Robert A. McDonald

Former Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs and Retired Chairman, President and CEO, The Procter & Gamble Company

Robert A. McDonald served as the secretary of veterans affairs from July 2014 to January 2017.

Over the course of his tenure, the VA expanded veterans access by focusing on staffing, space, productivity and VA community care. It improved its internal operations and delivery of services to veterans and reduced by half the number of homeless veterans since 2010.

Prior to joining the VA, McDonald was chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the Procter & Gamble Company. Under his leadership, P&G significantly recalibrated its product portfolio; expanded its marketing footprint, adding nearly one billion people to its global customer base; and grew the firm’s organic sales by an average of 3% per year and the stock price by more than 60%.

An Army veteran, Capt. Bob McDonald served as an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer with the 82^nd Airborne Division. Upon leaving military service, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

He a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in the top 2% of his class. He was Brigade Adjutant for the Corps of Cadets. He is also a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Utah, where he earned his MBA.

He is the recipient of numerous leadership awards and honorary degrees and is personally committed to values-based leadership and to improving the lives of others. He and his wife, Diane, are also the founders of The McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character at West Point.

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