Janice L. Fields began her career at McDonald’s by working behind the counter. Unlike many in her position who left after a year or two Ms. Fields decided that she wanted more. She worked in a variety of positions over the years including Regional Vice President, Senior Vice President in the Central Division and now holds the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, McDonald’s USA, LLC. Her long road to the top honed her leadership skills and nabbed her such awards as: Forbes’ 2008 list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women; Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business for 2007 and 2008; and the Wall Street Journal’s 50 Women to Watch. In our upwardly mobile world with a downwardly mobile economy it seems unlikely that many people will follow the career path that Janice Fields took. Too bad. Tenacity surely paid off for her–along with talent and drive.