McDonald’s will promote Cesar Piña to the role of senior vice president and chief supply chain officer for North America, effective Oct. 1, following the retirement of Bob Stewart, according to a June 10 press release.
A native of Colombia, Piña has worked across 80 different markets for McDonald’s, including leading the creation of the fast food giant’s regenerative agriculture framework and deforestation-free beef supply chain in Latin America.
Since joining the fast-food chain in 2014, Piña has held a range of supply chain manager roles, currently as corporate vice president of global strategic sourcing for food as part of the McDonald’s supply chain leadership team. In his new role, he will be responsible for partnering with suppliers, employees, and franchise owners and operators to improve the resiliency of the company’s supply chain. McDonald’s is the world’s largest buyer of beef.
“Cesar has made significant contributions across his 10-year McDonald’s career to drive meaningful change to our global supply chain and the System at large, and there is no doubt that he is the right leader to carry forward McDonald’s priorities,” McDonald’s EVP and Global Chief Supply Chain Officer Marion Gross said in a statement.
Piña has helped build up McDonald’s regenerative agriculture efforts, including commitments improving water and soil health, decreasing the use of chemical inputs and enhancing wildlife habitats. Recently, McDonald’s joined industry peers to form AgMission, a corporate collective focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.
“The scale and resources of McDonald’s matched with the power to convene suppliers, NGOs, academia and government stakeholders put us in a unique position to help build a resilient food supply chain,” Piña said in a statement.
Piña is set to replace Stewart, who spent more than 30 years with McDonald’s, including nearly two years as SVP and chief supply chain officer for North America. Prior to that role, Stewart played a key part in digitalizing the company’s global supply chain while spending more than 28 years in strategic sourcing.
During Stewart’s tenure, McDonald’s made efforts to improve sustainability, including entering an agreement in 2022 to purchase renewable energy from Enel North America’s Blue Jay solar project to power its supply chain. The company is also one of several fast food giants to pledge to eliminate the use of PFAS in packaging and has reported improved metrics in terms of responsible sourcing, particularly with eggs, as well as beef, fish, palm oil, soy and coffee.
Editor’s note: Nathan Owens contributed to this story.