At the end of a 16-year term during which he brought McDonald's to a 60-restaurant network with 4,000 employees and over 100 million euros in sales, Marian Alecu is categorical about the fact that his new business will "be in a completely different sector than the restaurant business. "
Thursday 1:00 PM. The McDonald's restaurant on the ground floor of Bucharest's Unirea Shopping Center, the first restaurant opened 14 years ago on the Romanian market, is half-full. Customers still look like they have 30 minutes off, and quietly enjoy their hamburger, coffee or potato chips. There is no queue, but every customer is greeted with a "You can use this cash register, if you will," and the transaction takes 2 minutes to conclude.
The fact that Marian Alecu, 52, CEO of the largest fast food chain in Romania, is leaving the company has not altered in any way the pace of operations in the McDonald's restaurant, although the employees are aware of the management changes.
"He created a system that is working very well on its own right now. He also trained us so the system would work despite the changes," says Lidia Cristea, restaurant manager, who has been working at McDonald's for 14 years.
McDonald's Romania, which posted a 108 million-euro turnover in 2008, now has over 4,000 employees in its 60 local restaurants, with 40% of them working on a part-time basis. These are just some of the results that stand out in Alecu's CV.
The executive has decided to take a sabbatical year until early 2010, when he decides to start a business on his own in a new sector.
"The time I spent at McDonald's has been very good both professionally and personally. Personally I must admit it was helpful from a financial point of view. Professionally, I developed a network of contacts, especially since I had a big name behind. Now I will take a break," Alecu admits.
