Executive Moves Food & Agriculture

McDonald’s reassigns its chief sustainability officer to beef strategy

The fast food purveyor has transitioned sustainability and social impact initiatives to its lead executive for diversity, equity and inclusion, Suheily Natal Davis. Read More

By Heather Clancy July 9, 2026

Beth Hart was McDonald's CSO for slightly more than two years. Source: McDonald's

Key Takeaways:

Beth Hart, who has been CSO for two years, previously worked on supply chain and sourcing issues for both McDonald’s and supermarket company Sainsbury’s.
She’ll still be involved in McDonald’s planned $1 billion investment in programs such as regenerative agriculture and cattle grazing.
Davis, Hart’s successor, has led McDonald’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy since January 2021.

McDonald’s Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer Beth Hart is returning to her roots in supply chain sustainability and sourcing as the fast food company’s new vice president, global category head of beef.

Hart’s new role combines responsibility for quality control, supply chain management and responsible sourcing, skills she previously put to use in supply chain executive roles for the U.K. division of McDonald’s and for supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, where she worked on sustainable sourcing, product development and brand management.

Hart was in the CSO position for slightly more than two years; she joined McDonald’s close to eight years ago.

“Our team and partners around the world have shown what’s possible when purpose and partnership come together, and that’s something I’ll always carry with me,” Hart said in a LinkedIn post revealing her new role.

Hart’s responsibilities are being picked up by Suheily Natal Davis, an attorney who’s been focused on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at McDonald’s since January 2021. Davis, who’s been with McDonald’s for a decade, will start her new job as chief sustainability, social impact and inclusion officer after a summer sabbatical.

“I’m proud to be entrusted with bringing these three areas of work together under one team as we continue to drive progress and meaningful impact across our people, our planet, and the markets and communities we serve,” Davis said on LinkedIn.

Like many other companies that made science-based emissions reductions pledges in the first half of the decade, McDonald’s is reviewing those targets.

The fast food goliath recently warned that it will miss its goal to halve the industrial and energy emissions from its supply chain and franchise network by 2030, citing issues outside the company’s control. It will invest $1 billion in supply chain resilience programs, including regenerative agriculture and grazing programs, over the next decade. In her new role, Hart will have direct influence over how some of that money is spent.

Beef and agricultural commodities such as soy, palm oil, coffee and fiber for food packaging, which fall under Scope 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s carbon accounting rules, make up the biggest share of McDonald’s footprint. The company has reduced related emissions by 3 percent since 2018.