Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño (29 July 1934 – 6 September 2021) was a Chilean-Guatemalan businesswoman and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She managed the

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

in Guatemala from its start in 1974 and is recognized for having introduced a concept for a small children's menu to the company that would lead to the creation of the "

Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley face ...

Early life

Fernández de Cofiño was born in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, where she lived until she was 20 years old. In 1956 her father was appointed Chilean ambassador for Guatemala, so she relocated to Guatemala with the rest of her family. In Guatemala she met and later married José María Cofiño Valladares; they had five children together.

Business activities

In 1974, Fernández and her husband purchased the first

for Guatemala. Fernández de Cofiño was involved in the business from the beginning. She focused on marketing the franchise as a family restaurant. To be better prepared, she attended

Hamburger University Hamburger University is a training facility at the McDonald's Corporation global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. It instructs high-potential restaurant managers, mid-managers and owner-operators in restaurant management. Hamburger Universit ...

in Oak Brook,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and participated in seminars and conventions. While working in the restaurant, she noticed that the menu portions offered were too large for children. This led her to introduce the "Ronald Menu", which included a small

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

, a small portion

French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

and an ice cream, in addition to a toy. The idea was noticed by executives at the McDonald's corporate offices in the US, who advised her to present the menu in the World Franchisee Convention in 1977. McDonald's adopted the idea and implemented it worldwide in 1979, renaming it to "

". Fernández de Cofiño received a "Ronald Award" from the corporation. Another innovation that was implemented by Fernández de Cofiño locally and then adopted by McDonald's internationally was the concept of birthday celebrations in the restaurants. She was granted a second "Ronald Award" for this idea. After her husband died, Fernández de Cofiño continued managing the restaurant chain; in 2006 she acquired the franchises for

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, establishing "McDonald's Mesoamérica". In 2018 she left the franchise management to her children, although she continued participating occasionally.

Philanthropic activities

Fernández de Cofiño established the Ronald McDonald Foundation in Guatemala. This foundation supports children with severe malnutrition and other illnesses. The first

McHappy Day McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger st ...

in Guatemala was held in 1999; in this day, all the profit from

Big Mac The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's fl ...

sales is destined for the foundation. The first Ronald McDonald House, which provides lodging for low-income families traveling to Guatemala City for medical treatment, was opened in 2005. Currently there are three Ronald McDonald Houses in Guatemala, all located close to the main public hospitals in the city.

Death

Fernández de Cofiño died in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

on 6 September 2021.

Awards

These are some of the awards granted to Fernández de Cofiño for her business and social work: * Two "Ronald Awards", granted by McDonald's in 1980 for the idea of holding birthday celebrations in restaurants, and in 1982 for the creation of the "Ronald Menu". * She received the "Golden Arches" award, which is the highest award granted by McDonald's Corporation to its franchisees. * Recognized as one of "The 12 Most Important Guatemalans of 2001" by the Managers' Association of Guatemala, due to her social work. * In 2002 she received "The Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World" award in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; this award is granted to 40 businesswomen from all around the world who stand out due to their social work. * In 2006 she received the "Illustrious Guatemalan" award in the Business category. * In 2014 she was honored by Guatemala's Chamber of Industry due to her work as an entrepreneur. * In 2018 she received the Recognition of Business Excellence from ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' for her business career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernández de Cofiño, Yolanda 1934 births 2021 deaths 20th-century businesswomen Guatemalan businesspeople Guatemalan philanthropists Guatemalan women Guatemalan people of Chilean descent People from Santiago 21st-century businesswomen Women philanthropists