George Alan Cohon, is an American-born Canadian businessman who is the founder and senior chairman of McDonald's Canada and McDonald's of Russia.
Early life and education
Cohon was born to a Ukrainian father and an American mother in Chicago, Illinois. His father worked as a lawyer and later a baker. He grew up in Chicago sharing a bedroom alongside his older sister Sandy. He received a B.Sc. from Drake University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern University School of Law. While at Northwestern, he met his future wife Susan.
Career
Cohon practiced corporate law in Chicago from 1961 through 1967 at his fathers law firm before moving to Toronto, Ontario, as the licensee of McDonald's Corporation for Eastern Canada. He opened his first McDonald's location in London Ontario on November 11, 1968. On the day of the opening, McDonald's founder Ray Kroc offered to buy Cohon's licence for $1 million. He later became chairman, president and chief executive officer of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada. By 1976, Cohon presided over 200 McDonald locations. In 1982, Cohon and 20 corporate sponsors helped save the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, which was sponsored by Eaton's department stores from 1905 to 1981. He grew his McDonald franchise by himself until 1971, when McDonald's bought him out with stock. Cohon eventually became a Canadian citizen in 1975. In 1988, Cohon was appointed to sit on the board of the Royal Bank of Canada and Director of the Board of Astral Inc and Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation. He was involved in opening McDonald's in the former Soviet Union with the first restaurant opening in Moscow on January 31, 1990. He was subsequently named Russia's "Capitalist Hero of Labor." The first restaurant was at the time McDonald's biggest, and was opened with minimal involvement from the U.S. parent company, for political reasons. It accepted only Russian rubles, not hard currency, and in the early days, the line to enter the restaurant could be several hours long. Due to Soviet supply shortages, the company created its own supply chain in the Soviet Union, including farms and packaging. At the 1991 G7 Summit in London, Canadian Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney personally complained to Mikhail Gorbachev about the difficulties Cohon was experiencing doing business in the Soviet Union. He is also the founder of Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides accommodation for families whose children are receiving medical treatment, in Canada and in Russia.
His son, Mark Cohon, was the 12th commissioner of the Canadian Football League. In 2000, George Cohon was diagnosed with prostate cancer but fully recovered. In 2004, he was rejected from Toronto's Rosedale Golf Club due to his Jewish heritage. After being taken to court, a Judge ruled this was unlawful.
Multimedia
CBC Television reports on the opening of Moscow McDonald's.
