Bob McDonald served as the 8th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, under President Barack Obama. He is ALSO the retired chairman, president, and CEO of Procter & Gamble. He’s now Chairman of the Board for RallyPoint – the premiere community US military service members, veterans, their family and supporters. Graduating among the top of […]

Government Matters recently hosted a podcast by Robert McDonald that covered principles for developing sustainable leadership in positions in the federal government.  Such as: 1. Steps leaders can take to build more leaders2. Including transparency in leadership and by those in leadership3. The self-awareness of public sector leaders4. Have a belief system and be in […]

As COVID-19 spreads around the globe and throughout the United States, effective government leadership matters more than ever. You can read more about this critical need in a new article, published today, in the Harvard Business Review: A Nonpartisan Model for Developing Public Service Leaders, by myself, Doug Conant, and Andrew Marshall. The article introduces a […]

I recently had the pleasure of conducting interviews (via Zoom) for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation which identifies young people at an important inflection point in their development—when they are college juniors—and recognizes and rewards their commitments to devote themselves to public service. Selection Criterion and Process The selection criteria for the Truman Scholarship […]

The Robert A and Diane J. McDonald Foundation has contributed matching dollars with Main Street Ventures for the The Wendy S. Lea Female Founder Grant that is awarded to first-time female founders and companies.  Read the complete article.

Founded in 1947, The Horatio Alger Association honors the achievements of outstanding leaders who have accomplished remarkable successes in spite of adversity by bestowing upon them the Horatio Alger Award and inducting them as lifetime Members. The Association has named 14 individuals who have overcome adversity to achieve personal and professional success to is 2020 Member Class. Bob […]

Every guest room at the renown Thayer Hotel in West Point, NY is dedicated to a distinguished graduate of West Point.  The decor of each room reflects the accomplishments and milestones of an individual who has made significant contributions to the nation and world. Below are the major milestones in the life of Robert McDonald: […]

It was an honor for both Diane and I to attend the 13th Annual Stand Up for Heroes event organized by the Bob Woodruff Foundation in the Hulu Theater of Madison Square Garden in New York City November 4, 2019.  I also attended the Leadership Council meeting of the Bob Woodruff Foundation that morning, kindly hosted […]

We walked over to the VA headquarters building before 4 p.m.  Once we walked in the door, Diane and I were inundated with our former colleagues and friends.  We introduced our daughter Jenny and her husband Scott Rowland.  First it was the members of Protocol, then our photographers, then our Special Agents, and then office […]

Thursday morning Ray Toenniessen, Associate Vice President of IVMF, picked me up and took me to the new National Veterans Resource Center, a new building on the Syracuse campus that will house IVMF and its resources.  It is a beautiful new building, funded primarily by a donation by Dan D’Aniello, Co-Founder of Carlyle and Chair […]