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John F. McDonnell: Citizen of the Year(St. Louis Post-Dispatch Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 11--John F. McDonnell, whose family name is near-synonymous with the St. Louis aerospace industry, keeps a Richmond Heights office with no nameplate on the door or the lobby directory. More than 11 years after retiring as chairman of the old McDonnell Douglas Corp., McDonnell said he prefers taking a more low-key approach. "I just enjoy it that way," McDonnell said recently. "I enjoy being able to go where I want to go and do what I want to do and not always be singled out." But McDonnell, 70, has been singled out as this year's Citizen of the Year after being selected by a committee of past winners. The award is sponsored by the Post-Dispatch. He is the fourth in his family to receive the award. His late father, James S. McDonnell, and late uncle, William A. McDonnell, shared the honor in 1967. His cousin, former McDonnell CEO Sanford "Sandy" N. McDonnell, won in 1984. Born in Baltimore, John McDonnell was 1 year old when his family moved to St. Louis and his father started a small factory making aircraft parts at Lambert Field in 1939. It was called McDonnell Aircraft Corp. In 1962, after working there for several summers, John McDonnell, by then a Princeton-educated engineer, began working at the company full time. He rose to president in 1980, and took the reins of the company eight years later. McDonnell recalled the company's difficult times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its financial woes stemmed from several fixed-price development contracts that ran into trouble almost simultaneously. The Navy canceled the A-12 attack plane in 1991. McDonnell and other defense contractors also wrestled with Pentagon budget cuts that followed the Cold War era. During the 1990s, the company shed tens of thousands of jobs from its payroll. The cuts shored up the company's bottom line and it ultimately rebounded. John McDonnell had relinquished the title of CEO three years before its merger with the Boeing Co. in 1997. He stepped down as chairman the day the merger was completed, but he remains on the Boeing board. "I was the last person who retired from McDonnell Douglas," he said. "My father was the first employee, and I was the last one." McDonnell Douglas was part of a wave of major St. Louis-based companies to merge or be acquired by other companies since the 1990s. The era of corporate consolidation has claimed familiar St. Louis names like Trans World Airlines, May Department Stores Co. and, most recently, Anheuser-Busch. John McDonnell said the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas union really was a merger, albeit not of equals. The larger Boeing was a leader in commercial aircraft and McDonnell was a premier defense contractor. Since retirement, he said he has gravitated toward science, education and economic development. McDonnell serves on the boards of Washington University, BJC HealthCare, the St. Louis Science Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. McDonnell sees the plant and life sciences evolving into a major part of the St. Louis economy. But it will take time. He is chairman of the nonprofit BioGenerator, whose aim is to help take plant- and life-science breakthroughs from the laboratory to the market. So far, four private companies have been able to tap into other sources of capital. "It takes a long time to go from a research idea to a viable company," he said. "You're probably talking eight to 10 years. And we're fairly early in that process." Dr. William H. Danforth said McDonnell has been interested in the sciences for a long time. McDonnell was heavily involved in the effort to build the St. Louis Science Center and was one of the first people asked to serve on the Plant Science Center board. "He has been very involved trying to help St. Louis become a major center for the life sciences," said Danforth, who is chairman of the Plant Science Center board. As a member of the Washington University board, McDonnell has played a key role in building the university's international ties -- most notably with Asia -- and was involved in the university's capital campaign, said university Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. "He's a very modest man, but he's accomplished a great deal, and he's been a terrific member of our community," said Wrighton, last year's Citizen of the Year recipient. "John McDonnell is certainly one of our most important citizens." David W. Kemper, who also serves on the Washington University board, said McDonnell is someone who after heading a major corporation has gone on to be a major philanthropist, both with his time and money. "There really couldn't be a better recipient for someone who has done so much for the St. Louis community in a very low-key manner," Kemper said. "That's just his style." McDonnell lives in Town and Country with his wife, Anne, and enjoys spending time with family. Three of his five grown children live in the St. Louis area, as do six of his nine grandchildren. Each day begins with a long walk with his Australian shepherd, Cody, near their home. "(John) stays very busy," Anne McDonnell said. John McDonnell enjoys traveling and plays tennis about two days a week during the nonsummer months. He took up golf -- twice -- but doesn't play the sport any more. Even though his former job and his travels took him all over the world, St. Louis still remains his home. "To really try to make a difference, you have to be part of the community," McDonnell said. "I mean I really admire people who can look out on a world scale and, in effect, try to be in the community of the world and make a difference in the world. I don't think I could do that. "So I guess each person has to pick their own scale. This is my community." [email protected] -- 314-340-8215 To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. Copyright (c) 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |