Roderick Macdonald

Roderick Macdonald, center, with Kamal Chinoy, former CEO Pakistan Cables LLC & Bodyguard

Roderick (Rod) Macdonald is a consultant with CORE Corporate Consulting. He talks regularly  to the USMC on lessons learned from the Falklands conflict and is a regular presenter at the Marine Memorial Club San Francisco. From 2001 to 2013 he was Executive Vice President for Global Sales & Business Development for General Cable (NYSE: BGC) who, at that time, were one of the largest wire and cable manufacturing companies in the world with annual revenues at that time that exceeded $7 billion along with 57 manufacturing plants in 26 different countries and commercial operations in over 120. During this time Macdonald worked in the Middle East with a joint venture company in Oman along with operating in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Israel and Pakistan where he has traveled extensively. Macdonald was a Member of the Board of Pakistan Cables, in Karachi Pakistan, for 13 years.

Macdonald joined General Cable as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Electrical Cables in December 1999. He began his full-time civilian business career in 1994 as Vice President, Human Resources, Information Technology and Corporate Secretary for Commonwealth Aluminum Corporation. In 1997 to 1999 he held the role of President of Alflex Corporation that manufactured electrical armored cable products in Southern California.

Macdonald began his career in military and government service. He served for 25 years as a Royal Engineer officer in the British Armed Forces in armored, parachute and commando forces with 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. He led British forces in active service in Northern Ireland in multiple tours throughout the 1970s and led 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers in combat in 1982 in the Falklands War. He was also a member of the small planning group for that campaign. Macdonald held numerous leadership and staff appointments including instructing at the British Army Staff College, commanding an engineer brigade and regiment that supported British military world wide operations including the Middle East and Belize. He ended his distinguished military career in 1993 in the rank of Brigadier when he immigrated to the United States.

Macdonald is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Royal School of Military Engineering, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree (honors) in Auto-Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Science and attended the Royal College of Defense Studies. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in the UK, a registered (Chartered) engineer in the UK and previously a licensed Engineer (EurIng) in Europe. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division, (MBE) in the UK in 1983. He lives in Napa California with his wife Deborah, a lawyer and founder of “CORE Corporate Consulting” .