Rob Andreacchi – McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited

Rob Andreacchi did not set out to become a real estate lawyer with a global brand on his résumé. His early interests were rooted in cities themselves. As an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, he studied urban studies, drawn to how cities function, grow, and adapt. That curiosity led him toward debates, structure, and persuasion, and eventually to law school at the University of Windsor. There, he began to see how legal frameworks quietly shape the built environment and the businesses that operate within it. Over time, real estate law emerged as the place where those interests converged.

Rob Andreacchi | McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited | Head of Real Estate Legal Practice

After graduating, Andreacchi spent nearly four years in private practice at a national business law firm, where he rotated through several areas and gained broad exposure to commercial work. One of those rotations was real estate, and it resonated immediately. The work was complex and practical, the personalities collaborative, and the impact tangible. He gravitated toward transactions at the intersection of law, land, and long-term strategy, and consciously chose to keep commercial work woven into his career.

That blend of legal rigor and business fluency later defined his more than eight years as corporate counsel with Walmart Canada. There, Andreacchi learned how legal advice functions inside a large, operationally complex organization. He saw firsthand how real estate decisions ripple across development, construction, operations, and long-term growth planning. Just as important, he began to think seriously about leadership. While he continued to deepen his expertise, he also paid close attention to the managers around him, noting what worked, what did not, and how different leadership styles affected teams.

“I always fancied myself as a leader, and I had some great leaders and mentors along the way,” Andreacchi says.

That interest eventually became a deliberate pursuit. In June 2023, Andreacchi joined McDonald’s Canada, drawn by the opportunity to help lead a function rather than simply practice within it. He joined as senior legal counsel and, in March 2025, was promoted to head of real estate legal practice. Today, he oversees the Canadian real estate legal team, leading a group of nine lawyers and law clerks within a full-service legal department of approximately 25 professionals based at the company’s Toronto headquarters.

Andreacchi’s leadership style and approach contributed to him being awarded the McDonald’s Canada Leadership Award in February 2026. This company award recognizes the top 5 percent of all corporate employees who deliver strong performance, embody a one-team mindset and demonstrate strong leadership behaviours.

Building a legal foundation at scale

McDonald’s Canada operates as a subsidiary with its own Canadian C-suite, while remaining closely aligned with U.S. and global counterparts. The legal function reflects that dual reality. Andreacchi’s team supports restaurant development, asset management, construction, planning and design, and capacity reinvestment, while also coordinating with global compliance and legal teams to ensure consistency across borders.

McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer, with more than 44,000 locations across over 100 countries. Approximately 95 percent of its restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local franchisees. Globally, McDonald’s and its franchisees employ approximately 2 million people and serve some of the world’s most recognizable menu items, from the Big Mac to World Famous Fries. In Canada, the company operates over 1,500 restaurants, most of which are franchised.

That franchise model makes real estate central to the business. Site selection teams, spatial geographers, and development professionals work constantly to identify prime locations, particularly as urban markets evolve and densify. Andreacchi often describes McDonald’s as a real estate company at its core, one that happens to serve food. His legal team supports that engine by negotiating leases, assisting with land acquisitions, managing landlord-tenant disputes, and maintaining a vast national portfolio.

“We’re in a period of very rapid growth, the most accelerated pace of new restaurant development in the company’s history,” Andreacchi says.

The pace has required structural change. Over the past year, Andreacchi led a significant reorganization and expansion of the Canadian real estate legal group, adding five new lawyers and clerks and redesigning the team’s partnership with the business. The goal was not simply to add capacity, but to build a cohesive, high-performing unit capable of supporting growth at scale.

Leading people, not just managing work

Andreacchi describes his proudest accomplishment at McDonald’s as building that team. His award-winning leadership philosophy centers on clarity, trust, and empowerment. He sets clear strategic goals and expectations, provides support and context, and then gives his lawyers the space to execute independently. In his view, high-performing teams do not need micromanagement. They need alignment, consistent communication, a psychologically safe environment and confidence that their leader will follow through.

“Everyone can manage, but not everyone can lead. Meaningful leadership requires vision, trust, judgment, and the ability to inspire others to move in the same direction. While management keeps the wheels turning, leadership gives the journey purpose and meaning,” Andreacchi says.

That mindset shapes how he hires and develops talent. With a brand as well-known as McDonald’s, Andreacchi is intentional about recruiting lawyers and law clerks who are aligned with the company’s values and who see corporate legal work as a long-term career, not a temporary stop. He spends time understanding what motivates each team member and how they want to grow, then places them in roles where they can thrive.

The team’s structure reflects that people-first approach. While all lawyers operate nationally, the group uses regional pairings between lawyers and clerks to improve efficiency and the equity of workloads. The team also relies on close consultation with local counsel, particularly in Quebec, where McDonald’s maintains two lawyers in Montreal to navigate a distinct legal environment.

Andreacchi invests significant time in formal and informal mentorship. He emphasizes availability, encouraging open conversations that extend beyond immediate work product. Having experienced both strong and ineffective leadership earlier in his career, he draws lessons from both to continue refining his approach.

“I’ve benefited from good leadership and bad leadership, and you need both to become the best version of the leader you can be,” Andreacchi says.

From legal advisor to business partner

As the real estate legal team has matured, Andreacchi’s focus has shifted from building capacity to deepening integration with the business. He views legal as an embedded partner that understands McDonald’s operations, growth strategy, and long-term objectives, rather than a function focused solely on risk management.

That perspective has driven several operational initiatives. Over the past year, the team introduced new playbooks and templates, partnered more closely with development and construction leaders, and significantly reduced contract life-cycle times. They also began rethinking contract management, redesigning drafting and preparation processes to reduce administrative burden and free up lawyers to focus on higher-value work.

“I see myself as a student of the business and a proactive thought partner who takes a practical, solutions‑oriented approach to assessing and communicating potential impacts—ensuring decisions are well‑informed, risks are appropriately managed, and McDonald’s Canada’s strategic priorities are achieved,” Andreacchi says.

Looking ahead, Andreacchi is focused on the next phase of optimization. That includes reviewing litigation spend and related internal processes for efficiency, expanding training for business partners in areas most relevant to their roles, and continuing to evolve how the legal team supports one of the company’s largest areas of investment. With many Canadian markets still underserved and several existing restaurants operating above capacity, demand for strategic real estate support continues to grow.

For Andreacchi, the work remains grounded in the same interests that first drew him to cities and law. Real estate, leadership, and business strategy all intersect in ways that shape communities and organizations over the course of decades. At McDonald’s Canada, he has found the runway to lead, to build, and to help a global brand grow thoughtfully in a rapidly changing landscape.