Charlie Bell
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| Charles Hamilton Bell AO | |
 Charlie Bell promoting McDonalds
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| Born | 7 November 1960 Kingsford, Australia |
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| Died | 17 January 2005 (aged 44) Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | Our Lady or the Rosary Primary School, Marcellin College Randwick |
| Occupation | Business Excutive, President, CEO McDonalds |
| Title | Order of Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Leonie |
| Children | Alex |
| Parents | Mother: Margaret Father: Charlie |
| Website The Charlie Bell Scholarship Program |
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Charles Hamilton Bell AO (7 November 1960 – 17 January 2005) was an Australian business executive. He served as president of the American-based fast-food chain McDonald's from December 2002, and additionally as chief executive officer from April to November 2004. Bell was the first non-American to hold that position.[1]
Charlie grew up in Sydney, Australia, and attended Marcellin College Randwick. Bell began his career at McDonald's at the age of 15, working at the Kingsford restaurant in Sydney. At the age of 19, he became the youngest store manager in Australian McDonald's history. At age 29 he was on the board of the Australian subsidiary, becoming its managing director at 33.[2]
He quickly rose through the ranks of corporate McDonald's and when CEO Jim Cantalupo died suddenly on April 19, 2004, Bell was chosen to take his place. During his short time at the head of the company, its greatest problem was criticism of the healthiness of its food, which was exacerbated by the release of the documentary film Super Size Me. Bell led efforts to add more healthier choices to the McDonald's menu, and allow parents to substitute juice and apple slices for fries and soft drinks for their children. The "Supersize" option was also eliminated. During his brief tenure, his initiatives resulted in a successful turnaround in McDonald's fortunes.[3][4] Bell was also responsible for introducing the McCafe, a coffeehouse franchise that serves gourmet coffee, cakes and pastries and premium teas.[5]
Soon after becoming CEO, Bell was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had surgery on 7 May 2004, just over two weeks after taking over as CEO. He continued working for a time, but eventually resigned to battle the disease, which became incurable. In December 2004, McDonald's paid for the terminally-ill Bell to be returned to his native Australia in a specially equipped jet. He died shortly afterwards at his apartment in the City with his family around him.
The deaths of Cantalupo and Bell, who died relatively young, have led some to wonder whether being an executive at a company which produced allegedly unhealthy food led to their illnesses, particularly as Bell was known to eat McDonald's products often. Similarly, two successive CEOs of Wendy's, Jim Near and Gordon Teter, died in their fifties of heart attacks. It is not known whether Bell's diet contributed to his cancer.[6]
Bell was posthumously made an Officer of the Order of Australia in June 2005.[7]
[edit] Other appointments
- Member of the Global Board of Ronald McDonald House Charities, serving till 2001.
- Member of the Business Council of Australia.
- Member of the Advisory Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation from 1993 to 1999.
- Chairman of the Small Business Deregulation Task Force, appointed by John Howard (Prime Minister of Australia) in 1996.
- Trustee of the Sydney Theatre Company, between 1997 and 2000.
- Director of the Pact Youth Theatre in Sydney, Australia between 1988 to 1997.
[edit] References
- ^ From NNDB
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5199/is_2005/ai_n19120137 Biography
- ^ "Big Mac's Makeover: McDonald's Turned Around". The Economist. 2004-10-14. http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_PNRVRJR. Retrieved on 2008-04-08.
- ^ http://www.licenseenews.com/news/news203.html Charlie Bell's Rise to the Top
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/19/1095532175865.html?from=moreStories Australian chief breaks tradition at McDonald's
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Charlie-Bell-a-fat-and-happy-boy-from-Oz/2005/01/20/1106110860641.html Posthumous
- ^ http://www.s9.com/Biography/Bell-Charles-H S9
- ^ http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/news/corppr/2005/cpr_01162005.html McDonald's Press Release 01/17/2005
[edit] External links
- Biography
- The Charlie Bell Scholarship Program
- Business Review Weekly ~ 5 June 2003
- The Weekend Australian Magazine ~ 23 October 2004
- Replacing former CEO
- Posthumous
- Posthumous by Hon. Alexander Downer, MP
- Estate Payout
- Charlie Bell Quotes
- Humorous Satire on Charlie Bell
- Dead Aussie McDonald's chief educated by the Marist Brothers
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