FED: Wanna-be boss now McDonald's head honcho

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2004
FED: Wanna-be boss now McDonald's head honcho

SYDNEY, April 20 AAP - Flipping burgers at a suburban Sydney McDonald's at the age
of 15, Charlie Bell would tell everyone how to "run the company".

Now, he does.

Mr Bell, 43, was appointed chief executive and president of McDonald's International
overnight following the sudden death of his predecessor Jim Cantalupo, 60, of a suspected
heart attack.

McDonald's Australia boss Guy Russo, who began his career with Mr Bell at the age of
15, said his colleague was the natural person to take over the top job.

"He was the obvious choice," Mr Russo told Sydney radio 2UE from Orlando, Florida,
where he is attending the McDonald's franchisees conference.

"I started with him when I was about 15 myself and then I was made the CEO of McDonald's
Australia some five years ago.

"We've been great mates since we were 15."

Mr Russo said Mr Bell started at the Kingsford restaurant, in Sydney's eastern suburbs,
where he is sure "there'll be a shrine put up there for him now".

He said the pair would often act as if they ran the show.

"There were a lot of people who were older than us, when we were about 16 we were telling
everyone how to run the company at that age, thought we would one day," he said.

"I think both our parents were in shock, they would much rather us have done something else.

"(But) if you like what you do you continue to do it, sometimes you look outside but
we just love what we do."

Mr Bell headed McDonald's Australia for six years until being appointed to head the
firm's Asia-wide operations in 1999.

He was the international company's president and chief operating officer until his
appointment to the top job overnight.

AAP nf/cmc/jlw

KEYWORD: MCDONALDS AUST

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