誰該爲麥當勞的萎靡現狀負責 公司董事會難辭其咎

The heat on McDonald’s just got turned up a notch.

對麥當勞的熱議愈演愈烈。

On Monday the company reported a 2.2% decline in global same store sales for the month of November, with the U.S. market taking the biggest hit (-4.6%). The Wall Street Journal reported that the drop in the U.S. was the biggest in more than 14 years.

該公司週一公佈，11月份全球同店銷售額下降2.2%，美國業務跌幅最猛（下跌4.6%）。《華爾街日報》（The Wall Street Journal）報道，這是逾14年來麥當勞美國同店銷售額的最大下滑。

I detailed McDonald’s woes last month, noting that the pressure was mounting on CEO Don Thompson to turn around the fast food giant. But with no relief in sight, investors may soon turn their attention to the McDonald’s board.

上個月我詳細介紹了麥當勞的困境，並且指出，爲讓這家快餐巨擘扭轉頹勢，首席執行官唐o湯普森正面臨巨大的壓力。而由於看不到任何緩解的跡象，投資者的注意力可能很快就會轉向麥當勞董事會。

Leading the group is Andy McKenna, the company’s non-executive chairman since 2004 and a director since 1991. McKenna is a Chicago heavy hitter, who has been called “the power behind the throne” by the hometown press. Chicago Magazine has put him on its list of the 100 Most Powerful Chicagoans, describing him as “a bigwig other bigwigs seek out for advice.” He has chaired the White Sox and Cubs, and is now on the board of the Chicago Bears. He has also sat on countless other civic and corporate boards, including the University of Notre Dame and the Big Shoulders Fund of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

作爲董事會首腦人物，安迪o麥肯納1991年當選公司董事，2004年成爲非執行董事長。在芝加哥，麥肯納是個大人物，當地媒體稱他爲“王座背後的力量”。《芝加哥》雜誌（Chicago Magazine）把麥肯納評爲100名最有影響力的芝加哥人之一，並將他描述爲“其他大人物尋求建議的大人物”。他是芝加哥白襪（White Sox）和芝加哥小熊（Cubs）棒球俱樂部的董事長，現在又進入了橄欖球俱樂部芝加哥熊隊（Chicago Bears）的董事會。他還在衆多民間機構和公司擔任董事，包括美國聖母大學（University of Notre Dame）和天主教芝加哥總教區Big Shoulders基金。

According to company filings, McKenna planned to leave the board in 2003 when he reached McDonald’s mandatory retirement age for directors of 73. But in the interim the company went through a CEO handoff, and the board asked McKenna to stay on to aid in the transition.

公司文件顯示，麥肯納原計劃於2003年退出董事會，那一年他73歲，到了該公司規定董事退休的年齡。然而，由於當時麥當勞正在更換CEO，董事會邀請麥克納留任，以協助完成交接。

The following year McDonald’s loosened the retirement rule in its proxy, saying that the board “may nominate existing members of the board over the age of 73 as candidates in exceptional circumstances.” McDonald’s was then struck by misfortune in its leadership ranks. CEO Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack while in the job. His successor, Charlie Bell, was then diagnosed with colon cancer and resigned.

2004年，麥當勞放寬了董事退休限制，稱董事會“可以在特殊情況下提名年齡超過73歲的現任董事”。那一年，麥當勞高層厄運連連。CEO吉姆o坎塔盧波因心臟病突然離世。繼任者查理o貝爾也因診斷出結腸癌而辭職。

By 2007, when two additional board members hit 73, the language about mandatory retirement had disappeared. McKenna has now overlapped with the tenures of six different McDonald’s CEOs.

2007年，又有兩名麥當勞董事到了73歲，而強制退休規定已經了無蹤跡。現在，麥肯納已經和六位不同的CEO共過事。

As of the most recently filed proxy, three board members were over 73: McKenna (listed as 84), Walter Massey (76), and Roger Stone (79). MSCI ESG Research, which provides data on governance, found that the average age of a director at McDonald’s is about 63, the oldest in its peer group. Compare the figure with Burger King (about 50), Starbucks (about 58), and Yum Brands (about 59). McDonald’s directors also have a longer tenure (12 years) than those on other big restaurant company boards (eight years).

麥當勞提交的最新名單顯示，超過73歲的董事有三名，分別是84歲的麥肯納、76歲的沃爾特o馬瑟和79歲的羅傑o斯通。公司治理數據供應商MSCI ESG Research發現，麥當勞董事會的平均年齡爲63歲，高於其他任何同類企業，比如漢堡王（Burger King，約50歲）、星巴克（Starbucks，約58歲）和百勝餐飲集團（Yum Brands，約59歲）。和其他大型餐飲企業8年的董事任期相比，麥當勞董事的任期也更長，達到了12年。

A similar spread can be found when one compares McDonald’s with an even bigger corporate universe, such as the S&P 500. Larry Fauver of the University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center found that the average number of years served by a director at McDonald’s was 12.5 versus 9.5 for the broader index. “That’s a fairly significant difference,” he told me.

將麥當勞和更大的企業羣體，比如標普500指數（S&P 500）成分股公司相比，類似的差異同樣存在。田納西大學企業治理中心（University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center）研究員拉里o福韋發現，麥當勞董事的平均任期爲12年半，而這個數字在標普500指數成分股公司中爲9年半。他說：“這個差距相當大。”

Why does this matter? In a few words: connection to the company’s customers. While octogenarian and late septuagenarian directors may have more seasoning and worldly experience than young Turks, there is an argument to be made that they may not be quite as in touch with the two demographic segments that McDonald’s really needs and is struggling to attract: millennials and young families. “That’s why you need a refreshed board,” says Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. “You need to take fresh looks.”

這一點爲什麼很重要呢？簡而言之就是，這關乎與顧客的聯繫。儘管和年輕人相比，年逾七八旬的董事可能經歷了更多也更有經驗，但他們和千禧一代以及年輕家庭的聯繫也許不像前者那麼緊密，而這兩個羣體正是麥當勞真正需要並且正在竭力爭取的目標顧客。特拉華大學John L. Weinberg企業治理中心（John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware）主任查爾斯o埃爾森指出：“這就是爲什麼需要給董事會注入活力，他們需要有嶄新的面貌。”

Fauver adds another concern: Board members who have been around that long may not have enough distance from management to be objective about the company’s performance and challenges. “How independent are you after 23 years?” Fauver asks.

福韋還有另一層顧慮：長期任職的董事會成員和管理層的距離可能不足以讓他們客觀看待公司的表現及其面臨的挑戰。他問道：“當了23年的董事後，你還會有多少獨立性呢？”

I spoke with McDonald’s chair McKenna briefly for my November story, in which he told me that the board is “very supportive” of CEO Thompson. I also asked McKenna about the board and its tenure. He replied that that he didn’t think length of service had deprived any of the directors of their independence. McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.

撰寫11月份的文章時，我和麥當勞董事長麥肯納進行了短暫的交流，他告訴我，董事會“非常支持”CEO湯普森。我也向他提出了關於董事會和董事任期的問題。他回答說，他覺得任職時間並不會削弱任何董事的獨立性。直到本文發表時，麥當勞沒有應要求就此發表評論。

In its proxy, the company notes that 12 of 13 of its directors are independent—Thompson being the exception. But there are a couple of interesting connections between the company’s directors that go beyond the McDonald’s boardroom:

麥當勞在名單上指出，除湯普森外，該公司13位董事中有12名獨立董事。不過，除了同爲董事會成員，這些成員之間還存在一些有意思的關聯。

–The vast majority of McDonald’s board members are based out of Chicago. (That’s not very geographically diverse for a truly global company.)

- 絕大多數麥當勞董事的辦公地點都在芝加哥以外（這樣的地理分佈對一家真正的全球化企業來說並不是非常多元化）。

–According to the proxy, in 2013 Inter-Con Security Systems, whose CEO is McDonald’s director Enrique Hernandez, provided physical security systems for the company’s home office campus. McDonald’s payments to Inter-Con totaled $1.3 million (less than 1% of Inter-Con’s revenue).

- 名單顯示，由麥當勞董事恩裏克o埃爾南德斯擔任CEO的安保公司Inter-Con Security Systems在2013年爲麥當勞的家庭辦公室園區提供了安保系統。麥當勞爲此支付了130萬美元（不到後者收入的1%）。

–Jeanne Jackson, a Nike executive, overlapped on the Nordstrom board with Hernandez from 2002-2009. Hernandez became Nordstrom’s non-executive chairman in 2006. They have overlapped on the McDonald’s board together since 1999.

- 2002-2009年，耐克公司（Nike）高層珍妮o傑克遜和埃爾南德斯都在零售企業諾德斯特龍（Nordstrom）擔任董事。2006年，埃爾南德斯成爲諾德斯特龍非執行董事長。兩人均於1999年進入麥當勞董事會。

–Directors Roger Stone and McKenna at one time both ran companies that were suppliers to McDonald’s, even as they sat on McDonald’s board of directors.

- 儘管擔任了麥當勞董事，但羅傑o斯通和麥肯納都曾經營公司作爲麥當勞的供應商。

–McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson was a director of the utility company Exelon from 2007 to 2013, overlapping with McDonald’s director and Ariel Investments CEO John Rogers. Rogers is a current Exelon director who joined the board in 2000. Exelon’s proxy notes that McDonald’s is a customer, paying Exelon $14 million in 2013.

- 麥當勞CEO唐o湯普森曾於2007-2013年在電力公司Exelon擔任董事，當時和他一起在Exelon擔任董事的還有麥當勞董事、投資公司Ariel Investments首席執行官約翰o羅傑斯。羅傑斯2000年進入Exelon董事會，一直任職至今。Exelon的資料顯示，麥當勞是該公司客戶，2013年向其支付1400萬美元。

–McKenna served as Aon’s longest-tenured director, stepping down in 2012 after more than 40 years. McDonald’s director Rogers joined the Aon board in 1993, serving also until 2012. Rogers has been on the McDonald’s board since 2003.

- 麥肯納是風險管理及再保險公司怡安（Aon）資格最老的董事，任職時間超過40年，於2012年退出董事會。麥當勞董事羅傑斯1993年進入怡安董事會，也在2012年卸任。羅傑斯從2003年開始擔任麥當勞董事。

–McDonald’s director Cary McMillan, CEO of True Partners Consulting, is chairman of the Board of Governors for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Fellow McDonald’s director Walter Massey is president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

- 麥當勞董事、稅務及商業諮詢公司True Partners Consulting首席執行官凱瑞o麥克米倫是芝加哥藝術學院（School of the Art Institute of Chicago）監事會主席。另一名麥當勞董事沃爾特o馬瑟則是該學院院長。

–Director Richard Lenny joined private equity firm Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe as an operating partner in 2011 and is now a senior advisor. This September his fellow McDonald’s board member Robert Eckert became an operating partner. They’ve overlapped on the McDonald’s board since 2005.

- 2011年，麥當勞董事理查德o倫尼進入私募公司Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe擔任經營合夥人，目前爲高級顧問。今年9月份，另一位麥當勞董事羅伯特o埃克特也成爲該公司經營合夥人。兩人從2005年起開始在麥當勞董事會共事。

Corporate governance expert Nell Minow notes that Chicago has historically had more inbred boards than other cities, and she believes that may very well still be the case. “What you see at McDonald’s is what we expect from boards circa 1990, not circa 2014,” she says. “It’s like McDonald’s hasn’t gotten the message that most boards have about how important it is that you demonstrate a very clear picture of independence to the shareholder community.”

公司治理專家內爾o米諾指出，以前芝加哥的“熟人董事會”就比其他城市多，她相信現在很可能依然如此。米諾說：“麥當勞董事會的情況應該出現在1990年前後，而不是2014年。大多數公司董事會已經認識到，非常清楚地向股東表明自身的獨立性有多麼重要，而麥當勞好像還沒有意識到這一點。”

Elson of the University of Delaware says that the closer directors get outside of the board room, the more concerning it is. These relationships have the potential to introduce elements into the mix that might make it hard to be objective. He adds, “Any time you see significant length of tenure and interrelationships between directors, it raises questions of effectiveness.”

特拉華大學的埃爾森認爲，董事們在公司以外的關係越密切，就越讓人擔心。這些關係有可能把別的因素帶進董事會，而這樣的因素或許會讓董事們難以保持客觀。他還說：“只要存在任職時間特別長以及董事之間關係密切的情況，董事會的效用就可能成問題。”（財富中文網）