McDonald’s UAE: Catalyst for personal growth and success

This Eid Al Etihad, McDonald’s UAE celebrates employees’ success stories

McDonald’s UAE’s commitment to upholding the nation’s vision of progress has been beautifully captured in a recently released film celebrating the inspiring stories of seven employees, whose journeys encapsulate all that the company and the UAE stand for.

Wissam Maarouf came to the UAE from Syria in 1995 with a dream – to provide for his parents, whom he had left behind, and to build a life for himself in this new land of booming opportunity and growth. He began his journey as a trainee at McDonald’s UAE and tirelessly worked his way towards his goal over the next three decades. Today, Maarouf is the Vice President of McDonald’s UAE, and not only has he been able to provide for his parents but has built a beautiful family of his own as well.

Maarouf’s story is one of many success stories in McDonald’s 30-year journey in the UAE. Opening with just one restaurant in Al Ghurair Centre in Dubai in 1994, the fast-food chain has today grown to over 200 restaurants, with more than 4,000 employees spread across all seven emirates, serving hundreds of thousands of customers daily.

But its success is about a lot more than just its signature burgers, fries and shakes. Much like the UAE, which has been a beacon of opportunity and progress for those who have flocked to its shores from 200 different countries across the world, the company has, from the very start, focused on celebrating diversity, and encouraging the growth and development of the thousands who have been part and parcel of its story.

Delivery rider to restaurant manager

Take, for instance, the aspirational story of Anoop Kumar, a young man from Kerala, India, who arrived in the UAE in December 2013. He began his career as a delivery rider at McDonald’s UAE, and his dedication and hard work earned him two awards for performance as a rider. But his story at the company was just the beginning.

He soon moved to working the restaurant kitchen, and it was there that he met – and married – the love of his life. It was also there that he was able to work his way steadily up the ranks and achieve what no one else in the UAE had previously done – become restaurant manager at the same company where he had once been a delivery rider.

Or take the case of Zaldy Villanueva, a shy 19-year-old from the Philippines who moved to the UAE to serve as the crew trainer for the team that would open the very first McDonald’s UAE restaurant. Thirty years later, that shy 19-year-old has evolved into a charismatic leader who is the Director of Supply Chain & Quality Assurance in the company, and is affectionately called Mr McDonald’s by his colleagues and friends alike.

These stories and many, many others show how McDonald’s UAE has been a true partner in the country’s journey towards being a place where people don’t just come to live, but arrive with dreams of building a life that they truly love, forming lifelong bonds along the way. It isn’t surprising that in 2024, McDonald’s UAE was named as the first best workplace in the UAE and ranked as the second-best workplace for women in the GCC by Great Place to Work.

Celebrating the bonds that unite

Fittingly, this year’s Eid Al Etihad has been hailed as a celebration of these very bonds that connect all those who call the UAE their home, regardless of the country they come from, and of upholding the values that unite us all.

In keeping with this theme of community, collaboration and sustainability, McDonald’s UAE recently announced an on-going donation campaign that would help in providing free treatment to 3,000 patients a month at the Red Crescent Medical Center, the only centre in the country to offer free healthcare across all ages and nationalities. This comes on the heels of the company’s successful collaboration with the Emirates Red Crescent over the past six years, during which time they have raised more than Dh2.8 million in donations through various charitable campaigns in support of local humanitarian aid efforts.