will also be featured on www.365black.com, McDonald's portal for celebrating the African American community.

"My story at McDonald's is just one of thousands among the McDonald's employees who joined the company as crew members and who are now leading major aspects of the company," said Collins, one of seven African American general managers among McDonald's 22 regions.

"James is an inspiring example of what opportunities exist at McDonald¡¦s and the pride that we feel for our employees at all levels throughout the organization," said Neil Golden, Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald's USA. ¡§Our hope that people who are familiar with McDonald's as a great place to eat will take another look at the opportunities the company provides as an employer."

McDonald's and its franchisees are among the nation's largest employers of working parents, teenagers, seniors and individuals with special needs. McDonald's trains more women and minorities than any other employer. Women and minorities represent more than 50 percent of the McDonald's workforce.