Thompson will become McDonald's first African-American chief executive officer on July 1. He's currently the president and COO. He says diversity fuels innovation and innovation fuels success.
"I'm not standing here today to say to you that everyone should run out and do something to make sure you have a quote unquote more diverse team, I'm saying I hope you're bright enough to understand if you have a diverse team, your business results will be much better, that's why we were number one on the Dow last year," Thompson said.
Thompson says 45 percent of McDonald's franchise owners are women or minorities.
