McDonald's names Asia marketing chief Eugene Lee as international CMO

McDonald's has promoted Asia CMO Eugene Lee (pictured) to international CMO for the international developmental licensed (IDL) segment. In his new role, Lee will oversee all international regions outside of the US including Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Lee said in a LinkedIn post: "It’s been a crazy but oh-so-exciting 14-year ride with McDonald’s…I’m extremely excited and humbled by the elevated responsibilities, and looking forward to interacting with our marketing teams from across the globe!"

Prior to his new role, Lee was the company's Asia CMO. During the time, Lee was tasked at overseeing the strategic marketing plans for 12 markets across Asia and work closely with the local MDs and CMOs to develop their long-term strategies. On a day-to-day basis, Lee worked very closely with the CMOs to review their monthly execution plans and offer input from his experience to enhance outputs. He reported to head of Asia business unit Thomas Ko.

Apart from that, he is also the voice of Asia on global forums, representing the region on the global stage and ensuring Asia’s voice is heard. He worked closely with international teams to develop new directions or guidelines for McDonald’s on areas such as media, creativity, and menu.

Famously, Lee played a key role in spearheading the launch of the BTS meal in Asia. The meal was initially supposed to be a US-only activation, similar to meal executions done with other music industry players such as rapper Travis Scott. However, Lee told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously that he knew it would be "a huge opportunity missed" if Asia was left out of the activation given the boy band's global popularity.

Don't miss: McDonald's upsizes Eugene Lee's role to Asia CMO

Lee landed the Asia-wide remit in 2020 and was previously senior director of marketing, strategy and insights at McDonald's Malaysia and first started with the company as a marketing officer in 2009. Before McDonald's, he was with SOUL Society for two years. In total, he has been with McDonald's for almost 14 years, 11 of those with the local market in Malaysia and 3 of those with the regional team. Joining the Asia business unit in 2020 gave him a new vantage point which has been an eye-opening experience for him, Lee then explained.

"Having been born and raised in Malaysia, I know the market like the back of my hand. However, since joining the regional team, I’m exposed to the many different markets across Asia in a much more intimate way and it’s been a rich growing experience for me," he had said.

On the global front, Lee reiterated that he wants to be the ambassador and voice for Asia to ensure the region gets its fair share of spotlight on the international stage. "I am part of the McDonald's Global Creative Council and take it as my personal responsibility to ensure that McDonald's marketers from across the globe get to experience the fantastic work coming out of Asia," he explained.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Lee and McDonald's for more information. 

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