AUK Talks with Robert McDonald _ March 5, 2024

The AUK Talks topic: "The U.S. Experience of Turning Military Service and The Wounds of War into Strengthened Citizenship"
About AUK Talks speaker:
Robert A. “Bob” McDonald is a former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, former Chairman, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble.
In 2014-2017, he served as the eighth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA). Secretary McDonald led VA in its ambitious transformational journey to be a world-class service provider and the No. 1 customer-service agency in the Federal government to give Veterans consistent, high-quality experiences. The Harvard Business School judged that, thanks to Secretary McDonald’s leadership, the MyVA “team had made impressive progress.”
Before joining VA, Bob McDonald was Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G). Under his leadership, P&G significantly recalibrated its product portfolio, added nearly one billion people to its global customer base, and grew organic sales by an average of three percent per year. This growth was reflected in P&G’s stock price that rose from $51.10 the day he became CEO to $81.64 the day his last quarterly results were announced-a 60% increase from 2009 to 2013. During his tenure, P&G was widely recognized for its leader development prowess. Chief Executive Magazine named P&G the best company for developing leader talent. The Hay Group consistently cited P&G in its top-tier listing of Best Companies for Leadership.
Bob McDonald is personally and professionally committed to values-based leadership and to improving the lives of others. Bob and his wife, Diane, are the founders of The McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character at West Point. Bob is Chairman of the Board of the West Point Association of Graduates, and Chairman of the Board of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. He served as April and Jay Graham Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, advocating for post-9/11 Veterans. In 2020 Bob was appointed to President Biden’s Transition Advisory Board. He currently serves on the Audia Group and Every Cure Board of Advisors.
Bob McDonald graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. He earned his MBA from the University of Utah in1978. In 2010 the University of Utah Alumni Association named Bob a Distinguished Graduate. The West Point Association of Graduates named McDonald for its admired Distinguished Graduate Award in 2017. In 2014, The President of the Republic of Singapore awarded Bob the Public Service Star for his work helping shape Singapore’s development as an international hub connecting global companies with Asian firms and enterprises. In 2021 the American Chamber of Commerce Foundation gave Bob its President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2023 the New England Center and Home for Veterans gave Bob its Distinguished Service to Veterans Award.
An Army Veteran, Bob served with the 82nd Airborne Division. He completed Jungle, Arctic, and Desert Warfare Training. And he earned the Ranger tab, Expert Infantryman Badge, and Senior Parachutist Wings. He received the Meritorious Service Medal upon leaving military service.
Learn more:
- American University Kyiv: auk.edu.ua/en/ and / american-university-kyiv
- AUK Talks speaker: Robert A. “Bob” McDonald, / bob-mcdonald-188b2a193
- AUK Talks moderator: Dan Rice, AUK President / danricewestpoint