Andrew James McKenna Sr. (September 17, 1929 – February 7, 2023) was an American businessman and chairman emeritus of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

from 2016 until his death, having been chairman from 2004 to 2016, and a director from 1991.

Early life

McKenna was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 17, 1929. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

with a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing, followed by a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from

DePaul University College of Law DePaul University College of Law is the law school of DePaul University, a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 125 full- and part-time faculty members and enrolls more than 500 students in its Juri ...

Career

McKenna was chairman of McDonald's from 2004 to 2016. He was a director of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, Aon, and Skyline Corporation. McKenna and Patrick Ryan, chairman of Aon together owned 19.7% of the Chicago Bears. McKenna owned Schwarz Supply Source Inc, a Morton Grove-based paper company, which is a supplier to McDonald's, "making him something less than totally independent", according to ''

Crain's Chicago Business ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications. History The first issue of ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is dated April 17, 1978. In 1977, when Crain Communicati ...

''.

Personal life and death

McKenna married Mary Joan Pickett on June 20, 1953, and they had five daughters and two sons. His son Andrew J. McKenna Jr. is a former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. McKenna died in Winnetka, Illinois on February 7, 2023, at the age of 93.

Awards

McKenna was inducted as a laureate of

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois The Lincoln Academy of Illinois is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to recognizing contributions made by living Illinoisans. Named for Abraham Lincoln, the Academy administers the Order of Lincoln, the highest award given b ...

and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2000 in the area of Social Services.

References

1929 births 2023 deaths McDonald's people American food industry business executives DePaul University College of Law alumni Businesspeople from Chicago University of Notre Dame Trustees Mendoza College of Business alumni {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub