Despite Profit Declines, McDonald's Backs CEO Greenberg for Three More Years <b></b>

Oak Brook, Illinois--McDonald's Corp., under pressure to reverse more than a year of quarterly profit decline, said chairman and chief executive Jack Greenberg agreed to a board of directors' request to stay on as the company's leader for three more years. The oral agreement was disclosed in the company's fiscal 2001 report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many on Wall Street said just because the arrangement was disclosed in a public filing, that doesn't mean Greenberg definitely will remain with McDonald's through 2005. Instead, they viewed it more as an effort to quell unsubstantiated rumors that McDonald's board has lost confidence in the management team--an assertion the company has vehemently denied. -Nation's Restaurant News