CHICACO — Tabassum Zalotravala has been named senior vice president and chief development officer of McDonald’s USA, effective April 24.
“This role has been purposefully elevated to the US SLT (senior leadership team) as we prioritize development as part of our Accelerating Arches strategy,” said Joe Erlinger, McDonald’s US president. “Having spent the last five years investing our capital and energy into modernizing our business, we have earned the right to build new restaurants and set aggressive goals, and Tabassum is the right leader to drive our ambitions forward.”
Ms. Zalotravala was Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Chief Development Officer for the past four years. Earlier, he spent more than seven years at Panda Restaurant Group, first as Vice President of Design, Construction, Equipment and Strategic Sourcing and then as Chief Development Officer. He also worked for Arby’s Restaurant Group.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from American Intercontinental University and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.