Jennifer “JJ” Healan

Jennifer Healan has spent her career building some of the world’s most iconic brands and successfully creating a place for them in culture.

Since February 2020, Healan has led McDonald’s U.S. Marketing team through a creative renaissance and a number of brand “firsts,” including the launch of the iconic Famous Orders platform, the creation of a Happy Meal for adults, inventing the world’s first “Grimace Shake”, turning McDonald’s into anime fans’ “WcDonald’s”, an unscripted, live twitchstream with Kai Cenat, and countless others. The common thread? She finds a way to say “yes” to brave ideas.

Healan’s role includes all consumer touchpoints – national and local advertising, retail, design, social, digital and multicultural marketing. But the ideas she and her team bring to the table touch every part of the McDonald’s organization. She helped the brand find its voice at a time when fans needed it most, and pushed McDonald’s and its creative partners to lean into fandom in everything they make.

Under her creative leadership, McDonald’s has been named to Ad Age’s Marketer A-List, made Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list, and been awarded the US Brand and Marketer of the Year distinctions by the Effie Awards.

Prior to her time at McDonald’s, Healan spent 15 years at The Coca-Cola Company, both in North American and global roles, where she led all advertising, content, and creative excellence for the legacy brand, including global work for Coca-Cola, Fanta, Powerade, and Schweppes.

Healan’s been personally recognized as Ad Age’s Brand Leader of the Year, named a Business Insider Rising Star, Masthead Media’s Marketer of the Year and received the distinguished Adweek 50 Luminary Award for her multifaceted contributions to the marketing and advertising industry.

She lives in Chicago with her husband, Jack, and two kids, who both bring her an enormous amount of joy and keep her on her toes at all times.