McDonald's China boss to retire

McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, said Jeffrey Schwartz is retiring as head of its operations in China and will be replaced by Kenneth Chan.

Chan, 44, was previously regional manager of McDonald's operations in Malaysia, Taiwan and Korea and managing director of its restaurants in Singapore, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. Chan will take over as China chief executive officer today although Schwartz, 55, will remain at the company until April 1, the statement said.

McDonald's is sticking with plans to expand in Asia, aiming to gain market share as the global economic slump pushes commodity prices down and forces people to cut spending, Tim Fenton, the company's president for Asia, the Middle East and Africa, said Feb. 12. The restaurant chain will open 175 outlets in China this year, as many as 25 stores in India, 70 in the Middle East, 30 in Australia and 100 in Japan, he said.

The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company, which had 1,050 stores in China as of Feb. 12, cut the prices of Extra Value meals at its outlets in the country last month by as much as 21 percent to increase sales amid slowing economic growth.

Chan has been with McDonald's for 12 years and worked in various departments from marketing to human resources, today's statement said. Schwartz is a 40-year McDonald's veteran who started out serving burgers with the company at the age of 15 and became head of its China operations in June 2005.