Entrepreneurial Leader

A Lifetime of Adventures in Business, Education, and Government

William H. Donaldson & Karl Weber

Observations From a Lifetime of Leadership

Bill Donaldson cofounded the innovative investment firm Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, served in the State Department under Henry Kissinger, and was the founding dean of the Yale School of Management. He led the New York Stock Exchange and insurance giant Aetna through tumultuous change, and championed reform as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. It's an amazing life full of challenges and successes and of high-level, innovative problem solving.

In Entrepreneurial Leader, he offers a lifetime of observations about what it takes to build lasting value in organizations of every kind.

William H. Donaldson currently is Chairman of Donaldson Enterprises. Earlier in his career, Mr. Donaldson served as the 27th Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The co-founder of the financial firm Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, he also was Chairman, President and CEO of Aetna Inc., Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, and founding Dean of the Yale Graduate School of Management. Previously, he was Undersecretary of State to Henry Kissinger and Counsel to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Mr. Donaldson has been a director of numerous publicly held corporations and privately owned businesses.

Currently, Mr. Donaldson serves as Chairman of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, is a director of the Volcker Alliance, and a member of the FDIC Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee. He was also a member of President Obama’s original Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Over the years, Mr. Donaldson has served on boards of many philanthropic, art and educational institutions, including the Ford Foundation, Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, Yale University and the Aspen Institute.