CELEBRATING GOLDEN JUBILEE: THE YOUTH SHOULD STAY HUNGRY
RANDY LAI SHARES HER INSIGHTS FROM LEADING A GLOBAL HAMBURGER BRAND IN HONG KONG
Alumna Randy Lai (05/GS/EMBA) joined McDonald’s in 1998, and has been working there for nearly 30 years. Last year, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary. What brings her on board was that she is passionate about the brand, which gradually changes into a sense of mission: “Not only do I let customers savour high-quality food and enjoy the best service, but I also hope to do more for society by leveraging the brand’s power.” With a background in marketing, she got promoted successively from Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McDonald’s Hong Kong. “The difference between the two is that a CMO tells the brand story, and constantly brings fresh experiences to customers, while a CEO has to make a brand promise, ensuring that every customer feels the experience the brand promises at every stage, from entering the restaurant and ordering to dining”.
Randy started her career as a Marketing Executive of McDonald’s China, and was promoted to CMO of McDonald’s Hong Kong in 2005. Randy described this career as her dream job, but she wanted to take her career up a notch and make a greater contribution. “There’s a substantial leap from CMO to CEO, so I pursued an EMBA at CUHK to broaden my view of the whole business and strengthen how I lead across functions. The most valuable part of the programme is that I learnt to think from different perspectives and got acquainted with classmates from diverse sectors and backgrounds. Doing group projects with them and participating in exchange programmes in Tokyo trained me to put myself in others’ place, which was conducive to my work in the future.”
EMBA Course Inspires Corporate Spirit
“Customer First, People Obsessed, Innovate for Growth” is the spirit McDonald’s has always upheld. Randy stated that the concept was essentially inspired by the CUHK EMBA programme. “Prof. Andrew Chan often mentions the ‘left-right circles’ theory: the left circle represents what the company can do, and the right circle represents what customers need. Doing business is about finding the overlap between these two circles. The world today is however changing rapidly; two circles are still insufficient. Technologies and market trends are evolving at an unprecedented pace, especially in the catering industry which has undergone tremendous transformation. In the past, there was no e-commerce, and not many international brands were entering the Hong Kong market. Leading the team to stay true to our original aspirations and move forward in this rapidly changing environment is what I need to do. I feel like I am doing a new task every day. On one hand, I’m learning e-commerce; on the other hand, I’m learning digital transformation, and I’ve been recently learning artificial intelligence. That’s why I haven’t felt bored doing the same job for so many years.”
She stated that digital transformation is a pivotal part of innovation and change. “Currently, we offer six ways of ordering. Apart from ordering from our restaurant counter, customers can also order through McDonald’s App, self-ordering kiosks, two third-party delivery platforms, and dine-in table service. Many people don’t expect that McDonald’s, as a fast food restaurant, would offer dine-in table services, a direct response to a customer‑reported pain point. Now, our staff member will deliver the food directly to customers once they make an order with their mobile phone and scan the QR code on the table. This is especially convenient for customers with children or the elderly.”
The reason why I choose CUHK for further studies is that I hope to enhance my connection with China. “I studied in Canada, and I hoped to connect with the Chinese and Asian networks through my studies at CUHK. I remember that there was indeed a number of classmates from Chinese Mainland at the time, and I learnt a lot about the country’s landscape and wisdom from them. One particularly impressive course in the CUHK EMBA programme explored management wisdom through the ‘I Ching’, and I gained valuable insights from it. Even though it has been 20 years since graduation, my classmates and I still keep in touch. Although we’re all busy and see each other less often, we still greet each other in our chat group every day, reflecting our long-lasting friendship.” She also shared an interesting anecdote: “The EMBA classes were held in the Bank of America Tower in Admiralty. Back then, my classmates often complained about the lack of dining places nearby, so we opened a McDonald’s restaurant. Unfortunately, it closed due to the impact of the pandemic, but it remains a cherished memory for my classmates and me.”
Actively Stepping into Frontline Roles
Besides equipping herself with further studies, Randy did something unconventional before serving as CEO: “One year, as CMO, I humbled myself and spent a year training in the restaurant to learn frontline tasks from scratch like frying French fries, cleaning, and brewing coffee. I once ran into a friend who worked at a marketing company while I was brewing coffee. She thought I had quit the marketing job and become a barista! What I learned that year was empathy, and I came to understand what customers and frontline staff might be thinking in the restaurant.”
The CEO’s role is to deliver on the brand promise over a 30-minute dining experience. She felt grateful for her frontline experience working at a restaurant, where she mastered every detail of operating a restaurant. “The restaurant’s location, renovation and design, staff recruitment and training, food quality, etc., should all be taken into account. Even seemingly trivial things like the location of trash bins and whether handwashing stations are installed, carry valuable insights. For example, when I was working at the restaurant, I observed that customers often asked the frontline staff for drinking water, so I decided to install water dispensers in every restaurant to make things convenient for customers and reduce the workload for our colleagues. Also, the water dispensers should provide both cold and hot water since Hong Kong people prefer lukewarm water.”
As CEO, Randy describes herself as a conductor of a symphony orchestra. “Each department excels in its respective specialty, just like the cellists, violinists, pianists, and flute players in an orchestra who perform exceptionally well on their specialised musical instruments. However, if each of them plays separately, it won’t be a harmonised piece. My responsibility is to conduct, organise all the musicians, and decide which musical instruments should be louder or softer, and when. I am here to bring out the best in every member of the orchestra. I first explain to the team what piece to play, and after setting the goal, I break down the musical score and decide the task each player is responsible for. Similarly, we set a new strategy every year to give the team a clear goal and know which direction to go.”
Randy cited No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po last November as an example: “I was in a meeting in Shanghai that day. After my flight arrived in Hong Kong at around 9 p.m., I held a meeting with all the senior leadership team to discuss how to support the residents of Tai Po. No matter how big or small the issue, some bosses would leave messages demanding that colleagues handle it at once. However, I try not to contact my colleagues all the time. I respect work-life balance, especially in today’s information-saturated society. If bosses are often sending messages, colleagues will find it difficult to identify priorities, and as a result, they won’t be able to get anything done.”
Leveraging Brand Power to Contribute to Society
Speaking of the fire accident, Randy said the company’s response was a testament to its brand promise: “McDonald’s was among the first to respond: starting the day after the incident, three 24-hour restaurants in Tai Po provided free food to any resident who asked for support – no proof required. This arrangement continued until 6th March, and by the end of February, we had delivered over 32,000 meals; we also visited a primary school near Wang Fuk Court and delivered over 800 meals to students for their Christmas party. I appreciate that McDonald’s always serves as a member of the community and proactively contributes to society, which also explains why I’m willing to work here for over 20 years.”
Another achievement that makes Randy feel proud of is that the company became the first in Hong Kong’s food and beverage industry to introduce the Professional Diploma in Management Development (QF Level 5) programme. “The public may not notice that McDonald’s organises a very rigorous training programme globally, with 11 ‘Hamburger University’ established around the globe. We’ve combined McDonald’s globally systematic training system with the Hong Kong government’s Qualifications Framework to launch the programme, giving DSE students more career options. Once joined McDonald’s, one will get promoted to Restaurant General Manager (RGM) in as fast as 30 months, and he/she can obtain the qualification equivalent to a bachelor’s degree upon passing the assessment. When I attended the first graduation ceremony, I found that parents were deeply moved by their children who had an opportunity to obtain a bachelor’s degree; there was also a RGM in his thirties who hadn’t attended university, he came with his wife and children so they could share the moment of him donning a graduation gown. Most touching of all was a 59-year-old colleague who had been working in the company for 30 years, and never expected that a mortarboard was his retirement gift!”
Continuous innovation over the years has led to the launch of a number of innovative products. Twisty Pasta is the product that Randy is most proud of. “When customers came to McDonald’s for breakfast in the past, the only options available were Sausage McMuffin with Egg and Hotcakes. However, Hong Kong people mostly prefer foods with soup for their breakfast, so Twisty Pasta was launched. Unlike traditional C-shaped macaroni, Twisty Pasta is S-shaped which can hold more soup. We also constantly launch innovative services. I’m most proud of launching 24-hour service in 2006. When I first proposed the concept of 24-hour operation, some colleagues doubted, thinking that there wouldn’t be any business at night. Actually, many Hong Kong people get off work very late, and many night school students don’t finish the class until 10 pm. They find it difficult to find a place to eat, and our restaurant serves as their haven.”
Innovation can lead to both success and failure. Randy believes that failure is not inherently bad. “Fàn-Tastic” is a case in point. We thought that Hong Kong people like rice, so we developed a rice burger. Although this innovative project brought me the Marketer of the Year award, a year later, we found that customers who wanted to have rice for meals wouldn’t necessarily think of McDonald’s. In the end, I was the one who suggested to my boss that we remove this item. I’m happy to admit mistakes, as long as I won’t repeat the same mistake. Unlearning and relearning from mistakes is the most valuable.”
Listening to The Youths’ Voices
McDonald’s Hong Kong, one of the city’s largest youth employers, is where Randy actively engages young people and practises reverse mentoring to learn from them. “Many CEOs like to be mentors, but I believe more in reverse mentoring to learn from the youths, which also stems from empathy. We shouldn’t wait for students to understand us, instead we should proactively understand the youths nowadays. They really want others to listen to their voices. In 2022, we established a Youth Advisory Board in the company, and have held meetings with them quarterly to hear their opinions. Our recent successful collaborations with Vandy the Pink and Chiikawa, and our ‘No waiting, that’s cool’ slogan are the contributions made by the Board, which helped the brand find its way to attract young consumers.”
Randy advises that the youths should “Stay Hungry”. “Always bear a mindset of continuous learning, listen more, learn more, and observe more. Learning is not limited to formal classes; there are so many ways to acquire knowledge nowadays. The most crucial thing is to maintain a youthful and curious mind, think about how to do better and make further progress. This is also my motto in life.”
Randy Lai’s Journey
- 1998 Marketing Executive, McDonald’s China
- 2005 Marketing Director, McDonald’s Hong Kong;
Executive Master of Business Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - 2010 Managing Director, McDonald’s Singapore
- 2011 Managing Director, McDonald’s Hong Kong
- 2012 Adjunct Associate Professor, Business School, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- 2017 CEO, McDonald’s Hong Kong
- 2025 Board Member, Hong Kong Tourism Board
Published on CU Alumni Magazine Issue 125 by Alumni Affairs Office 2026
Read online: CU Alumni Magazine Issue 125 (Chinese Version Only)
PDF: http://www.alumni.cuhk.edu.hk/magazine/202603/pdf/CUAM_202603.pdf
ISSUU: http://www.alumni.cuhk.edu.hk/magazine/issuu/