Entrepreneur Guest Lecture: Doug Wright MBE

Join us for a guest lecture and Q&A with entrepreneur to hear his journey starting as a McDonald’s cleaner to franchisee owner of 26 restaurants; sharing valuable insights about entrepreneurship, business and strategy.

Doug Wright MBE is the chief executive officer of his franchised restaurant company which operates twenty six McDonald’s restaurants across the West Midlands. He began his career at McDonald’s as a cleaner, one day before he left school in 1981. Doug became a franchisee in 2002 and now operates one of McDonald’s largest franchised organisations employing over 2,200 people. In 2016 he was a recipient of the Fred L Turner Golden Award which recognises the best McDonald’s franchisees in their global system.

Doug dedicates a lot of his time to charity work. His inspiration comes from being hospitalised for nearly a year at the age of 20.

He was chairman of the Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham for six years, a charity providing a home away from home to families whilst their children are being treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Doug was awarded an honorary doctorate by Aston University in 2022, as well as an MBE, and named the regional EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019. He is a patron and director of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and mentors many local businesses and young entrepreneurs.

Host or Publisher Aston Enterprise