McDonald's UK & Ireland CEO | Interns, New Menu & British Food

Jimmy's Jobs of the Future

Boxlight Creative Studio

Careers, Business, Technology

5.0 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2026

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Note: For transparency, McDonald’s have previously sponsored Jimmy’s Jobs and have been strong supporters of the show. What’s really going on inside McDonald’s? Jimmy sits down with the new UK & Ireland CEO, Lauren Schultz, inside McDonald’s HQ — with a live restaurant running behind them — to break down how one of the world’s biggest brands actually operates. They cover: The real reason McDonald’s keeps changing the menu Why UK restaurants are the busiest in the world What it’s actually like working there And why they’re now hiring thousands of young people Lauren also explains the Youth Confidence Index, why Gen Z are misunderstood at work, and how McDonald’s is trying to solve the “first job” crisis with paid work placements. Plus: menu experiments, AI vs creativity, and what it takes to run a £6M restaurant. 00:00 Intro: Inside McDonald’s HQ 01:01 The Daily Rush (Breakfast → Late Night) 02:18 First Months as CEO 03:56 The First 90 Days Playbook 05:27 Reinventing a 50-Year Brand 06:43 Why the Menu Keeps Changing 08:41 How McDonald’s Tests New Ideas 10:52 The Youth Confidence Crisis 13:52 Inside the Paid Work Experience Scheme 17:16 How Tech Is Changing Jobs 21:04 Creating “Magic Moments” in Restaurants 23:06 How Much Freedom Franchisees Really Have 24:12 Why McDonald’s Service Feels Different 24:35 What They Look for When Hiring (3 C’s) 26:22 Creativity vs AI 27:58 How She Got Into Marketing 30:33 The Happy Meal Turnaround 31:19 Why the First Job Matters So Much 34:39 Expanding the Work Experience Programme 36:01 Raising Kids With Work Ethic 39:43 British Food Taste Test 43:08 Pub Culture & Final Thoughts ********** Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Want to come on the show? hello@jobsofthefuture.co Sponsor the show or Partner with us: sunny@jobsofthefuture.co Check out our clips channel here! ⬇️ https://www.youtube.com/@JimmysJobsClips Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Sunny Winter https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnywinter/ Junior Producer: Thuy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:26.8	Visit Indeed.com slash Nexthire and sponsor your job today.
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0:38.6	with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your
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0:55.6	Shopify.com slash setup. Welcome to Jimmy's Jobs of the Future. Today we're joined by Lauren
1:02.6	Schultz, the UK and Ireland CEO of McDonald's. Now she's been in post for nine months,
1:09.5	having moved across from America, having done lots of different roles there.
1:13.6	So we spoke to her about how she's found a transition into the UK, what she makes of British food, etc.
1:19.7	But more importantly, we have also discussed with her what McDonald's are planning to do for young people in the United Kingdom
1:28.4	launching their new work experience placement. As many of you will know who've listened to the show
1:34.5	for a long time, McDonald's have been a big backer of ours supporting episodes with Pat McFadden
1:39.4	and also we did a big video documentary with them last year as well.
1:44.6	So we are huge fans of what they do because they employ almost 100,000 people under the age of 25 in the UK.
1:52.4	And my favourite fact at the moment is that sometimes British politics is talked about for being dominated by Oxbridge elites.
2:00.4	Well, since Zach Polanski's victory as leader of the Green Party last year, there are now more
	...

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