Mats Lederhausen

Mats Lederhausen General Information

Biography

Prior to forming BE-CAUSE, he served as Managing Director of McDonald's Ventures. He founded and served as a Chief Executive Officer at Be-Cause Ventures. He also served as an Advisor at Lago Innovation Fund. McDonald's Ventures managed the investments McDonald's held in future oriented growth initiatives including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Boston Market, RedBox DVD, and Pret A Manger. As a director, Chairman and finally lead director of Chipotle from 2000-2006 he helped shape the strategy that ultimately led to one of the most successful restaurant IPOs of all time. He was on the founding team of RedBox and served on its board until Coinstar acquired McDonald's stake in RedBox in the spring of 2009. He joined McDonald's Corporation in 1999 as head of global strategy. During the next 4 years he had the responsibility for global strategy and business development. As President of Business Development he later assumed responsibility for worldwide menu, worldwide real estate and restaurant R&D. During these years he played a key role in shaping the agenda that later helped McDonald's complete one of the most successful corporate turnarounds in recent history. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, he began his career with McDonald's in 1979 as a part-time crew member in Sweden. In 1983, he participated in the McDonald's Management Development Program and worked as a store manager from 1984 to 1985. Lederhausen worked for The Boston Consulting Group in London from 1988 to 1990. In 1990, he returned to McDonald's and in 1993 became the Managing Director and Joint Venture Partner for McDonald's Sweden. Under his leadership, the company grew from 40 restaurants to nearly 170 restaurants. He was named one of Crain's Chicago Business "40 under 40" to watch in 1999 and the World Economic Forum honored him as a "Global Leader of Tomorrow" in 2000. He is a special General Partner at Cue Ball and an operating partner with Sterling Partners. He serves as Chairman of the board of ROTI Mediterranean Grill. He also serves on the boards of Itrim International, MiniLuxe, Unreal, Susie Cakes, and LRN. He serves as Chairman of the global board of trustees of Ronald McDonald House Charities. He has a Master's from the Stockholm School of Economics.