Bob McDonald
Chairman, President and CEO
Procter & Gamble

“I believe what we do in this company in improving lives is giving people meaning in their lives,” Bob McDonald said in an interview with DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti. “I went to West Point because I wanted to free the people who were living in unfree societies. I joined P&G because I wanted to make a difference in the world.”

Since arriving at Procter & Gamble in 1980, McDonald’s “values-based leadership beliefs” continue to guide everything he does. He personally leads the company’s diversity council, meets quarterly with resource groups and ties executive compensation to diversity metrics. In his 30-plus years with the company, he has worked in Canada, the Philippines, Japan and Belgium. Prior to becoming CEO, he was Chief Operating Officer for two years and Vice Chairman, Global Operations for three years.

McDonald is chairman of the board of directors of the US-China Business Council, a vice chair of the Executive Committee of Business Roundtable (and chair of its Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee), and a board member of the Consumer Goods Forum. He is a member of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council and the International Advisory Council of the Singapore Economic Development Board. He is also involved in several nonprofits focusing on traditionally underrepresented groups, including UNCF (United Negro College Fund).

Born in Gary, Ind., and raised outside Chicago, McDonald graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He served in the U.S. Army as Captain, Infantry, Airborne Ranger, 82nd Airborne Division. He earned an MBA from the University of Utah in 1978. He lives in in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Diane. They have two adult children.