 
Russ Smyth,
President and Chief Executive Officer |
Russ Smyth was named Chief Executive Officer of H&R Block, Inc. effective Aug. 1, 2008.
Smyth was previously a consultant, equity owner, or active board member for several private equity firms. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years at McDonald’s Corp., gaining extensive worldwide management experience in Latin America, Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Most recently he served as President of McDonald’s Europe, the company’s second largest territory in the world, overseeing 6,200 restaurants in 51 countries that represented $6.7B in total revenues. Smyth also was the President of McDonald's Partner Brands, managing the portfolio of restaurant concepts the company acquired or invested in, including Boston Market, Donatos Pizzeria, Chipotle, Pret A Manger and Fazoli's.
Before leading partner brands for McDonald’s, Smyth served as Senior Vice President, International Relationship Partner for Southeast and Central Asia, responsible for managing all McDonald's operations in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He also managed McDonald's business in Puerto Rico, Central America, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Uruguay. Smyth started his career with McDonald’s in the financial arena serving as the European Controller and eventually the company’s International Controller.
During his time at McDonald’s, Smyth received the President's Award, which is given to the company's top performing employees each year.
Smyth is on the Board of Trustees for Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. He also has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Midtronics, Inc., a Willowbrook, Ill., company focused on the development of innovative technologies for battery management solutions.
Smyth started his career on the audit staff of Price Waterhouse. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University. Smyth and his wife, Dawn, have four children.
|
|
