McDonald's veteran Will Mason takes on Senior Vice President, Analytics and Insights role at Dairy Queen

Will Mason has taken on a new role as Senior Vice President of Analytics and Insights at Dairy Queen.

He was previously at McDonald’s, where he spent just over 23 years, most recently serving as Senior Director of Global Business Insights.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “So happy to continue my career with two of my main passions - finding illumination and eating. Dairy Queen holds a very special place in my heart.”

“It was the only fast food joint in my town growing up, and I have fond memories of biking over with friends for a nice cool summer treat after playing baseball, taking dates there for dessert in high school and college, and now finding little excuses to get a treat with my kids on a random weeknight. To my new team: Thank you for this most excellent opportunity. I can’t wait to get started!”

CIO

Mustafa Husain is stepping into the role of SVP and Chief Information Officer at McDonald’s USA.

He has been with the fast food giant for five and a half years and previously served as Vice President Restaurant Technology Engineering. Prior to that, he was at Amazon for almost nine years.

He commented: "McDonald’s is built on strong foundations - and our technology is a core driver of how we run great restaurants at scale. I believe real progress comes from getting the fundamentals right, staying curious, and building thoughtfully for scale.”

“I’m excited to continue strengthening crew first, reliable technology that supports franchisees and delivers better experiences for our customers every day Grateful for the teams and leaders who made this journey possible and thrilled for what’s ahead."

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Restaurant technology 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.