Hugh Morris was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 businessman who founded McDonald’s New Zealand in 1976.

Morris founded the first McDonald's

McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

 in New Zealand in 1976. He established the company with the aid of several business partners, including Lionel Whitehead, Gary Lloydd, Ray Stonelake, and his brother, Wally Morris. The first McDonald's restaurant opened in Porirua

Porirua

Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...

 on 7 June 1976. Morris headed the McDonald’s New Zealand company for more than twenty years. He emphasised employee training

Training

The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

and franchising. Morris retired from the McDonald's company in the middle of the 1990s.

Morris died on 20 May 2010, of an extended illness. He was survived by his wife, Meryl, three children and three stepchildren.