McDonald’s Canada has looked to its head office stateside for its new CMO.

The QSR’s chief marketing officer Antoinette Benoit made the decision to retire last fall, and it has announced that Alyssa Buetikofer (pictured, left) is now joining the Canadian executive team as CMO after nearly 15 years working with the Golden Arches in key U.S. and global marketing leadership roles.

Benoit’s last day was Monday, after onboarding her successor.

Most recently, Buetikofer held the role of senior director, U.S. marketing brand and content in Chicago. There, she led high-visibility national campaigns and promotions, including 2020’s Famous Orders celebrity program by Wieden+Kennedy, which featured a combination of famous real life (and fictional) mock orders by the likes of Julius Caesar, Kanye West, Romeo & Juliet, and the Invisible Man, with a spot that aired during that year’s Super Bowl.

Buetikofer brings what the QSR says is “significant” expertise across strategy, creative, branding, analytics, and traditional and digital media planning to the chief marketing officer role. Prior to joining McDonald’s, Buetikofer cut her teeth on the agency side, holding an associate director of strategy post for agency OMD, and was responsible for McDonald’s national media strategies in the U.S. At the Omnicon shop, she focused on maximizing reach, engagement and driving ROI by developing and implementing consumer-centric strategies.

Benoit (pictured, right) has been McDonald’s Canada’s CMO since 2014, and veteran of posts at McDonald’s France and McDonald’s Europe over the last 23 years.

Among her accomplishments since then, Benoit helped lead a push for McDonald Canada’s “significant shift” into doing more digital marketing, relative to traditional: it went from roughly 15% of spending to roughly half within five years. She also oversaw pushes behind delivery, its food sourcing practices, the creation of new recurring characters and a Cannes Grand Prix-winning campaign directing drivers to its restaurants. Benoit will also be continuing in her capacity serving on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto Board.

In its January earnings call, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said that although earnings in Q4 missed expectations, the QSR’s “significant marketing investment remains a true growth driver,” and that the restaurant chain is improving creative effectiveness and leaning into social and digital to drive customer engagement. He also touted the success of sales-building promotions, including Monopoly in Canada.