Colin Mitchell has ended a 16 year stint at Ogilvy & Mather to join McDonald’s as its global vice president of brands.

Mitchell, who most recently served as the WPP agency’s head of strategic planning, will express the chain’s brand vision and positioning, as well as “impacting major pieces of the McDonald’s brand, including advertising, visual identity and packaging”, reporting to global chief marketing officer Silvia Lagnado.

“Colin is widely respected as one of the brightest and most talented planners in the advertising industry and we are delighted to welcome him to McDonald’s at such an exciting and important time,” said Lagnado.

“His invaluable experience working with major global companies and his passion for brand vision and strategy will have a lasting impact in our business.”

Mitchell, who has worked with brands including Coca-Cola, IBM and BlackRock, will move from New York to Chicago with his family to take on the new role.

This appointment comes shortly after McDonald’s 2015 turnaround plan which in April 2016 has yielded a 6.2% increase in first quarter same store sales worldwide. The chain is currently undertaking a creative review of its US business, with Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett and Omnicom’s DDB currently handling creative.

Watch M&M Global’s interview with Social@Ogilvy’s global managing director Thomas Crampton.