Mcdonald's chief executive Jim Skinner, who has manned the fast food chain for almost a decade, is to step down.

The 67 year old is to leave the chain in June, to be replaced with Don Thompson.

Skinner has weathered many McStorms since he started as CEO of the fast food chain.  The company faced criticism in the documentary "Super Size Me",  and regular lobbying from health advocates and those who have linked fast food to obesity.

Under Skinners guidance, the store stopped producing "super-sized" meals, and changed its menue to include salads and coffee. McDonald's has also expanded into lattes, smoothies and blended-ice beverages. It started to compete with cafe chains like Starbucks and Panera.

The company also attempted to win the trust of mothers, in order to increase their revenue from children.

McDonalds itself started suffering from overexpansion in 2003. To deal with this, Skinner engineered the company's "Plan to Win" strategy, which reduced the number of new stores in the US and improved operations at existing restaurants.  The operation was described as one of the most stunning turnarounds in corporate history.

Skinnner trained as an electrical engineer at Purdue University, then worked for defense contractor Northrop Corp. He then started as a store manager at McDonalds in 1990. He became president of McDonald's USA in August 2006.