Three key McDonald’s execs leave company

CHICAGO - Three executives who were key figures in McDonald's now two-year-old effort to transform itself are being replaced.

Deborah Wahl, chief marketing officer, Lance Richards, vice president of menu strategy, and Julia Vander Ploeg, vice president of digital, are leaving the company. The chain, headquartered in suburban Chicago, announced the departures Tuesday night.

The three are the first division leaders to depart since the hiring of a new U.S. president at the beginning of the year, former Kraft executive Chris Kempczinski. The action suggests the world's largest burger chain is growing impatient with the slowing speed of its menu and technological innovations.

McDonald's lost its first chief digital officer, Atif Rafiq, to Volvo late last year. The chain also announced the departure of two other executives at that time, moves that were part of an effort to reduce layers of management at the company - Karen King, McDonald's USA's chief field officer, and Erik Hess, senior vice president of customer experience. After those executives left, the division presidents reported directly to Kempczinski.

Julia Vander Ploeg is following Rafiq to Volvo, according to her LinkedIn profile. It's not clear where the other executives, Wahl and Richards, are headed.

Their replacements are expected to start later this month.