Entrepreneurial Leader

“Bill Donaldson has been a gifted leader in the diverse fields of finance, academia, and government.  I’ve fol flowed his career with admiration and benefitted personally from his pioneering work as founding dean of the Yale School of Management, where I earned my own management degree.” 

—Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo

“The term change agent may be used too often, but it is a true description of Bill Donaldson’s professional life. The new model investment bank DLJ shook up Wall Street; tradition-encrusted Yale University got a pioneering new management school; and a new chairman returned the SEC to its non-partisan roots. Quite a life story!”

—Paul A. Volcker, Chairman of the Volcker Alliance and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors

“When health insurance giant Aetna was failing, his fellow directors turned to Bill Donaldson.  He stepped up and created a vision for one of the greatest turnarounds in business.  Bill’s story and his insights are good reading.”

—John W. Rowe MD, Richmond Professor of Health Policy, Columbia University, and former CEO, Aetna

"Bill Donaldson has been an inspirational leader in the public and private sectors alike.  Possessed of a quiet strength and an uncommon humility, he has consistently led by example, with equal doses of smarts and guts. When the SEC was listing in the wake of the Enron collapse, he readily agreed to take the helm and proceeded to right the ship as adroitly and as quickly as anyone could have, in his typical roll-up-your-sleeves, no-nonsense fashion. I’m so pleased Bill is sharing his story and his leadership insights in this book. Would that our country had more leaders like Bill Donaldson.”

—Stephen M. Cutler, Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and former Director of Enforcement, SEC

“‘Visionary, articulate and always pro bono publico’ describe Bill Donaldson, who made a perfect partner for me.  He also knew when to be cautious. ‘Dick, let’s sleep on this’ was one of his favorite sayings.  He was usually right!  Bill deservedly will be remembered as the father of public ownership for Wall Street firms, which led to incredible growth for the industry.  I especially recommend this book to Millennials who want to be entrepreneurs.”

—Richard Jenrette (1929-2018), former Chairman and CEO, The Equitable, and Cofounder, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette

“Bill Donaldson’s life is an example of what is great in America—he was a military volunteer, a person supremely well-educated at Yale and Harvard, an entrepreneur, a government servant, the founder of a major management school, a chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, and a businessman. The range of his life, and the lessons he learned, make a fascinating book.”

—Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO, and Founder, Blackstone

“Bill Donaldson’s achievements are breathtaking. We encountered him as students at the Yale School of Management when he was the founding dean, and he has been a tremendous inspiration to us and so many others. Bill’s life embodies the power of great leadership to transcend and transform.”

—Roger Brown, President, Berklee College of Music; and Linda Mason, Chairman and Founder, Bright Horizons Family Solutions   

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