April 6, 2006 | Read Time: 6 minutes
As head of the Merisant Company, in St. Louis, Arnold W. Donald touted the corporation’s Equal sugar substitute as a way for diabetics to sweeten their foods without disturbing their blood chemistry.
Now Mr. Donald aims to sweeten diabetics’ lives in another way. Since being hired as the chief executive officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, in December, Mr. Donald has been working to help the New York charity fulfill its goal of finding a cure for juvenile, or Type 1, diabetes. Sufferers of the disease usually develop it in childhood and have to monitor their blood sugar carefully and periodically inject themselves with insulin to stay alive.
The 36-year-old organization has spent more than $900-million on diabetes research and is currently a third of the way into a campaign to raise $1-billion for the cause.
While Mr. Donald, 51, is new to the world of nonprofit leadership, he’s no stranger to the high-stakes world of business. His résumé includes a 20-year stint at Monsanto Company, the giant agricultural-products corporation. In 2000 he organized some investors to buy Monsanto’s sweetener business — which included Equal — for more than $500-million. Mr. Donald left Monsanto and become chief executive officer of the newly formed Merisant Company during its first three years. He continues to have a financial stake in Merisant, which does business in 100 countries and has annual sales in excess of $350-million, as well as to serve on its board.
Mr. Donald was so successful he was named black executive of the year by Black Enterprise magazine in 1997. Five years later, Fortune magazine ranked him No. 17 on its list of the 50 most powerful black executives.
Mr. Donald became active in raising money for diabetes groups during his time at Merisant, holding a gala for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s St. Louis chapter in 2003 and twice serving as corporate chairman for the American Diabetes Association’s America’s Walk for a Cure. Merisant, through its affiliated Equal Sweetener Foundation, has given more than $1-million to a variety of diabetes charities.
Mr. Donald will be paid $525,000 a year in his new role and does not plan to relocate from St. Louis to New York. In an interview with The Chronicle, he discussed his job.
Why did you decide to enter the nonprofit world?
I wasn’t looking to go to a not-for-profit. That wasn’t a goal. But I sat next to Peter Van Etten, my predecessor here, at a fund raiser at my home and he told me about the progress on the research and the purpose of the organization.
I asked him about his job and what his days were like. The opportunity to work with a group of people whose primary purpose is to put themselves out of business, while working on something that has a huge impact for the nation and the world, but is also so individual at the same time, struck me as just phenomenal.
I told him I could see myself maybe doing something like that someday. Little did I know when I said those words that the next day he was announcing his retirement. He didn’t tell me that. Two months later I got a call from the charity saying somebody here thinks you might be interested in the position. I thought it was funny that they should call, but Peter was the somebody.
What differences have you found between the business and nonprofit worlds?
They are powerfully different in one regard: Everyone in JDRF, from the volunteers to the staff, is truly committed to finding a cure. You have a well-defined common objective, and in business you spend a lot of time trying to develop that for your team. It’s a very powerful thing.
At the same time you have a lot of volunteers — thousands of them — who are passionate, but all have their own orientation around the cause.
Pulling all those people together to unleash the latent power that’s in such a large group of passionate people requires a different approach than you’d use in business. Because they are volunteers, I’m now in the service business. I’m here to service them. I’m not here to pay their salaries or help them develop their career objectives.
Are the skills required to attract investors similar to those needed to attract donors?
Certainly when raising capital you have to give people a reason why they should invest. When approaching donors you have to give them a reason why they should invest as well. When people give to JDRF they are truly investing in accelerating the development of a cure. We have to be able to put forward a case, just as you would if you were raising capital, for why this is a good bet.
Any thoughts on moving the organization to St. Louis?
No. That would be very premature. We have a long history in New York. We’re not going to move the organization to accommodate me. That’s not an objective. Over time I think it’s prudent for any organization to ask itself where can we best serve our mission. And if that’s in New York, we’ll be here. If that’s somewhere else, we’ll be somewhere else. There’s no plan or strategy to relocate.
Initially I have to be in New York City a lot. I think it’s really important to know the people and for them to know you.
But we also have people all over the place. We have 100 or so people here in New York, we have a small office in Washington, and we have 85 chapters and 11 international affiliates.
Once you know people well, then the telephone and video conferencing are wonderful tools.
Can you anticipate any conflicts of interest surrounding your continuing connection to Merisant?
No. I would recuse myself from any possible areas of conflict. Whatever I have to step away from, I’ll step away from.
Do you anticipate that Merisant will continue to give to Juvenile Diabetes?
I would be very surprised if they didn’t, only because their product is used disproportionately by diabetics. I suspect that they will maintain their connections with JDRF. Am I going to ask them to donate? No, I’m not.
What would you say to other business CEO’s considering going into nonprofit work?
I would encourage other CEO’s, when it’s right for them, to consider finding an organization that they can have passion for and to take the step. It’s new for me, and I have a lot to learn, but I think the experience and skills that certain CEO’s can bring to bear can really accelerate the progress of organizations like the JDRF. I hope that’s what I end up doing here.
ABOUT ARNOLD W. DONALD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Education: Earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Carleton College, in 1976, a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University, in 1977, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, in 1980.
Previous employment: Worked at the Monsanto Company, in St. Louis, from 1977 to 2000, including serving as president of the company’s agricultural division and as a senior vice president. Was chief executive officer of the Merisant Company, in St. Louis, which makes sugar-free sweeteners, from 2000 to 2003.
Hobbies: Mr. Donald says that, as the father of a 10-year-old son, “right now my hobbies are going to Disney movies and fifth-grade basketball games.”
What he’s been reading: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas L. Friedman, and Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side to Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
