谁该为麦当劳的萎靡现状负责？公司董事会难辞其咎

对麦当劳的热议愈演愈烈。

该公司周一公布，11月份全球同店销售额下降2.2%，美国业务跌幅最猛（下跌4.6%）。《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）报道，这是逾14年来麦当劳美国同店销售额的最大下滑。

上个月我详细介绍了麦当劳的困境，并且指出，为让这家快餐巨擘扭转颓势，首席执行官唐•汤普森正面临巨大的压力。而由于看不到任何缓解的迹象，投资者的注意力可能很快就会转向麦当劳董事会。

作为董事会首脑人物，安迪•麦肯纳1991年当选公司董事，2004年成为非执行董事长。在芝加哥，麦肯纳是个大人物，当地媒体称他为“王座背后的力量”。《芝加哥》杂志（Chicago Magazine）把麦肯纳评为100名最有影响力的芝加哥人之一，并将他描述为“其他大人物寻求建议的大人物”。他是芝加哥白袜（White Sox）和芝加哥小熊（Cubs）棒球俱乐部的董事长，现在又进入了橄榄球俱乐部芝加哥熊队（Chicago Bears）的董事会。他还在众多民间机构和公司担任董事，包括美国圣母大学（University of Notre Dame）和天主教芝加哥总教区Big Shoulders基金。

公司文件显示，麦肯纳原计划于2003年退出董事会，那一年他73岁，到了该公司规定董事退休的年龄。然而，由于当时麦当劳正在更换CEO，董事会邀请麦克纳留任，以协助完成交接。

2004年，麦当劳放宽了董事退休限制，称董事会“可以在特殊情况下提名年龄超过73岁的现任董事”。那一年，麦当劳高层厄运连连。CEO吉姆•坎塔卢波因心脏病突然离世。继任者查理•贝尔也因诊断出结肠癌而辞职。

2007年，又有两名麦当劳董事到了73岁，而强制退休规定已经了无踪迹。现在，麦肯纳已经和六位不同的CEO共过事。

麦当劳提交的最新名单显示，超过73岁的董事有三名，分别是84岁的麦肯纳、76岁的沃尔特•马瑟和79岁的罗杰•斯通。公司治理数据供应商MSCI ESG Research发现，麦当劳董事会的平均年龄为63岁，高于其他任何同类企业，比如汉堡王（Burger King，约50岁）、星巴克（Starbucks，约58岁）和百胜餐饮集团（Yum Brands，约59岁）。和其他大型餐饮企业8年的董事任期相比，麦当劳董事的任期也更长，达到了12年。

将麦当劳和更大的企业群体，比如标普500指数（S&P 500）成分股公司相比，类似的差异同样存在。田纳西大学企业治理中心（University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center）研究员拉里•福韦发现，麦当劳董事的平均任期为12年半，而这个数字在标普500指数成分股公司中为9年半。他说：“这个差距相当大。”

这一点为什么很重要呢？简而言之就是，这关乎与顾客的联系。尽管和年轻人相比，年逾七八旬的董事可能经历了更多也更有经验，但他们和千禧一代以及年轻家庭的联系也许不像前者那么紧密，而这两个群体正是麦当劳真正需要并且正在竭力争取的目标顾客。特拉华大学John L. Weinberg企业治理中心（John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware）主任查尔斯•埃尔森指出：“这就是为什么需要给董事会注入活力，他们需要有崭新的面貌。”

福韦还有另一层顾虑：长期任职的董事会成员和管理层的距离可能不足以让他们客观看待公司的表现及其面临的挑战。他问道：“当了23年的董事后，你还会有多少独立性呢？”

撰写11月份的文章时，我和麦当劳董事长麦肯纳进行了短暂的交流，他告诉我，董事会“非常支持”CEO汤普森。我也向他提出了关于董事会和董事任期的问题。他回答说，他觉得任职时间并不会削弱任何董事的独立性。直到本文发表时，麦当劳没有应要求就此发表评论。

The heat on McDonald’s just got turned up a notch.

On Monday the company reported a 2.2% decline in global same store sales for the month of November, with the U.S. market taking the biggest hit (-4.6%). The Wall Street Journal reported that the drop in the U.S. was the biggest in more than 14 years.

I detailed McDonald’s woes last month, noting that the pressure was mounting on CEO Don Thompson to turn around the fast food giant. But with no relief in sight, investors may soon turn their attention to the McDonald’s board.

Leading the group is Andy McKenna, the company’s non-executive chairman since 2004 and a director since 1991. McKenna is a Chicago heavy hitter, who has been called “the power behind the throne” by the hometown press. Chicago Magazine has put him on its list of the 100 Most Powerful Chicagoans, describing him as “a bigwig other bigwigs seek out for advice.” He has chaired the White Sox and Cubs, and is now on the board of the Chicago Bears. He has also sat on countless other civic and corporate boards, including the University of Notre Dame and the Big Shoulders Fund of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

According to company filings, McKenna planned to leave the board in 2003 when he reached McDonald’s mandatory retirement age for directors of 73. But in the interim the company went through a CEO handoff, and the board asked McKenna to stay on to aid in the transition.

The following year McDonald’s loosened the retirement rule in its proxy, saying that the board “may nominate existing members of the board over the age of 73 as candidates in exceptional circumstances.” McDonald’s was then struck by misfortune in its leadership ranks. CEO Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack while in the job. His successor, Charlie Bell, was then diagnosed with colon cancer and resigned.

By 2007, when two additional board members hit 73, the language about mandatory retirement had disappeared. McKenna has now overlapped with the tenures of six different McDonald’s CEOs.

As of the most recently filed proxy, three board members were over 73: McKenna (listed as 84), Walter Massey (76), and Roger Stone (79). MSCI ESG Research, which provides data on governance, found that the average age of a director at McDonald’s is about 63, the oldest in its peer group. Compare the figure with Burger King (about 50), Starbucks (about 58), and Yum Brands (about 59). McDonald’s directors also have a longer tenure (12 years) than those on other big restaurant company boards (eight years).

A similar spread can be found when one compares McDonald’s with an even bigger corporate universe, such as the S&P 500. Larry Fauver of the University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center found that the average number of years served by a director at McDonald’s was 12.5 versus 9.5 for the broader index. “That’s a fairly significant difference,” he told me.

Why does this matter? In a few words: connection to the company’s customers. While octogenarian and late septuagenarian directors may have more seasoning and worldly experience than young Turks, there is an argument to be made that they may not be quite as in touch with the two demographic segments that McDonald’s really needs and is struggling to attract: millennials and young families. “That’s why you need a refreshed board,” says Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. “You need to take fresh looks.”

Fauver adds another concern: Board members who have been around that long may not have enough distance from management to be objective about the company’s performance and challenges. “How independent are you after 23 years?” Fauver asks.

I spoke with McDonald’s chair McKenna briefly for my November story, in which he told me that the board is “very supportive” of CEO Thompson. I also asked McKenna about the board and its tenure. He replied that that he didn’t think length of service had deprived any of the directors of their independence. McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.