Gail J. McGovern (born 1952) is an American businessperson, who became president and CEO of the American Red Cross on June 23, 2008. McGovern held top management positions at AT&T Corporation and Fidelity Investments. She is a member of the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University and the board of directors of DTE Energy.[1]
Gail McGovern | |
---|---|
President of the American Red Cross | |
Assumed office June 23, 2008 | |
Preceded by | Bonnie McElveen-Hunter |
Personal details | |
Born | 1952 (age 71–72) Springfield, New Jersey, U.S |
Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University Columbia Business School |
Occupation | Corporate executive; non-profit executive |
Born in 1952 and raised as Gail J. Rosenberg in Springfield, New Jersey. She was born into a jewish family, her father fighting on Omaha beach [2] She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in quantitative sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 1974[3] and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1987.[3]
She began at AT&T Corporation as a programmer also working in sales, marketing and management.[3] Eventually she became the executive vice president of the consumer markets division, the largest business unit, responsible for $26 billion in residential long-distance service.[3] She held this role from 1997 to 1998.[4]
She joined Fidelity Investments in September 1998 as president of distribution and services.[3][4] Her department served 4 million customers with $500 billion in assets.[3]
She was recognized by Fortune magazine in 2000 and 2001 as one of the top 50 most powerful women in corporate America.[3]
She joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School in June 2002 where she taught marketing and consumer marketing to first and second year students.[3][4] McGovern was an adjunct faculty of the Harvard Business School.
She assumed the role of president and CEO of the American Red Cross on June 23, 2008,[3] replacing Mark W. Everson, a former IRS commissioner and becoming the seventh chief in seven years.[5] In June she joined a delegation of 30 community leaders organized by the United States Agency for International Development to visit China and those affected by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[6] The focus of her work at the Red Cross has been to improve the image of the Red Cross brand and thereby increase donations.[5]
In 2015 McGovern became embroiled in a controversy, after writing a letter to congressman Bennie Thompson, which appeared to be an attempt to quash a congressional investigation into the Red Cross's dealing with the federal government during its disaster relief work.[7]
In October 2023, it was announced that McGovern would retire as president and CEO on June 30, 2024.[8]
On May 27, 2020, McGovern was invited to and gave special remarks at her alma mater Johns Hopkins University's 2020 Commencement ceremony.[9] Other notable guest speakers during the virtual ceremony included Reddit co-founder and Commencement speaker Alexis Ohanian; philanthropist and former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg; Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and later leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force; and senior class president Pavan Patel.[10]
McGovern was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50; made up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and creators who are over the age of 50.[11]
She currently resides in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Donald E. McGovern. She has three children and two grandchildren.[3]