Director
Steven Hunter is an award-winning executive, whose servant leadership has been at the center of a distinguished professional career spanning two decades. Many of his corporate achievements have come under McDonald’s Golden Arches, where Steven rose from restaurant crewmember to global management.
In his current role at McDonald’s, Steven is the brand’s first Strategic Alignment Director for the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office. Here he serves as a chief of staff collaborator responsible for advancing global DEI strategies, strengthening corporate and community partnerships around the world, and designing innovative workforce engagement initiatives to enhance the employee experience and achieve business objectives.
Prior to his appointment to DEI, Steven held various Operations, Marketing, and Communications roles across the US business, including Field Communications Director, Multicultural Public Relations Lead and Marketing and Communications positions in McDonald’s Indianapolis, Memphis New Orleans, and Baltimore Washington Regions. It was during his time in the South that Steven headed up a trailblazing field market test that led to McDonald’s introduction of ‘Fruit in Every Happy Meal’ in all US restaurants, a triumph highlighted in Forbes in 2018.
Following a passion of community and economic development, Steven launched SLH Managed Companies LLC in August 2015 and as Managing Director leads the real estate management firm in its mission to provide safe, affordable rental housing to Chicago’s South and West sides. Steven has owned investment real estate over 15 years and in 2022 was featured in Chicago’s South End Citizen newspaper for his coaching commitment to city residents on their path to homeownership and intergenerational wealth creation.
Steven is a trusted advisor in the boardroom and in numerous corporate and civic communities. This has afforded him opportunities to serve as a Board Director for Chicago’s South Shore Drill Team; Board Treasurer for Sangamon Terrace, a senior living community in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood; and Auxiliary Board Member for the Volunteers of America.
Steven’s ability to accomplish business goals through effective teams was evident as a recipient of the 2021 Circle of Excellence Award, McDonald’s highest team honor. He was named a Diversity MBA Top 100 Under 50 in the same year for his professional successes and mentorship to several aspiring youths. In 2022, Steven was named a Notable Black Leader and Executive by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Steven is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Steven also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Memphis and obtained his Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certification at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.