“This was the longest executive search process that’s ever been undertaken,” jokes Adrian Crean as he sits in one of the trendy training rooms above the McDonald’s restaurant on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
He’s not wrong, though.
Last October, Crean became the first Irish managing director of the McDonald’s chain in Ireland.
That’s something, considering the Illinois icon opened its first outlet here, on Dublin’s Grafton Street, back in 1977. For many, it was the first tangible taste of Americana. Today, McDonald’s has 81 restaurants in Ireland, 12 of which are company-controlled, the rest run by a tight group of 27 franchisees. Read on.