Jill McDonald is one of an increasing number of career marketers who has made the leap from chief marketing officer to chief executive officer, becoming CEO of Halfords in 2015. Before that, in a career at McDonald’s that began in 2006, she drove investment in improving healthy options on the menu and overall customer experience, which resulted in the fast food chain recording sales growth for 36 consecutive quarters. Citing her best advice as “always ask why”, McDonald credits her success at McDonald’s to tailoring the brand to the UK market.