Alonzo L. McDonald
Alonzo L. McDonald | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 August 1928 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | 21 November 2019 (aged 91) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, benefactor |
| Known for | Founder of the Avenir Group; co-founder of the Trinity Forum; Chairman of the McDonald Agape Foundation |
Alonzo L. McDonald (August 5, 1928 – November 21, 2019) was a distinguished American entrepreneur and benefactor.
Early life
McDonald was born in Atlanta, Georgia and completed his undergraduate education at Emory University in 1948. Between 1950 and 1952, he served in the United States Marine Corps. He later obtained an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1956.
Career
His professional journey started as a journalist for The Atlanta Journal from 1948 to 1950. Subsequently, he was employed at Westinghouse Electric Corporation between 1956 and 1960. McDonald then joined McKinsey & Company, where he advanced to the roles of Partner and Managing Director, working in both New York City and London until his retirement in 1977. That same year, he took on the position of Deputy Special Trade Representative and Ambassador, leading the U.S. delegation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations in Geneva. In 1979, he was appointed as Assistant to President Jimmy Carter and served as White House Staff Director.
From 1981 to 1983, McDonald held the posts of President and Vice Chairman at the Bendix Corporation. Concurrently, he was a Senior Counselor to the Dean at Harvard Business School until 1987. In 1983, he established the Avenir Group, a private investment banking firm.
Throughout his career, he was involved with several influential organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Council of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Club of New York, the Center for Inter-American Relations, Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York, and the French-American Foundation.
Philanthropy
In collaboration with Os Guinness, McDonald co-founded the Trinity Forum in 1991, a Christian non-profit organization where he held roles as Senior Fellow and Trustee Emeritus. He was also a contributor to The Fellowship.
As the founder and Chairman of the McDonald Agape Foundation, he provided financial support to scholars at prestigious universities including Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Duke University, Emory University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. Among those supported were David N. Hempton at Harvard, Jean Bethke Elshtain at Chicago, and Sarah Coakley at Cambridge. His funding enabled Stanley Hauerwas to take a sabbatical that culminated in the publication of Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir (2010).
Personal life
He was married to Suzanne McDonald, with whom he had four children; the family resided in Birmingham, Michigan. At seventy-nine years old, McDonald converted to Roman Catholicism. He was also a grandfather to twelve grandchildren. His son Alex McDonald is an author specializing in Israeli-Palestinian issues.