Robert Gibbs joins McDonald's

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Former White House press secretary and senior adviser to President Obama's 2012 campaign Robert Gibbs is joining McDonald's as its global chief communications officer, the fast food chain announced on Tuesday.

Gibbs, who left his White House post in 2011, will lead McDonald’s corporate relations group, which manages government and public affairs. When he left the White House Gibbs co-founded The Incite Agency, a strategic communications firm. In 2013, he joined NBC News and MSNBC as a contributor. Gibbs has ended his relationship with the network as a result of his new role.

McDonald's is in a period of change right now. Earlier this year CEO Don Thompson retired and was replaced by Steve Easterbrook, the senior executive brand president and chief brand officer. Thompson has said he plans to overhaul customer service and revamp the restaurant's menu to improve business after sales declined in 2014.

The move to McDonald's is an interesting one for Gibbs, considering the Obama administration's push to raise the minimum wage and First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" healthy eating initiatives. In April, McDonald's raised hourly wages for company-owned restaurant staff by $1, and in the past few years has begun adding healthier options to its menus as it aims to compete with other fast casual chains such as Chipotle.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/06/robert-gibbs-joins-mcdonalds-208504.html?hp=l3_4

[ibewlu606]

1. No surprise.

Another corporate Dem cashing in. Wait until Obama can start giving $250k speeches to Wall St. insiders like HRC.

[Camelback]

2. If the clown shoes fit

Wear them.

[underpants]

3. Nice gig. Good luck Robert - kids think McD's is "gross"

That ship has sailed

[nichomachus]

4. If he could sell Obama as a "Democrat," he can sell McDonald's as "food" n/t

[appalachiablue]

10. +1. Is he in charge of fries, or shakes?

[CharlotteVale]

5. They already have a clown.

[rurallib]

6. another headline that could have been ripped from the Onion

[fasttense]

7. Really McDonalds?

He practically had his choice of where to work. So, he thought working at selling the public on greasy, unhealthy, fat laden, crappy food would be so rewarding?

Wow, what a sell out. He really is only interested in the money.

[yurbud]

8. His first move was to bash their customers

[cyberswede]

9. Man, that seems like a big step down

...credibility-wise. I'm sure the $ is great.

[kacekwl]

11. Once a mouthpiece

always a mouthpiece.

[Recursion]

12. They pushed Don Thompson over the glass cliff... good luck cleaning up their image

The guy literally worked his way up from fry cook at the Cabrini-Green McDonalds to CEO... just when the McDonalds business model started making less sense. The board resisted every attempt he made to pivot into healthier food, and then fired him when same-store sales kept dropping (gee, maybe he had a point?)

[bigwillq]

13. Gibbs.

Another grand choice by the Obama administration.