Josh Greene ’00

When he wasn’t much taller than a countertop, Josh Greene ’00 knew golden arches were in his future. At four years old, he had begun hanging out at the two McDonald’s restaurants his father Jed owns. “I would go in and clean the lobby for him. It was the coolest thing in the world,” Greene says. “Each day I worked, either he paid me a dollar or I got to go to Big Lots to pick out a toy.”

 

Growing up, Greene loved to spend time with his Dad learning to work the counter and the grill area. Now he owns two McDonald’s restaurants himself. “Ever since I can remember, I wanted to own a McDonald’s,” he says, noting that the company seldom sells more than one franchise to a person at one time.

 

After Gilmour, Greene majored in operations management and business management at Kent State University, graduating in 2004. He learned a lot about accounting, employee management, and inventories – all useful in his career. At one point, Greene owned a landscaping and maintenance company and booked rental property.

 

He says that Gilmour taught him how to write –a considerable benefit when writing policies, communicating with government boards, and preparing documents for hearings. “I think I received a better education at Gilmour than I did in college,” he says.

 

Greene attended his sister Amy’s ’08 graduation from Gilmour and was part of the traditional alumni-sibling photo session. Amy Greene is now a sophomore at the University of Indiana.

Greene puts in between 75 and 80 hours each week. He is active at co-op meetings with other McDonald’s operators in Northeast Ohio and is service chair of the company’s leadership board service committee for the Ohio region. McDonald’s has more than 360 restaurants in Northeast Ohio.

 

His years at Gilmour taught Greene the importance of consistency. He employs 180 people and strives to treat everyone fairly. Even though he is a restaurant owner, the alum has no problem working the grill or cleaning the restrooms. “My challenge is to constantly try to improve service,” he says.

 

Even in a struggling economy, his business is improving as customers opt for more economic meals. He believes that McDonald’s has lasted more than 50 years because it has been willing to change. “People wanted salads and specialty coffee, and we provided it. We keep adjusting to what our customers want.”

 

The Gilmour graduate lives in a century home in Ohio City with fellow alum Doug Tayek ’00, who does community outreach for nurses at the Cleveland Clinic. When he does have some downtime, Greene likes to travel. He visited friends in Denver over Thanksgiving, spent time in Sarasota, Florida, in January, and flies to Las Vegas frequently.

 

Asserting that Wrestling and playing Varsity Football at Gilmour taught him mind over matter, Greene says, “Football taught me to be a team player; cutting my weight and running extra miles for wrestling taught me discipline.”