Michèle Boudria – Alumna of the Year 2023

Journalisme – Écrit, Class of 1988

Michèle Boudria was destined for leadership.

More than 30 years after graduating from Algonquin College’s Journalism Program, this year’s recipient of the Alumni of Distinction Award as Alumna of the Year, and Premier’s Award nominee in the business category, can add President and CEO of McDonald’s Canada to her long list of accomplishments.

During her two years at the Ottawa campus of Algonquin College, Boudria had opportunities to experience simulated director, producer, journalist, and editor roles within the (mock) radio show and student-produced news releases.

It was the head of the journalism program at the time, Hubert Potvin, who took her aside and told her she wouldn’t be a journalist, predicting bigger things for her saying she was going to be a leader of people one day.

“I said, ‘why do you say that? I want to be a journalist’. And he said, ‘no Michèle, you are too natural at leading people’,” Boudria remembers.

At the time she already worked as a shift manager at a McDonald’s in Aylmer, Que, where she lived. From the age of 16, she was starting to lead people at the restaurant as a team leader and crew trainer.

“It really stuck with me,” she said of those perceptive words of her journalism professor. “I often think back on those days as he was so insightful. It felt like permission to do something other than journalism and really pursue a career in management.

“You don’t realize this when you are going to college. You think you are there to learn the technical abilities in a particular field. But the reality is I probably learned a whole lot more about leadership than I learned about journalism.”

Reflecting on the skillsets garnered through her Journalism degree, what stands out for Boudria is how this experience helped her become a better leader by elevating how she engaged with people “on a deeper level.”

“Leveraging my expertise of building engaging narratives for various audiences, I’ve been able to create meaningful connections with people inside and outside of the organization. And it allowed me to augment my proficiency around expressing of ideas and concepts, as well as logical reasoning and creative, strategic thinking. But it’s really qualities of transparency, teamwork, clarity of purpose and keeping calm under pressure that have served me most throughout my career.”

Boudria said her journalism instruction certainly didn’t go to waste as she considers her primary role at one of the world’s most iconic brands as their chief storyteller in Canada.

She encourages young people to pursue post-secondary education when they are searching for their path in life.

“I pursued my education and try to encourage others to do so as well, because it does make a difference. It’s not the only way, but it is one way to make sure you are fast-tracked through your career because you have an enhanced learning ability.

“It’s about stimulating critical thinking. It’s about leadership. It’s about a commitment to continuous learning in general,” she said.

Boudria remembers always loving the McDonald’s brand starting out at the drive-thru as many young employees did and quickly advancing to shift manager.

“We like to say we have ketchup in our veins,” she quipped of McDonald’s employees. In her free time starting out, she would drop by the restaurant and ask if there was work being done that she could learn.

“It was obvious to me that I had this massive love for the brand and that I saw lots of opportunities. Never in a million years did I imagine I would be President and CEO one day. When I had graduated, they said, ‘we love working with you, we love the leadership you show. If you want, you can continue growing your career under the Arches. So, I did all the restaurant roles – assistant manager, manager, and other supervisory roles.”

Ottawa was headquarters for her the first 24 years of her career at McDonald’s working in all the field roles, supporting and enabling the success of local franchisee and corporate restaurants.

And then in 2008, she moved to Toronto and was given the opportunity to be the National Director of Training, Learning and Development. In that role, with a seat on the worldwide training board, she had exposure to the global team.

From 2011 to 2015, Boudria played a leadership role in the Worldwide Operations team based in Chicago. Upon returning home in 2015, she joined the Canada Leadership Team in the role of McCafé Officer and led the team responsible for defining the vision and execution of the McCafé brand, guiding it to consistent periods of growth. In 2018, she was appointed West Regional Vice-President, a role she held until 2021 when she was appointed Managing Director of the Dutch market.

In June 2022, she was named the first woman President & CEO of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada. She is responsible for the business operations across more than 1,400 McDonald’s restaurants.

Surprisingly, while being named President & CEO was incredibly meaningful for Boudria “and wonderful to be back with my home team”, the biggest highlight of her career, she says, was the appointment to Managing Director of McDonald’s Netherlands.

“This appointment speaks to the McDonald’s system’s willingness to believe in others. They sent me to a market where I didn’t speak the language and I’d never worked there before. But the system rallied behind me to support me and give me the tools to be successful. This opportunity was really meaningful to me for these reasons. But what’s really special is that now I get to be the other side of that conversation, and support others on their growth opportunities.”

She wasn’t sure what was going to get more attention, the fact that she went from the front counter to CEO, like her predecessors, or that she was the first woman to lead the Canadian operations.

“When it was announced it was an equal reaction. The fact that I was able to achieve this is incredibly important. I don’t for one minute diminish the importance of seeing more women in these types of roles. I take it seriously, but what I always say to people is, ‘yes, I’m the first woman, but that’s not the only reason I am here – and I certainly won’t be the last’.

“First, I am a real strong businessperson. That’s the first thing. I happen to be a woman, who worked incredibly hard, committed to continuous learning, and leaned into challenging opportunities. I’m thankful to the people who saw potential in me and nurtured that growth mindset, because it helped me to think beyond what I thought was possible at the time. Today, I’m committed to ensuring others can see this seat as a possibility – and you do that by building equitable workplaces for all.

“Sometimes I have to ground myself. I’m just some good ole girl from Gatineau who worked really hard … that is the extent for me.”

She says a growth mindset and grit has carried her far in business.

“You could have excessive intelligence. You can be very knowledgeable. But if you don’t have grit, perseverance, this business world is tough. You have to be resilient, and you have to be able to stand back up when you’re knocked down because you will be knocked down many, many times. And, you have to know how to engage and connect with others. Those are the key parts I would suggest – growth mindset, grit, resilience, and a deep caring for people – are all the things that stand out.

Even with all the success she has experienced in the business world, Boudria says she was surprised by the recent recognition as Algonquin College’s Alumna of the Year and Premier’s Award nominee.

“It ranks right up there to be perfectly honest. I came from very humble beginnings. When I saw the email, I just thought, why me? So, I was very humbled and honoured. At the same time, I see it as a big responsibility. I feel like I can’t let the College down.

“I am absolutely honoured. I really appreciate it.”

She has very fond memories of her time at Algonquin College and has stayed in touch with many of her fellow students who took different paths.

“Algonquin College has a very special place in my heart.”