Arnold Donald named McKelvey Engineering Recognition Ceremony speaker
Carnival Corp. CEO is an alumnus, National Council chair, trustee
Arnold Donald, president, CEO and chief climate officer of Carnival Corp. & plc, will be the keynote speaker at the 2022 McKelvey Engineering Recognition Ceremony, to be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, May 19 in the Field House at Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center.
Donald, a trustee of the university and chair of the McKelvey School of Engineering National Council, is a dual degree alumnus of the Engineering School, earning a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering in 1977 and a bachelor of arts from Carleton College. He also earned an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Donald has long served in leadership, executive and corporate governance roles in Fortune 100 companies. Donald has been president and CEO of Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company since 2013 and was recently appointed chief climate officer. Previously, he was president and CEO of The Executive Leadership Council, a professional network of African American executives of major U.S. companies and was president and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.
Donald also was a co-founder, chair and CEO of Merisant Co., which manufactures low-calorie sweetener products, including Equal Sweetener and Canderal. Previously, he was with Monsanto Co. in a variety of executive roles for more than 20 years.
Donald has received numerous awards from the Engineering School and the university, including the Engineering Young Alumni Award, the Engineering Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award and the Engineering Alumni Achievement Award. In 1998, Donald received the Washington University Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2000, he received the Black Engineers President's Award. He also was co-chair of the Engineering school’s Leading Together capital campaign.
Donald also is a trustee of Carleton College and Tulane University and is on the boards of Bank of America Corp., Fair St. Louis Foundation, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Donald also serves as chair of the World Travel & Tourism Council, based in London.
Arnold, a native of New Orleans, is married to Hazel Donald, also an Engineering dual degree alumna. She earned a bachelor’s degree in math from Carleton College and a bachelor’s degree in systems science and mathematics and a master of arts in teaching from Washington University.
As a student, Donald was a co-founder of the Society of Black Engineers, developed to support other black students in Engineering and to prevent students from leaving the field. The society joined similar organizations at other universities to become the National Society of Black Engineers, which now has more than 24,000 members worldwide in 600 active student and professional chapters.
