McDonald's boss Jim Skinner to retire in June

Jim Skinner has been chief executive of McDonalds since 2004

Shares in McDonald's are down 0.5% after the company said its chief executive, Jim Skinner, was retiring.

Chief operating officer Don Thompson will take over in June, becoming the first African-American to run McDonald's.

Mr Thompson has been at the firm for 22 years, most recently running its global operations, which span 119 countries.

Mr Skinner has been there 41 years, including nearly eight years as chief executive.

While he has been at the helm, McDonald's has been the best performing share on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

"Jim's stellar leadership has driven unprecedented momentum at McDonald's," said Andy McKenna, chairman of the company's board of directors, in a statement on Wednesday.

"Total shareholder return was 21% during Jim's tenure as CEO, and market capitalisation surpassed $100bn for the first time in the company's history," he added.