Meet new Halfords boss Jill McDonald: what we know about her and the task ahead

Halfords has recruited Jill McDonald, the UK boss of fast-food giant McDonald's, as its new chief executive.

Here's what we know about her and her task at the bike to car parts retailer.

Jill McDonald comes from McDonald's, where she has been since 2006. Her first role at the restaurant chain was chief marketing officer for Britain.

In 2010 she was appointed to lead its entire UK and North West Europe business and managed around 3,300 owned and franchised restaurants across 7 countries, more than 500 franchisees and over 200,000 employees.

McDonald began her career in 1987 at Colgate Palmolive in brand management and later joined British Airways, where she spent 14 years, eventually rising to head of global marketing.

In its statement announcing her appointment, Halfords said McDonald had transformed the perception of McDonald's brand and business in the UK through "strong investment in menu, customer insight and experience, and colleague development, leading to consistently impressive results".

Halfords chairman, Dennis Millard added: “As she was growing in the McDonald’s organisation, she was moving from the front line and that’s where she’s always enjoyed being. She always wanted to be a FTSE 100 top dog."

Halford's is in the middle of a three-year plan to turn itself around by improving customer service and increasing focus on its cycling division.

The plan was masterminded by Matt Davies, who left earlier this year to join Tesco as head of the UK business after his predecessor, Chris Bush, left in the wake of the accounting scandal that hit the supermarket.

McDonald is not expected to instigate any change in strategy.

Millard said: “She recognises that we are midway through a strategy and agrees with it. McDonald’s are in the top 10 companies to work for in the UK, and we hope she can bring that colleague engagement ethic with her to Halfords.”

She is not expected to implement zero-hours contracts, something McDonald's has been criticised for using extensively, especially as Halford's has recently increased its customer service ratings by hiring more full-time staff.

McDonald will a £495,000 golden hello in shares when she joins Halfords on May 11. She already owns a Halfords bicycle so that is not expected to be included in the arrangement!

That will be paid out over three years, along with a pay packet worth up to £1.25million with bonuses – the same as her predecessor.