Dan Muenkel steps into role of Senior Director, People Experience at fast food giant McDonald’s

Dan Muenkel has taken on the role of Senior Director, People Experience at McDonald’s.

He joins from Johnson Controls, where he served as Executive Director - HR Process Improvement.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I couldn’t be more excited about this new role, where I am able to lead the service experience for employees that serve 70 million customers daily.”

“About two months ago, I stepped into the role of Sr. Director, People Experience at McDonald’s, leading the global strategy for our hire‑to‑retire service experience. I’m energised by the opportunity to shape how employees around the world experience HR - from digital self‑service and contact centre operations to lifecycle moments like onboarding, offboarding, and transitions - while partnering closely with enterprise service teams.”

He added: “This role sits at the intersection of people, process, and technology, with a strong focus on service design, operational excellence, and innovation (including the responsible use of emerging AI). I’m grateful to be working with an incredibly talented global team and excited about the impact we can make together as we continue to evolve the employee experience at McDonald’s.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.