Agri-Food Americas

Edward H Rensi, former president and chief executive officer of McDonald’s USA, retired from McDonald’s in 1998. He became a member of McDonald’s Board of Directors in 1982.

Ed Rensi has devoted his early professional career to McDonald’s, joining the company in 1966 as a grill man and part-time manager trainee in Columbus, Ohio. He was promoted to restaurant manager within a year and went on to hold nearly every position in the restaurant and field offices, including franchise service positions in Columbus and Washington, DC.

In 1972 he was named Philadelphia district manager, and later became regional manager and regional vice president. In 1978, he was transferred from the field to the company’s home office in Oak Brook, Illinois as vice president of Operations and Training, where he was responsible for personnel and product development. In 1980, he became executive vice president and chief operations officer, and was appointed senior executive vice president in 1982. Ed Rensi was promoted to president and chief operating office of McDonald’s USA in 1984. In 1991, he was named chief executive officer.

As president and chief executive officer, his responsibilities included overseeing all domestic company-owned and franchisee operations, in addition to providing direction relative to sales, profits, operations and service standards, customer satisfaction, product development, personnel, and training. Ed Rensi was directly responsible for management of McDonald’s USA, which consisted of eight geographic zones and 40 regional offices.

Rensi’s enthusiasm and commitment to the company during his 31-year tenure helped establish McDonald’s as the world’s most successful quick service restaurant. In 1985, Rensi marked a major McDonald’s milestone by serving the 50 Billionth McDonald’s hamburger with Ronald McDonald, a character known to children around the world, and Dick McDonald, one of the two brothers who created the McDonald’s concept in the late 1940’s in San Bernardino, California.

Major innovations spearheaded and overseen by Ed Rensi include the:
-Enhancement of McDonald’s breakfast menu
-Development of Chicken McNuggets in 1983, fresh-tossed salads in 1987, the McChicken sandwich in 1989, low-fat frozen yogurt in 1990, and the McGrilled Chicken Classic in 1994 and the McRib.
-Expansion of the drive-thru concept, which accounts for more than half of all of McDonald’s restaurant sales today
-Development of the Extra Value Meal concept, a key sales driver for the company.

During his 13-year term as president, McDonald’s experienced phenomenal growth. U.S. sales doubled to more than $16 billion, the number of the U.S. restaurants grew from nearly 6,600 to more than 12,000 and the number of U.S. franchisees grew from 1,600 to more than 2,700. Today 26 million customers are served each day globally at McDonald’s. Under Ed Rensi’s leadership, McDonald’s became one of the most recognized brands in the world, the next being Coca-Cola, the only soft drink supplier to McDonald’s today.

Known for his speaking ability to motivate an audience of any size, Rensi enjoyed visiting McDonald’s employees in the field and encouraging them to deliver McDonald’s famed operating principle of “QSC&V” or Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value. People, Sales Profit.

Ed was once asked by a business reporter what it was like to run a billion dollar company and Ed replied ”The truth of the matter is I only ran one restaurant at a time, nearly 20,000 times.”

In another article on Ed Rensi it was once noted that his operations expertise was so startling, he can “recite verbatim product procedures, cooking times, holding times, quality guidelines, even Operations and Training Manual page numbers. If you’re looking for someone with the answers, Ed Rensi has them, and he thinks every operations person in the McDonald’s system should have them as well.”

At one point, Rensi had business cards printed up that identified his position as “Chief Hamburger Griller, French Fryer, ShakeMaker and Cheerleader.” He believed that those were his responsibilities, because “our business is to operate great restaurants, we manage restaurants for the benefit of the customer.”

When asked about his level of involvement in the field, Ed Rensi once said, “It’s so important for us all to visit those places and people where the real work gets done, where the unheralded heroes of this organization really are. I felt privileged and honored to shake the hands of these people in the restaurants who are so dedicated and care so much. I really believe they are the heroes of McDonald’s.”

While working in McDonald’s Philadelphia region in the 1970’s, Rensi was instrumental in the development of the first Ronald McDonald House, a temporary residence for families of children with serious illnesses that has grown to include 360 houses globally. He was a member of the International Advisory Board for the Ronald McDonald House Program, and previously served as its chairman.

In 1988, Ed Rensi received the distinguished President’s Volunteer Award from President Ronald Reagan for his extensive volunteer efforts with Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities and Ronald McDonald House.

He has been active in the rights of America’s disabled, lobbying for the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was the keynote speaker on the President’s Council on Employing the Disabled. This involvement was in part motivated by the fact that 75 percent of all McDonald’s U.S. restaurant employed at least one person with a physical or mental disability.

Over the years, Ed Rensi has been extremely supportive of Hispanic causes, serving as the chairman co-founder of the National Hispanic Corporate Council Institute. He also served on the Board of Governors of the American National Red Cross serving with Senator Elizabeth Dole and was involved with the League Against Child Abuse.

Rensi received various awards during his career at McDonald’s, including the 1988 Leadership Award from Restaurant Business magazine, He was named one of six “multi-Unit 1991 Golden Chain Operators of the Year” by Nation’s Restaurant News. In 1985 he was presented with the Porvello Award by The Franciscan University for humanitarianism, in 1989 he received the Prince Matchabelli National Hero Award, and in 1991 he received the Good Samaritan of the Year Award from Good Samaritan Hospital. In 1994 he received the Italian American Award and in 1995 he received the Chicago Italian-American Man of the Year Award. He has been listed in Who’s Who in America since 1976. He also received an honorary PhD from Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.

His special interests include sporting clays, antique trucks, fishing, boating, aviation, photography and motorsports.

Ed Rensi has served on the boards of directors for FAT Brands, Snap On Tools, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The National Italian American Foundation, the International Speedway Corporation, Jafra Cosmetics, Great Wolf Resorts and Freedom Group.

After 14 years as a President and CEO, Ed left McDonald’s to pursue one of his greatest passions, auto racing. From that very first auto race until today, Rensi has been instrumental in the development of Team Rensi Motorsports. Rensi has always been a huge supporter of NASCAR and makes many appearances throughout the year to promote the sport. During the 2003 NASCAR Busch season, TRM won 4 races, posted 13 top-five and 22 top 10 finishes. In a single season on the Craftsman Truck Series Team Rensi scored two top five and seven top 10 finishes.

Ed Rensi is a graduate of The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH where he holds a B.S. in Business Education.

Ed Rensi and his wife, Barbara Tyrrell live in Sarasota, FL

Currently, Ed Rensi continues to be :
-Chairman of the Board of FAT Brands, headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA
-Executive Chairman of the Board Room Initiative
-Large Scale Restaurant Consultant
-Advisor Board Member of:
• Gigi Roo, employment platform
• Clocked In, employment platform
• Lease Cake, real estate management platform
• Bite Ninja, remote employee application platform

Ed Rensi’s wife Barbara Tyrrell has extensive restaurant experience of over 30 years, including being a former franchisee of Dunkin Donuts, McDonald’s, Firehouse Subs and is currently a Small Business Local Marketing Consultant.

Dr. Dave Kohl is an academic Hall of Famer in the College of Agriculture at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.  Dr. Kohl has keen insight into the agriculture industry gained through extensive travel, research, and involvement in ag businesses.  He has traveled over 10 million miles; conducted more than 7,000 presentations; and published more than 2,500 articles in his career.  Dr. Kohl’s wisdom and engagement with all levels of the industry provide a unique perspective into future trends. 

Greyson is a Government Affairs Manager at the US-China Business Council. He previously served as a Founding Team Member and Assistant Director of Whittle School & Studios’ Center of Excellence on International Cooperation. He also previously served as an appointee in the Obama administration’s Department of Education Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He has also worked in the tech sector at Chainbridge Technologies and Digital Promise.  

He is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and is also the Director of Research for the Black China Caucus. He holds his Masters in International Trade and Economic Diplomacy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He attended Wofford College for his Bachelors, where he received a Princeton in Asia Fellowship. He speaks Chinese and has lived in Beijing and Shanghai. 

Audrey Brown serves as the Vice President of Gourmet at Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a leading national food distributor. In this role she oversees category management, procurement, new product development and strategic sourcing for an expansive portfolio which includes Meat & Poultry, Cheese, Pastry as well as Specialty products such as Oils & Vinegars, Mushrooms, and Gourmet grocery.   

With over nine years of experience in the Meat & Poultry category, Audrey previously held the role of Vice President of Meat and Poultry, a position she assumed following the company’s acquisition of the D’Artagnan brand. At D’artagnan she served as Director of Category Management, where she played a vital role in shaping product strategy and market presence. 

Before her tenure in food distribution, Audrey and her husband owned and operated a Michelin-starred restaurant in their hometown of Queens, NY – an experience that continues to inform her deep understanding of culinary excellence and consumer preferences. 

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Fred Gale, China Agricultural Market Analyst 

During 36 years as an agricultural economist in USDA’s Economic Research Service Fred Gale published dozens of reports and articles on China’s grain, cotton, pork, and dairy markets, trade policies and subsidies, foreign trade, food safety, and U.S. rural issues. Fred holds a PhD in Economics from North Carolina State University and a BS from Virginia Tech, and he taught economics at China’s Shandong University during 1990-91. As a USDA economist Fred led research exchange delegations to China and worked closely with counterparts from China’s agriculture ministry, statistics bureau, and academic institutions. Fred has made many presentations and interacted with U.S. government agencies, commodity organizations, universities, the WTO, NGOs and law enforcement. Now retired, Fred monitors Chinese news media, agricultural web sites, follows developments in China from his home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and writes the Dim Sums blog on rural China.  

Ivy is the Sr. Business Analytics and Process Improvement Manager at Panda Express, the largest Asian-segment American fast food restaurant chain in the United States. At Panda, she leads the restaurant’s supply chain system, data, and process improvement initiatives, driving demand planning, supply chain financial, commodity risk management through strategic use of technology, business intelligence, AI, and automation.

Previously, Ivy led the North America Merchandise Department at Miniso, where she oversaw the end-to-end supply chain activities from sourcing to shelf. In that role, she developed and transformed the brand’s merchandise and pricing strategy through her insights into trends, consumer behaviors, supply chain performance, and financial data. Her leadership spanned demand planning, local sourcing, product development, allocation, and visual merchandising, driving the vision and brand’s growth.

Ivy brings a well-rounded perspective shaped by both food service and retail industries. With a unique blend of expertise in finance, commodity risk management, and data analytics, she helps elevate supply chains by identifying where business meets data, system drives vision with efficiency and discipline.