Who was the CEO of McDonald's when the Happy Meal was introduced in 1979?

Fred L. Turner was McDonald’s CEO when the Happy Meal was introduced nationally in 1979.

The Happy Meal’s roots predated that rollout. In Guatemala, franchisee Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño developed a child-sized “Ronald Menu” during the 1970s. McDonald’s later assigned advertising executive Bob Bernstein to develop a packaged children’s meal, which he shaped into the Happy Meal concept. It was tested in Kansas City in 1977 before expanding nationwide in 1979.

Turner had become McDonald’s president and chief executive in the 1970s and led the company through major expansion. Ray Kroc, often mistakenly selected for this question, had already left the CEO role by then. Turner also helped professionalize McDonald’s operations and was involved in the development of products including Chicken McNuggets.

The first Happy Meals combined a child-sized entrée, fries, a drink and a small toy or activity item. The first national promotional tie-in was associated with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in December 1979, showing how quickly the meal became a marketing platform as well as a menu product.