WATERTOWN, Mass., July 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RallyPoint , the premier social network for the military community, announced today that Bob McDonald, the 8th Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortune 50 corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G), has joined its Board of Directors.
“RallyPoint leverages technology to improve the lives of our country’s service members, veterans, and their families,” said McDonald. “When I left the VA, I searched for an exciting opportunity where I could use my military, business and government experience to deliver on my personal mission to improve lives across the entire military community. RallyPoint’s ability to connect veterans online at an unprecedented scale made it a clear choice for my new focus.”
McDonald took over the VA in 2015 at a time of crisis for the second largest government agency and quickly made customer service and improved outcomes his focus. He launched the MyVA initiative, which recruited leaders from a wide variety of industries to streamline and improve VA’s processes and services. Harvard Business School highlighted the effort in a 2016 case study that recognized his efforts as achieving “impressive progress.”
As CEO of Procter & Gamble from 2009-2013, McDonald transformed the organization's leadership culture, earning the company repeated recognition as “the best company for developing leader talent.” In parallel, he led his team to scale by adding nearly one billion consumers and multiplying the organization’s stock price.
Before he was a corporate and government leader, McDonald was an Army officer. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975 as an Infantry Officer. He graduated from Ranger and Airborne schools and served in the 82nd Airborne Division before leaving the Army as a Captain.
“Working with the team at the VA gave me an incredible opportunity to help improve the lives of those who served and transitioned like I did. I’m proud of the progress we made,” McDonald said. “Looking ahead, I’m eager to leverage RallyPoint’s technology and reach to help ease transition and connect our members to the veteran service organizations and companies who can provide them value and give the millions serving today an opportunity to keep their service and friends close through all stages of life.”
McDonald joins fellow directors Ellen Levy, former VP of Corporate Development at LinkedIn; Jill Preotle, a former board director at Task Rabbit and ZipCar; Mark Perutz, Partner at DBL Investors; Yinon Weiss, Co-founder of RallyPoint; and Dave Gowel, CEO of RallyPoint, on the company’s board.
“Secretary McDonald is an incredible leader joining a team of extraordinary professionals with whom I am honored to continue my service to our military,” said RallyPoint CEO and Army veteran, Dave Gowel. “RallyPoint’s service members, veterans and their supporters deserve nothing but the highest caliber of talent, services and connectivity to resources helping them lead more successful and fulfilling lives. Bob’s exceptional character, leadership experience and network will complement and amplify all that we do in support of the military every day.”
RallyPoint is the largest military-focused online network in the world, with more than 1.3 million service members, veterans and civilians who have registered as members. Today, the platform supports more than 100 customers who leverage RallyPoint to reach the military and veteran communities in a highly targeted manner through talent and marketing product lines.
More than one million monthly visitors have made RallyPoint a preferred online medium that supports nearly 100 veteran service organizations as they connect with veterans. With a mission to help service members and veterans lead more successful and fulfilling lives, the company seeks to make it easy for members, veteran service organizations and incredible companies to come together around a shared U.S. military experience and interest on one platform, accessible from anywhere in the world.
ABOUT RALLYPOINT: RallyPoint is the online platform where troops talk. With more than 1.3 million members, RallyPoint is the premier social network where military service members, veterans and their supporters come together and discuss military life from both professional and personal perspectives. Visit www.RallyPoint.com to learn more. Follow RallyPoint on Facebook and Twitter @RallyPoint .
FOR MORE INFORMATION Allison Borthwick 540-208-2950 aborthwick@scoutcommsusa.com
