Robert
A. McDonald is Chairman
of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Procter & Gamble
(P&G) one of the largest companies in the world. McDonald was born in Gary
Indiana, and grew up in Chicago. He graduated from West Point in 1975 with a BS
degree in Engineering.
McDonald
joined the U.S. Army and became a captain. He was in the Infantry, Airborne
Ranger, 82nd Airborne Division. While in military service he also
devoted time for further academic studies earning an MBA from the University of
Utah in 1978 and graduating with honors.
McDonald
went out of the military and joined P&G in 1980. A talented and
driven person he took up various assignments in different areas of specialties and
was posted in different countries. He rose through the ranks and became the CEO
of one of the largest consumer products company in 2009.
McDonald
had the luck and a bit of a curse in succeeding a legendary
CEO in the name of A.G. Lafley who was able to pullout P&G from its last
major turndown. The standards were high
when he took over. Some of Lafley’s innovative moves also needed overhauls. To
add to this was the world economic slowdown that took place after the U.S.
fiscal crisis.
Company
performance has not been as expected although things have started to improve.
There have been questions about his leadership capabilities. Nevertheless
McDonald still has the trust of the board of directors and isn’t backing down
from the challenges that lay before him. Like a good leader his has been listening and
facing issues head on.
Melanie
Healey was born on April 5, 1961 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Like practically
all women from Brazil, Healey is good looking.
Yet she’s more known for her brains and business management skills than
her looks.
She
took up Business Administration at the University of Richmond, Virginia and
graduated in 1983. Returning to Rio de Janeiro, Healey worked for S.C.
Johnson & Sons from 1983 to 1986. Then it was at Johnson & Johnson in
Sao Paulo.
Healey
joined Procter & Gamble (P&G) on July 1990. She started as the brand
manager for Phebo Soap and in 1992 became the marketing manager for
Pampers. You can tell a person is
performing well if this person gets a foreign assignment. In 1993, Healey was made
marketing manager for Personal Cleansing & Fabric Softeners in Mexico. By
1995 she was back in Brazil with the rank of marketing director for Health
Care. More promotions came her way including president, Global Feminine Care
GBU and group president, Global Feminine and Health Care.
In
2009, Healey was named group president, North America and in 2011 she became
group president, North America and Global Hyper-Super-Mass Chanel. North America
represents
41 percent of P&G’s total revenue. It’s a critical group and the trust and
confidence has been placed on Healey to continue its growth and profitability. With
a number of marketing initiatives proving to be successful we may hear more
about Healey climbing the corporate ladder.
