Ira Salls is an inspiration for her history-making role as a McDonald’s franchisee.
Salls, a Cincinnati, OH, native, graduated from Northern Illinois University and later earned both an MBA and a master’s degree in public administration from Northwestern University. She secured her franchise title in 1991, as she explained during an interview with WHAS 11 in 2021. Before becoming an owner and operator, she first worked at the fast-food chain as an accountant.
“I was hired by McDonald’s because I already had a degree and (was) a CPA. McDonald’s was forward thinking, and they wanted Black CPAs working in their accounting department,” she recalled to the outlet.
Salls’ pivot to owning her own McDonald’s locations led her to become the first Black woman franchisee of the chain in Kentucky and Indiana in 1991, the Louisville Business Journal reports. She would go on to become one of the company’s most successful operators, managing six locations in Louisville, KY.
She also understood the importance of lifting as she climbed. For the past 21 years, she has led the Black History Makers of Today, a $1,000 scholarship program for Black high school students.