With more than 30 years of international business experience with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. Richard’s unique global business experience makes him uniquely qualified as an executive coach, a trusted advisor to C-Suite and senior executives, and a strategic business partner.
As Vice President, Global Corporate Relations at McDonald’s Corporation, Richard led McDonald’s global Corporate Relations function across 20+ countries. In this unique executive role, Richard was responsible for strategically leading McDonald’s global Corporate Relations function.
Richard joined McDonald’s in 2003 as Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs at McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited. In 2005 he moved to Chicago, Illinois to take on the role of Vice President, Communications for McDonald’s USA. In 2008, he returned to McDonald’s Canada as Senior Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs.
Before joining McDonald’s, Richard was President & Chief Executive Officer of Weber Shandwick Worldwide (Canada) Inc., one of Canada’s leading national public relations consultancies. While at Weber Shandwick, Ellis managed the firm’s business operations across nine Canadian offices, applying his strategic public relations, issues/crisis management and marketing communications expertise to a wide variety of leading Canadian and international clients.
Richard’s diverse expertise includes Communications, Public Affairs, Government Relations, Issues Management, Sustainability, Management Communications, Sponsorships & Donations, Customer Relations, Stakeholder Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion, and Events Management.
An experienced board director, Richard is Past Chairman of the Board of Directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada, Advisory Board of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards National Committee, and Co-chair of The Sandbox Project. He is an accredited member of the Canadian Public Relations Society, a member of the International Association of Business Communicators and the Public Relations Society of America.
A proud advocate of diversity and inclusion, Richard was recognized as a Canadian Diversity Champion by Women of Influence magazine in 2012. He obtained his accreditation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) in 2015 and the International Coach Federation (ICF) in 2019.
