McDonald's employees scoop top female retail awards

22nd September 2009, 9:05am

Two of McDonald's leading ladies, who both began their careers as school leavers, have been recognised in the 'Specsavers everywoman in Retail Awards 2009'.

Helen Humphrey, vice president of National Operations from South Wales, was chosen as winner in the Inspiration of the Year category.

Helen joined McDonald's as a 16 year old school girl, working part-time. She deferred her university place two years later to take on the challenge of restaurant management. Now 25 years on Helen is heavily involved in the development of the UK Business Plan which sets the strategic direction for the company and she is directly responsible for ensuring that this strategy is implemented across all 1,200 restaurants in the UK.

She is one of only a handful of McDonald's employees to have received the President's Award, and speaking about this new award Helen said: "The retail sector can suffer from a negative image, but once people start working for a retail organisation, they begin to understand what a challenging and rewarding career it can be. My ethos is that work should be fun and it's important to enjoy and feel good about what you do for a living."

Leah Boothe, operations manager from Luton was named as the winner in the Star of the Future category.

She took a part-time role as a crew member for McDonalds while studying for her A-levels. Leah was offered a place on a new company programme targeted at young, passionate individuals with the potential to excel. This enabled her to work as a junior business manager whilst simultaneously completing her degree in Social Research.

In her current role as operations manager, Leah is responsible for 52 restaurants across the south east and London, directly managing seven area managers, at the age of 29.

Leah said: "I'm quite an introverted person, so I feel I have been really lucky that my senior managers have recognised my talent and dedication, and promoted me several times, which has improved my confidence significantly."

Maxine Benson, co-founder and director of everywoman added: "There is no denying that times have recently been tough for the retail sector, which is why companies need to ensure their most talented staff are encouraged into management roles. By celebrating the accomplishments of those such as Helen and Leah, we hope that other women will have role models to look up to, and see retail as an area where they can flourish and maximise their skills."

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