Alonzo L. McDonald (August 5, 1928 - November 21, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist. [1] [2]
He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. [3] He graduated from Emory University in 1948. [3] [4] [5] He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1950 to 1952. [3] He received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 1956. [3] [4] [5]
He was a reporter for The Atlanta Journal from 1948 to 1950. [3] He worked for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation from 1956 to 1960. [3]
He worked for McKinsey & Company, serving as Partner in New York City and London, and Chief Executive Officer, until he was Managing Director when he retired in 1977. [4] [5] That year, he was appointed Deputy Special Trade Representative and Ambassador in charge of the U.S. Delegation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in Geneva. [5] In 1979, he was appointed Assistant to the President of the United States and White House Staff Director under President Jimmy Carter. [5]
He served as President and Vice Chairman of the Bendix Corporation from 1981 to 1983. [5] In 1981, he also became a faculty member of the Harvard Business School and served as Senior Counselor to the Dean until 1987. [5]
In 1983, he founded the Avenir Group, a private investment bank. [5]
He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the U.S. Council of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Club of New York, the Center for Inter-American Relations, the Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York and the French-American Foundation. [3]
In 1991, together with Os Guinness, he co-founded the Trinity Forum, a Christian non-profit organization, where he served as Senior Fellow and Trustee Emeritus. [4] [5] He donated to The Fellowship. [4]
He was the founder and Chairman of the McDonald Agape Foundation. [6] He donated money to scholars at Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Chicago, Duke University, Emory University, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. [4] Some of his donations went to David N. Hempton at Harvard, Jean Bethke Elshtain at Chicago, or Sarah Coakley at Cambridge. [4] He also funded a sabbatical for Stanley Hauerwas, during which he wrote Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir (2010). [4]
He was married to Suzanne McDonald, and they had four children. [4] They resided in Birmingham, Michigan. [4] He converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of seventy-nine. [4] He has 12 grandchildren.
His son Alex McDonald is an author of books regarding the Israeli Palestine conflicts.
James Earl Carter Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975, and as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967.
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory.
The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, an internationalist who sought to address the challenges posed by the growing economic and political interdependence between the U.S. and its allies in North America, Western Europe, and Japan.
Andrew Jackson Young Jr. is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a close confidant to Martin Luther King Jr. Young later became active in politics, serving as a U.S. Congressman from Georgia, United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration, and 55th Mayor of Atlanta. Since leaving office, Young has founded or served in many organizations working on issues of public policy and political lobbying.
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidential election. The center is located in a shared building adjacent to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum on 37 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland, on the site of the razed neighborhood of Copenhill, two miles (3 km) from downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The library and museum are owned and operated by the United States National Archives and Records Administration, while the center is governed by a Board of Trustees, consisting of business leaders, educators, former government officials, and philanthropists.
David Rockefeller was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, and family patriarch from 2004 until his death in 2017. Rockefeller was the fifth son and youngest child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and a grandson of John D. Rockefeller and Laura Spelman Rockefeller.
Joseph Lester "Jody" Powell, Jr. was an American political advisor who served as a White House press secretary during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Powell later co-founded a public relations firm.
Robert Schwarz Strauss was an influential figure in American politics, diplomacy, and law whose service dated back to future President Lyndon Johnson's first congressional campaign in 1937. By the 1950s, he was associated in Texas politics with the faction of the Democratic Party that was led by Johnson and John Connally. He served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee between 1972 and 1977 and served under President Jimmy Carter as the U.S. Trade Representative and special envoy to the Middle East. He later served as the Ambassador to Russia under President George H.W. Bush. Strauss also served as the last United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union.
David Henry Gambrell was an American attorney who represented Georgia in the United States Senate from 1971 through 1972.
The Kluge Scholars Council is a body of distinguished scholars, convened by the Librarian of Congress to advise on matters related to scholarship at the Library, with special attention to the John W. Kluge Center and the Kluge Prize. Through discussion and reflection, the Council assists in implementing an American tradition linking the activities of thinkers and doers, those who are engaged in the world of ideas with those engaged in the world of affairs.
Peter G. Bourne is a physician, anthropologist, author and international civil servant with experience in several senior government positions. He is currently a visiting senior research fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford, vice-chancellor emeritus at St. George's University in Grenada and chair of the Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC). He is also a distinguished fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford.
Bessie Lillian Carter was an American nurse. Carter's son Jimmy Carter served as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. She was also known for her contributions as a Peace Corps volunteer in India and for writing two books during his presidency.
David Isaac Adelman is an American lawyer, businessman and diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore from April 2010 to September 2013. Adelman is Managing Director and General Counsel of asset manager Krane Funds Advisors in New York. He was a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. He was an Independent Non-Executive Director of Noble Group Holdings for approximately three years after the company's 2018 restructuring. He was a senior advisor to Israel-focused indexing firm BlueStar Indexes prior to its sale to Van Eck in 2020. He is an Advisor to private equity firms Olympus Capital and Ion Pacific. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Climate Finance Partners. Adelman is a Trustee of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an adjunct professor at New York University.
Ulric St. Clair Haynes Jr. was an American diplomat, lawyer, and university professor. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Algeria from 1977 to 1981, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, Council of American Ambassadors and Council on Foreign Relations.
Barbara Hackman Franklin is an American government official, corporate director, and business executive. She served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992–1993 to President George H. W. Bush, during which she led a presidential mission to China.
Abelardo L. Valdez is an American lawyer and diplomat. He is currently the President and Vice Chair of the Council of American Ambassadors. He is also a founder of the Council of American Ambassadors’ Fellowship Program, which trains undergraduates for careers in diplomacy and international affairs. He practices international law in Washington, DC and San Antonio, TX.
John Paul Austin was Chairman, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. From 1962 to 1981 Austin oversaw the growth of the company from $567 million in sales to a $5.9 billion global force.
James T. Laney is an American minister, professor, and former diplomat. He served as dean of the Candler School of Theology, president of Emory University, and United States Ambassador to South Korea.
Philip Henry Alston Jr. was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Australia and Nauru.
Norris Bumstead Herndon was a prominent African-American businessman, Harvard Business School MBA graduate, philanthropist, member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and second President of the historic African-American-owned Atlanta Life Insurance Company.