Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr. Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr. Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the “steady hand at the wheel”. Now Mr. Skinner, an expert on the firm’s overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.

　　Is Mr. Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald’s has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr. Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7. 5% in October on a year earlier.

　　The new team’s task is to keep the revitalization plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession(交替、继承) the best way to tackle it? Mr. Skinner and Mr. Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss from within, such as Mr. Bell and now (arguably) Mr. Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald’s smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald’s must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency.

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