Authority. Some fight and clamor for it, while for others, it comes so naturally. Margot Torres, Managing Director of McDonald’s Philippines, belongs to the latter. From the moment she walked into the room for her shoot, one could feel a palpable shift in the air—enough to make everyone drop what they were doing and focus all their eyes on her.
She comes across as formidable. In her presence, you immediately understand that you are in the company of someone who carries authority well, respects those around her, and wields her power responsibly and for the benefit of others, all while treating everyone with kindness and composure. She is the perfect picture of a true commander.
This reality, however admirable and inspiring, is far from what Margot dreamed of — in fact, she hadn’t dreamed of it at all.
“I know we believe in visioning: ‘You have to have a vision for yourself. You have to define your roadmap. You should have a blueprint.’ I never had that. I never told myself I’m gonna be a leader. It really didn’t work that way for me,” she humbly admitted in an exclusive interview with adobo Magazine.
“When I joined McDonald’s, I joined as the marketing head, and I actually had no expectation of moving into general management, which is my role today as managing director.”
Margot is simply passionate about marketing. She sees the importance of improving how you communicate and market a brand, and even more so upon joining McDonald’s, a time when the world of marketing was on the cusp of big changes.
“I was so interested in the changes happening in the marketing landscape,” she said. Something stirred within Margot, however, when her boss, McDonald’s Philippines’ President and CEO Kenneth Yang, promoted her to managing director. It sent the flame of natural leadership within her burning even brighter.
Reflecting on her past experiences, Margot said, “I realized that my love for creativity was transferred from just a campaign promoting our products and services to really solving problems. First, for the organization, and then later on I started to see I have a wider sphere of influence, so I’m able to help more people — not just in the company, but [also] outside McDonald’s.”
A natural-born leader, Margot received the prestigious “Business Leader of the Decade” award at the 20th Asia Pacific Tambuli Awards in June 2026. This inspired her even more.
“I really felt it was an affirmation of two decades’ worth of work. I felt fulfilled because it didn’t go unnoticed. Although you do it because you want to help and you want to do it, it’s certainly such a nice reward that it was appreciated by the industry.”
Born in the wrong era
Prior to joining McDonald’s Philippines, Margot went through nine different jobs.
“I’m really Gen Z, born in the Gen X era,” she quipped.
She was in the fast-moving consumer goods industry first, then moved on to advertising, distribution, technology and telecommunications, and finally landed at McDonald’s in 2003. She somewhat relates to how the younger generation tends to move from one place to another, collecting unique experiences along the way.
Margot pondered: “When I look back, all of those experiences help me today, […] especially now with technology, digital, and data. I think all of these different experiences prepared me, or shaped me so I can be effective in my role today.”
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Margot’s journey to the top of the chain was not without hurdles. Like all leaders, she faced great challenges that later became opportunities for self-reflection and growth, and brought on epiphanies about her path.
The first was feedback from another person suggesting that she may not be the right person for the job.
“At that point, I really felt like, ‘Am I inadequate?’ There was a lot of self-doubt, and that’s when I also realized that marketing cannot do it alone,” Margot said, looking back.
It was this piece of opinion that made her take a step back and look at things differently: from the symbiotic relationship of the departments at McDonald’s to build brand trust, to going beyond merely writing marketing briefs and really sinking her teeth into the business.
The second challenge: a real national crisis. Typhoon Ondoy devastated most parts of the country in September 2009. Metro Manila, in particular, was flooded and without electricity for days during— and in the aftermath of —the typhoon.
“I was lucky because I lived [on] higher ground. I had Wi-Fi. I had electricity. So I became like the command center, and that was so challenging. […] But I started to understand the importance of making sure that our stores continued to operate, [and] to stay open for the people who needed help.”
The third and probably biggest obstacle for Margot was also one that affected the entire planet: the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This one called for me to help the private sector as a communications lead and do more than just McDonald’s,” she shared. And with her leading the way, McDonald’s worked with other brands to help reopen the economy safely, all while ensuring that her team had herd immunity through the national vaccination program.
“I had to learn to work with a lot of stakeholders, including [the] government. But it was an extremely fulfilling experience. So, I guess, from those three different incidents, there were a lot of realizations on what I can do to contribute,” she said.
Six lessons to live by
Having weathered fiery trials and emerged unscathed, Margot is someone people look up to for inspiration and guidance. Quite recently, he received a text message from someone who thanked her for advice she had given ten years ago.
Admittedly, she no longer remembers specifically what advice she offered to that person then. But upon scrolling back to their previous conversation, she found six lessons that she had shared, namely:
- “Pursue excellence and work hard. I really believe in hard work. You really have to pay attention to detail. You have to keep raising your standards. You should not just say pwede na (that will do). And that’s why I think excellence is important in every single work that we do.”
- “Love your work. I think that’s the only way — when you have love and passion — that creativity will come out. The drive will come out. And you’ll really do better every time.”
- “Stay humble. You’ll never know everything.”
- “Stay curious and pursue continuous learning. I think that’s actually what excellence is about. You continuously improve because you keep learning new things.”
- “You have to appreciate the people you work with. It really encourages collaboration and teamwork, and you will also learn from the people you work with.”
- “Persevere. There will always be challenges, barriers, obstacles. I think if you persevere, if you’re persistent and you’re determined, that is what will make a difference between just work and success.”
Putting Filipino creativity on the map
As a marketing veteran of great stature, Margot understands the considerable influence she wields over the local creative and marketing landscape. She is a patron of Filipino creativity who does what she can —within her power — to spotlight local talent.
McDonald’s Philippines has won two Lions from the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for its “Unbranded Menu” campaign, putting Filipino creativity on the world map.
“I think even as an industry, we can make our mark. […] There’s so much if we do it together, and we can really showcase that Filipino talent,” she said.
A perfectionist through and through
Peeling back the layers to reach her core, Margot admitted that even outside the office and her responsibilities, she still applies her high standards in everything: “People have described me as a perfectionist, to a fault, so I think I should redefine perfection as continuous improvement.”
Magot revealed that when it comes to presenting herself to her loved ones and even to her own team at work, she is one and the same: she values hard work and puts in time and effort to show up as her best self to everyone.
“I remember the pediatrician of my children told me I shouldn’t talk to my children like I’m doing a performance review,” she said with a laugh. “But they see now that they’re older. They tell me, ‘Shouldn’t it be about hard work?’ They also get frustrated when they end up with teammates who kind of just compromise. And I’m happy to see that my kids also have those same values.”
A time to work and a time to play
For all her seriousness and wisdom, one would think that Margot is all work and no play. But from what we found, she also knows how to have a good time and savor a well-earned break.
When she’s not at her desk, you’ll find her having some much-needed and very well-deserved retail therapy. And for longer breaks, she likes to travel, especially with her family.
“I really want to [travel] with my family because that’s really quality family time, and I have to tell myself, ‘You have to stay in the present.’ I think when you’re in the present, you clear your mind of all the worries, anxiety, or [if] you’re thinking already ahead of what you’re gonna do next week or even next year. Then you come back refreshed,” she shared.
In fact, she already has places that she wants to visit when she retires in five years.
“I owe that to myself. […] I have a bucket list of things I want to do, and places I want to travel to. Like Prague, I haven’t been there. Mainly Eastern Europe, I haven’t seen that. I haven’t been to any country in Latin America. There’s still so much to explore! That is [it] so far, for now. I haven’t really thought about my post-retirement plans,” she mused.
But her favorite way to spend her downtime is, funnily enough, the same as most of us:
“Long uninterrupted sleep!” she said, laughing.
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