Spartan Profiles: Thomas C. Ryan
THE MCDONALD’S BRAND
With 30,000 Golden Arches around the world, McDonald’s ranks among the world’s best known names. Can the brand get better and stronger? So thinks Thomas C. Ryan, ’79, M.S. ’82, Ph.D. ’85, the company’s executive vice president and “chief concept innovation officer.” His role is “to bring a new conceptual dimension to brand McDonald,” explains Ryan. “We want to bring the future forward ahead of schedule.”
His outside-the-box thinking led to the new “McDonald’s With The Diner Inside” concept, which debuted with two restaurants in Indiana, and a third in Evansville, IL. “Our base is there,” notes Tom. “The drive-through is there, the menu is there. However, there’s also a diner where customers can relax, take a seat and order from a new classic menu. This allows us to compete in the mid-scale market from existing assets.” Thus far, the breakthrough concept has received rave reviews.
A native of Grand Rapids, Tom studied food science at MSU and became an innovator at places like Proctor & Gamble, Pillsbury and Pizza Hut, where he launched the stuffed crust and Big Foot. “It’s not just the product,” says Tom, “but business development, marketplace positioning, advertising and everything else that goes with it. It’s marrying the emotional side of marketing to the business side.”
Tom credits MSU with providing him with his “profound and in-depth perspective on food science,” and credits mentors like Ian Gray, Leroy Duggan and Charlie Stein with having influenced him positively. “My doctoral thesis was about the derivation of tallow flavors in fried potatoes,” he notes, adding with a chuckle, “and here I am at McDonald’s.”
Tom says he has been “very proud and respectful” of MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo, who has succeeded in attracting more and more McDonald’s All-Americans to MSU. “We’re very proud of our sponsorship of the McDonald’s boys and girls games,” he says. “There’s a great connection there.”