The man behind McDonald’s success in South Africa WRITTEN BY KIRSTEN MINNAAR

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2025-03-09 at 16:02 #463442

Nat Quinn
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Greg Solomon joined McDonald’s when it only had four locations in South Africa, and under his leadership, the brand has around 400 stores today.

Although Solomon is now one of the country’s biggest CEOs, he started his career as a civil engineer who almost didn’t apply for a job at McDonald’s.

Greg Solomon was born and raised in Johannesburg and attended school in the Greenside Victory Park area.

He decided that he wanted to become an engineer, and since his father worked in the building industry, it felt natural for him to enter the field as a civil engineer.

Solomon went into heavy construction, building roads and bridges, and he studied a speciality trade called material flow technology.

Not long after McDonald’s came to South Africa in 1995, Solomon saw an advert in the newspaper looking for people to build their storefronts, and his wife, Lisa, encouraged him to apply.

So, in 1996, he joined McDonald’s as a Project Manager in the construction department and built several locations for the company.

“I probably had 15 careers in McDonald’s,” Solomon told the Off The Clock show.

“I started off as a project engineer, built projects, and then, for the next five years, I got involved in real estate. And then after real estate, kitchen design and kitchen facilities.”

“After that, I got involved in supply chain, treasury, export and import.”

After doing that for some years, Terry Reece, the then managing director of McDonald’s South Africa, asked him to join the operations side because they saw potential in him.

“I said, ‘Terry, I didn’t study five years engineering to sweep floors and make hamburgers. I’m not interested in that job.’”

However, after several months of back-and-forth and another push from his wife, he agreed to move into operations.

“I joined. I went into the restaurants, and trained there for a year, running a restaurant, Auckland Park McDonald’s,” he said on the Kaya Biz podcast.

In January 2009, he was appointed Managing Director of McDonald’s South Africa and his leadership has resulted in sales growth, increased guest counts, improved customer service and increased operating income year-on-year.

Under his leadership, McDonald’s South Africa has been named Deloitte’s Best Company to Work For for three consecutive years.

In addition, he was named the Institute of People Management CEO of the Year in 2011 and was nominated as a finalist in the Boss of the Year Award 2011.

“When I started, we had 4 restaurants, but since I’ve been CEO, we’ve added about 250 restaurants. We just crossed over 400 restaurants, and now our eyes are set on the big 500. So it’s not about if; it’s certainly about when.”

Solomon explained that his journey as the CEO of the company has not been all smooth sailing, though.

“I’ve made some bad real estate decisions. I’ve chosen the wrong sites in many, many cases. I’ve made some bad business decisions. I put some bad products into the marketplace. I don’t regret any of those.”

The Covid-19 pandemic was one of the biggest challenges the company has faced.

“I think the president shut down the restaurant business for about three months. If it was going to go on longer, like six months, I think we could have lost the business. That’s how serious it was,” he said.

However, the riots and load-shedding were even bigger threats to the business than the pandemic.

“Trying to put power into a business that was built on having huge amounts of power… we really, really struggled.”

Fortunately, the company was able to not only survive these obstacles but keep growing.

Continuously evolving and innovating is an important way that the company has managed to stay relevant in South Africa.

For example, in 2018, McDonald’s started rolling out self-service ordering machines, allowing customers to place their orders electronically.

The concept was a hit, and other fast-food chains have also started implementing this system in their stores.

“There’s lots of things that have evolved over time,” Solomon said.

“The future leaders of McDonald’s, the type of food that we serve, the introduction of McCafe – which is one of the biggest coffee brands in South Africa right now – the introduction of breakfast, the introduction of 24/7, the modernisation of our restaurants.”

The company has also increasingly shifted its customer interactions to the digital space through its app, which offers customers special offers and a point system.

Solomon explained his rule: Every time the business increases five times, for example, going from one employee to five or growing from R1 million to R5 million profit, the business has to fundamentally change.

“I think that’s what McDonald’s has done over the last 30 years. It’s fundamentally changed and modernised.”

“If you go into our restaurants now, you’re interacting with digital computers, you’re customizing your orders, you’re choosing whether you want salt, no salt, ice, no ice. You’re getting a host that’s greeting and talking to you.”

“It’s evolved to be a cool modern place, and I think that’s the crucial thing, staying with the famous French fries, strawberry shakes, and the Big Mac.”

Currently, McDonald’s has around 15,000 employees, serves about 8,000 customers a month, and has around 400 branches in South Africa.

On 14 February 2025, McDonald’s South Africa announced that after 29 years with the company, including 15 years as CEO, Solomon and the company have mutually agreed that now is the right time for him to step down.

“Leadership changes are natural for any organisation, and while Greg has built a strong foundation, now is the time to welcome new leadership,” said Daniel Padiachy, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s South Africa.

“Greg has guided the company through both its most successful milestones and its greatest challenges. Over the past 15 years as CEO, he has spearheaded the addition of 230 new restaurants, resulting in a total portfolio of over 400 restaurants.”

“Under his leadership, the brand has grown significantly, becoming stronger, more resilient, and deeply rooted in our community.”

Padiachy added that Solomon will remain involved with the brand as a board member, ensuring continuity, sharing his invaluable knowledge, and fulfilling his responsibilities as a company director.

“His presence during the next six months as the CEO of McDonald’s South Africa will help facilitate a seamless transition for the incoming CEO, our employees, franchisees, our crew, and customers.”

SOURCE:The man behind McDonald’s success in South Africa – Daily Investor
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Greg Solomon joined McDonald’s when it only had four locations in South Africa, and under his leadership, the brand has around 400 stores today.

Although Solomon is now one of the country’s biggest CEOs, he started his career as a civil engineer who almost didn’t apply for a job at McDonald’s.

Greg Solomon was born and raised in Johannesburg and attended school in the Greenside Victory Park area.

He decided that he wanted to become an engineer, and since his father worked in the building industry, it felt natural for him to enter the field as a civil engineer.

Solomon went into heavy construction, building roads and bridges, and he studied a speciality trade called material flow technology.

Not long after McDonald’s came to South Africa in 1995, Solomon saw an advert in the newspaper looking for people to build their storefronts, and his wife, Lisa, encouraged him to apply.

So, in 1996, he joined McDonald’s as a Project Manager in the construction department and built several locations for the company.

“I probably had 15 careers in McDonald’s,” Solomon told the Off The Clock show.

“I started off as a project engineer, built projects, and then, for the next five years, I got involved in real estate. And then after real estate, kitchen design and kitchen facilities.”

“After that, I got involved in supply chain, treasury, export and import.”

After doing that for some years, Terry Reece, the then managing director of McDonald’s South Africa, asked him to join the operations side because they saw potential in him.

“I said, ‘Terry, I didn’t study five years engineering to sweep floors and make hamburgers. I’m not interested in that job.’”

However, after several months of back-and-forth and another push from his wife, he agreed to move into operations.

“I joined. I went into the restaurants, and trained there for a year, running a restaurant, Auckland Park McDonald’s,” he said on the Kaya Biz podcast.

In January 2009, he was appointed Managing Director of McDonald’s South Africa and his leadership has resulted in sales growth, increased guest counts, improved customer service and increased operating income year-on-year.

Under his leadership, McDonald’s South Africa has been named Deloitte’s Best Company to Work For for three consecutive years.

In addition, he was named the Institute of People Management CEO of the Year in 2011 and was nominated as a finalist in the Boss of the Year Award 2011.

“When I started, we had 4 restaurants, but since I’ve been CEO, we’ve added about 250 restaurants. We just crossed over 400 restaurants, and now our eyes are set on the big 500. So it’s not about if; it’s certainly about when.”

Solomon explained that his journey as the CEO of the company has not been all smooth sailing, though.

“I’ve made some bad real estate decisions. I’ve chosen the wrong sites in many, many cases. I’ve made some bad business decisions. I put some bad products into the marketplace. I don’t regret any of those.”

The Covid-19 pandemic was one of the biggest challenges the company has faced.

“I think the president shut down the restaurant business for about three months. If it was going to go on longer, like six months, I think we could have lost the business. That’s how serious it was,” he said.

However, the riots and load-shedding were even bigger threats to the business than the pandemic.

“Trying to put power into a business that was built on having huge amounts of power… we really, really struggled.”

Fortunately, the company was able to not only survive these obstacles but keep growing.

Continuously evolving and innovating is an important way that the company has managed to stay relevant in South Africa.

For example, in 2018, McDonald’s started rolling out self-service ordering machines, allowing customers to place their orders electronically.

The concept was a hit, and other fast-food chains have also started implementing this system in their stores.

“There’s lots of things that have evolved over time,” Solomon said.

“The future leaders of McDonald’s, the type of food that we serve, the introduction of McCafe – which is one of the biggest coffee brands in South Africa right now – the introduction of breakfast, the introduction of 24/7, the modernisation of our restaurants.”

The company has also increasingly shifted its customer interactions to the digital space through its app, which offers customers special offers and a point system.

Solomon explained his rule: Every time the business increases five times, for example, going from one employee to five or growing from R1 million to R5 million profit, the business has to fundamentally change.

“I think that’s what McDonald’s has done over the last 30 years. It’s fundamentally changed and modernised.”

“If you go into our restaurants now, you’re interacting with digital computers, you’re customizing your orders, you’re choosing whether you want salt, no salt, ice, no ice. You’re getting a host that’s greeting and talking to you.”

“It’s evolved to be a cool modern place, and I think that’s the crucial thing, staying with the famous French fries, strawberry shakes, and the Big Mac.”

Currently, McDonald’s has around 15,000 employees, serves about 8,000 customers a month, and has around 400 branches in South Africa.

On 14 February 2025, McDonald’s South Africa announced that after 29 years with the company, including 15 years as CEO, Solomon and the company have mutually agreed that now is the right time for him to step down.

“Leadership changes are natural for any organisation, and while Greg has built a strong foundation, now is the time to welcome new leadership,” said Daniel Padiachy, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s South Africa.

“Greg has guided the company through both its most successful milestones and its greatest challenges. Over the past 15 years as CEO, he has spearheaded the addition of 230 new restaurants, resulting in a total portfolio of over 400 restaurants.”

“Under his leadership, the brand has grown significantly, becoming stronger, more resilient, and deeply rooted in our community.”

Padiachy added that Solomon will remain involved with the brand as a board member, ensuring continuity, sharing his invaluable knowledge, and fulfilling his responsibilities as a company director.

“His presence during the next six months as the CEO of McDonald’s South Africa will help facilitate a seamless transition for the incoming CEO, our employees, franchisees, our crew, and customers.”

SOURCE:The man behind McDonald’s success in South Africa – Daily Investor