Former McDonald’s CEO to pay company $105 million as settlement

McDonald’s former CEO Steve Easterbrook will pay the fast-food company $105 million in cash and stock, settling a lawsuit against the former CEO on Thursday.

Easterbrook was fired from the company in 2019 for having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, violating company policy. At the time of his dismissal, Easterbrook said there were no similar instances. He was fired “without cause,” allowing him to keep millions of stock-based benefits and other compensations.

The company later found out about other inappropriate relationships between Easterbrook and other employees, prompting an investigation. The investigation led to a legal battle between McDonald’s and the former CEO. McDonald’s sued Easterbrook in 2020 for lying to investigators at the time of his dismissal, concealing evidence of his misconduct, and fraud.

McDonald’s said it found “dozens of nude, partially nude or sexually explicit photographs and videos of various women, including photographs of these company employees, that Easterbrook had sent as attachments to messages from his company email account to his personal email account.”

Easterbrook had also given stock worth thousands of dollars to one of the women he was having a relationship with. 

McDonald’s wanted to hold Easterbrook “accountable for his lies and misconduct, including the way in which he exploited his position as C.E.O.,” said Enrique Hernandez Jr, McDonald’s chairman.

“During my tenure as C.E.O., I failed at times to uphold McDonald’s values and fulfill certain of my responsibilities as a leader of the company,” said Easterbrook in a statement released by the company. “I apologize to my former co-workers, the board and the company’s franchisees and suppliers for doing so.

Easterbrook must pay McDonald’s $105 million in cash and stock, which represents compensation he had received as part of his severance package.