Born in the small
Otago town of
Tapanui on 9 April 1929, McDonald was the son of Ada McDonald (née Denford) and James Charles Alexander McDonald. McDonald joined
Todd Motors as a graduate trainee engineer in 1952, and rose to become general manager in 1984. In 1987, Todd Motors was sold to
Mitsubishi Motors, and McDonald became the chief executive officer of
Mitsubishi New Zealand. In 1995, he was appointed as chairman of Mitsubishi New Zealand. Other corporate and governance roles undertaken by McDonald include serving on the boards of the
New Zealand Standards Council,
Energy Direct and
Television New Zealand, and as deputy chairman of the
New Zealand Qualifications Authority. In the
1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, McDonald was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the motor vehicle industry. He was also a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management. ==References==