Rodney Jordan is the Global Chief Operating Officer for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), a global provider of essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare. He is a results-driven, transformative and dynamic leader with 20+ years of experience living and working across multiple geographies as a senior executive with experience in communications, public relations, corporate & social responsibility, strategy, administration, human resources, and community engagement for notable Fortune 500 companies (B2B, B2C, franchisee/franchisor) and nonprofit organizations.
In addition to having led the effort to develop the RMHC System’s first strategic framework – including its new vision, mission, purpose, values, and strategic priorities – Rodney oversees strategy and operations across 260 chapters (each a registered non-profit) in more than 60 countries and regions.
His +30 person team is responsible for the RMHC System’s:
• Global long-term and annual strategic planning – including global demand forecasting, goal setting, prioritization, and initiative development – to advance the mission
• Licensing, standards, policies, and procedures across all global programs including more than 380 Ronald McDonald Houses, nearly 270 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, over 40 mobile care mobiles, including infectious disease protocols, safety, sustainability, etc.
• Plans for global Chapter growth and expansion
• Multi-year global agendas for research, program evaluation, advocacy, and innovation
• System People initiatives including Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and Learning & Development.
• Enabling functions including Technology, Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance, and Sustainability
• Donation-related restaurant operations that enable giving through McDonald’s technologies and in-restaurant donation boxes
Prior to his current role, Rodney served as Chief of Staff for McDonald’s Global Impact team, responsible for long-term and annual strategic planning and day-to-day operations across all Global Impact Centers of Excellence (Sustainability & ESG, Communications, Government Relations & Public Policy, and Philanthropy) as well as US and International market Corporate Relations teams. He served as the function’s key liaison with Corporate Strategy, leads the function’s PMO and special projects, represented the function on the Supplier Diversity Leadership Circle, and oversaw the function’s budget, talent, performance management, engagement, and organizational development/change efforts to strengthen culture.
At McDonald’s, he also served as Senior Director of Executive & Global Communications, Senior Director, Strategic Planning, Alignment & Operations for the Global Corporate Relations team, and interim lead for the Global Strategies & Campaigns team. Prior to joining McDonald’s, Rodney held various leadership roles at Coca Cola Enterprises, The Gates Foundation, and United Parcel Service.
Rodney holds a BA in English Literature from Morehouse College, an MS in Technical and Professional Communication from Southern Polytechnic State University, and an MS in the History and Sociology of Science and Technology from Georgia Tech. He is also a certified Professional of Human Resources (PHR), has Completed Columbia Business School’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Business Excellence program, and is a graduate of the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2010 and the 2021 National Urban League of Chicago Impact Program. He is a 2023 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
Rodney is a board member for Stories Matter Foundation the parent organization for StoryStudio Chicago, the Chicago Review of Books, and the Chicago Stories Project. The organization teaches the art, craft, and business of writing to thousands of writers each year as part of its mission to build communities of storytellers trained to question, explore, celebrate, and change their worlds using the power of story.
