BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Mike Roberts, No. 2 executive of McDonald's Corp., has resigned suddenly as president and chief operating officer, the fast-food chain said Wednesday.
The company said Ralph Alvarez, president of McDonald's North American business, will succeed Roberts effective immediately. Alvarez will in turn be replaced by Don Thompson, 43, chief operations officer for McDonald's USA.
No reason was cited in the late afternoon announcement by CEO Jim Skinner, though in an email to employees, Roberts, 55, said the decision was his own.
"It's with deep regret that I'm announcing my resignation, a decision that I believe is right for me, my family, my career, and the company at this time," he wrote, adding that the decision "was one of the most difficult of my life."
Roberts, who has been with McDonald's for 29 years, was promoted to the company's No. 2 job in November 2004 following the resignation of former CEO Charlie Bell, who later died of cancer.
In Wednesday's statement, Skinner thanked Roberts for making the McDonald's system "stronger and more aligned than ever."
The announcement was made more than two hours after the close of regular trading. McDonald's shares fell 1 cent to 35.59 U.S. dollars on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday. They are up 5.5 percent this year and 21 percent since Skinner and Roberts took over the top two spots on Nov. 22, 2004. Enditem
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