Good morning, CFOs. The Israel-Hamas war is drawing in some of the world’s biggest restaurant companies, despite executives’ efforts to keep their brands above the fray.

McDonald’s and Starbucks said the war has disrupted sales at Middle Eastern locations, and they have pushed back against online accusations that the companies have favored one side or the other in the conflict.

“It’s a human tragedy, what’s going on, and I think that that does weigh on brands like ours,” McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski said Monday on an investor call. Price increases and menu promotions helped boost U.S. sales over the last quarter of 2023, executives said, but the conflict in the Middle East continues to weigh on McDonald’s international business.

Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza have divided public opinion in the U.S. and elsewhere, spilling over into college campuses, local governments and school-board meetings. U.S. companies have strove to avoid appearances of taking sides in the conflict, but nevertheless have found themselves open to attack from both camps, largely through social-media posts.

🗓️ Earnings

• BP
• Chipotle Mexican Grill
• Ford Motor
• Spotify Technology
• V.F. Corp

PricewaterhouseCoopers partners on Monday voted to appoint U.S. markets leader Paul Griggs to head its U.S. unit.

Griggs is set to serve a four-year term as the senior partner for the 75,000-person U.S. member firm effective July 1.

He will succeed Tim Ryan, who has held the role since 2016. Griggs, who joined the firm in 1996, serves as vice chair of U.S. markets. More than 4,000 U.S. and Mexico partners and principals participated in the vote, PwC says.

Griggs is expected to start his new role on the same day as Mohamed Kande, whom PwC appointed its new global chair in December.

—Mark Maurer

Microchip Technology said its board’s compensation committee approved a reduction in salary for the company’s chief executive and president, as well as for other executive staff members.

The move comes “in connection with other expense reduction actions being taken by the management team,” the company said Monday.

The committee approved a 20% salary reduction for CEO and President Ganesh Moorthy. In 2023, he received a base salary of $643,126 and total compensation of $12.2 million. The committee also approved salary cuts for several other executives. These include Eric Bjornholt, chief financial officer, who in 2023 received a base salary of $315,212 and total compensation of $2.8 million; and Executive Chair Steve Sanghi, whose 2023 base salary was $484,886 and total compensation was $8.6 million

• Novo Nordisk’s owner wants to solve the Danish company’s weight-loss-drug production woes by buying up one of the world’s biggest contract manufacturing firms.
• Natura &Co will consider separating its Natura business from the Avon brand, creating two separate publicly traded beauty companies. 
• Corporate America’s diversity initiatives are here to stay, but they are being adjusted in response to lawsuits and intense scrutiny. 
• Snap said it plans to reduce its workforce by about 10% to trim costs as the Snapchat parent company grapples with a soft advertising market.
• JPMorgan Chase is giving the humble bank branch some swagger.

📰 More headlines

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• J&J Accused of Mismanaging Its Employees’ Drug Benefits
• Merck to Buy Elanco’s Aqua Business for $1.3 Billion
• FinCEN Pressured to Implement Anti-Money-Laundering, Sanctions Whistleblower Program
• Cano Health Files for Bankruptcy to Cut Debt, Could Hand Control to Lenders
• Who’s Who in the Battle Over Disney’s Board

Kroger, the Cincinnati-based U.S. supermarket operator, named chief accounting officer Todd Foley as interim chief financial officer. He succeeds longtime executive and CFO Gary Millerchip, who has stepped down to join another publicly traded company. Foley has worked for the company for over 20 years and brings more than three decades of experience to the role, which he will fill while Kroger looks for a permanent successor. Millerchip joined the company in 2008 as chief executive of Kroger Personal Finance and took over the CFO role about five years ago, succeeding Michael Schlotman.

Chegg, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based education-technology company, appointed David Longo as its next chief financial officer. Longo, who currently serves in a number of roles including vice president and chief accounting officer, would step into the new role on Feb. 21. He would succeed Andrew Brown, who announced his retirement in the fall of 2023.

Solo Brands, the Grapevine, Texas-based parent of Solo Stove and apparel company Chubbies, named Laura Coffey as its new finance chief, effective immediately. Coffey most recently served as executive vice president and CFO for The Vitamin Shoppe. Solo Brands also named Michael McGoohan to the newly created position of chief growth officer and executive vice president.

Two Harbors Investment, a New York-based real-estate investment trust, said Monday that Chief Financial Officer Mary Riskey plans to retire. Riskey, who has served in the role since February 2019, would continue in the role through Aug. 1, or until a successor is appointed, the company said. Two Harbors has begun an external search for a new CFO.

SEI Investments, a Oaks, Pa.-based provider of technology and investment solutions to the financial-services industry, appointed Sean Denham to succeed Dennis McGonigle as chief financial officer. Denham, who has been a partner at the U.S. arm of corporate advisory and accounting firm Grant Thornton International since 2004, will join the company on March 18 and become chief financial officer after the departure of McGonigle following the filing of SEI’s first-quarter report.

—Sabela Ojea, Denny Jacob, Chris Wack, Ben Glickman and Colin Kellaher contributed to this newsletter.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics ranging from corporate tax accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team is reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

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