McDonald's says its president of US operations is retiring

McDonald's says the president of its U.S. business is retiring after about two years on the job, marking the latest executive change as the fast-food giant tries to reinvent itself.

The company says Mike Andres, who stepped into his role in October 2014, will retire at the end of the year. He will be replaced effective Jan. 1 by Chris Kempczinski, who is currently executive vice president of strategy, business development and innovation. Before joining McDonald's last year, Kempczinski was at Kraft Foods.

The leadership change at the flagship U.S. business comes as McDonald's tries to step up the image of its food and fend off a growing number of competitors. A key metric measuring customer counts at McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. has declined in recent years.