As McDonald’s US Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Tariq leads all aspects of strategy and a $1.6B marketing budget including digital and CRM, owned, earned and paid media, brand content, field marketing, analytics and insights menu strategy, marketing operations as well $5B delivery business. His charged with creating a compelling, holistic brand experience for 13,700-plus McDonald’s restaurants, $60B business. Leveraging the iconic McDonald’s brand, he’s leading the company’s digital and CX transformation to deliver powerful experiences that create authentic, cultural connections with its franchise network, crew and 25MM fans it serves daily. Tariq has more than 20 years of experience in global marketing; brand strategy, agency management, communications, innovation and insights across diverse categories, segments and markets. His expertise lies in harnessing data to build global brands that create enduring value-based customer relationships with brands. He began his career in advertising, progressing through international strategic planning, executive assignments with D’Arcy, Leo Burnett and FCB before partnering to found Element79 Partners, the largest advertising agency start up in US history. Tariq went on to hold global marketing roles with HP, Omnicom Group, and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch before joining Petco as Chief Marketing Officer. There he led the repositioning of the company from a pet supply retailer to a category-defining pet health and wellness company. After leading Petco to a successful IPO in 2021 he was recruited to his current role at McDonald’s. Tariq has proven record for leveraging culture to create award winning consumer-focused strategies that breakthrough in the market. A values-based leader, he is passionate about creating purpose driven cultures that unlock the power of high performing teams that drive results. His impact has been recognized by the industry as a two-time Forbes Most Influential CMO, Ad Age CMO of the year, Adweek Brand Genius and Northwestern Medill Hall of Fame. Committed to creating inclusive and empowering workplace culture, he has led development of DEI&B corporate strategies, served as executive sponsor for employee resources groups and served on various advisory boards for the Ad Counsel, ANA, Adweek, MMA, Tik Tok, Google and Meta. He sits on the global board of Education for Employment, an NGO that provides job training and placement for marginalized youth across the Middle East and North Africa. He worked with the Obama administration to counter-message Americans youth at risk to religious extremism and systemic discrimination. He has been recognized for his efforts with the Adweek DEI Champion, Gold House A100 and Ad Color Legend. Tariq earned an honors bachelor’s degree from University of Western Ontario and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University where he currently sits on the Medill School Board of Advisers.