"I've been at McDonald's for 10 years," yelled Nancy Salgado, 26, who works at a McDonald's in Logan square.
"I've been at McDonald's for 40 years," Stratton replied, garnering scattered applause from the audience.
Stratton, 57, became president of McDonald's USA in November of 2012, tasked with boosting lagging sales. He had previously been responsible for design, operations, training, performance, training and security for the chain's nearly 34,000 restaurants.
Stratton's team oversaw the redesign of the majority of the chain's 14,000 restaurants to make room for the McCafe beverage program, which has added $1 billion in sales annually. Adding espresso-based drinks, smoothies and frappes required a multiyear effort to equip the U.S. restaurants for the program, which in some stores includes a dedicated counter.
Stratton began his career at McDonald's as a teenager behind the counter in a Detroit restaurant 40 years ago, making $1.60 an hour.
He held a variety of positions in the U.S. market before being named president of its West division in 2001.
He was soon named chief restaurant officer for McDonald's USA and took over the global position in 2005.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-04/business/chi-minimum-wage-protesters-mcdonalds-20131004_1_mccafe-chief-restaurant-officer-mcdonald