Dr. John McDonald began his career, upon completion of his DBA at the University of Kentucky, on the faculty of the College of Business at Arizona State University. He left to pursue a career in the private sector and has over twenty years of experience in a wide range of positions in Marketing and Management. He then returned to academia at Grand Canyon University. Dr. McDonald has held a variety of managerial positions in the private sector of the health insurance and marketing research consulting fields. His experience includes all facets of marketing as well as strategic management and operational roles. Client companies include many Fortune 50 companies in domestic and global markets. He has served on the Boards of several professional associations and continues to be actively involved in these associations.
While in the commercial market research industry, he designed and executed a wide range of projects for many different industry verticals including automotive, financial services, government, health care, and retail. Applications included advertising, product development, customer engagement, and employee surveys (e.g., satisfaction, retention, motivation) employing standardized and customized scales and item batteries. The analyses ranged from simple data description to more advanced choice modeling. Dr McDonald has published a number of articles and has spoken at conferences in the U.S. and in Europe on topics including advanced product development, service satisfaction and advertising effectiveness. His research interests include customer engagement and retention as well as a wide range of topics in health care strategy and marketing.
Teaching interests include Business Strategy, Innovation, Marketing and Sustainability at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. As the Director of the Ken Blanchard Executive MBA program, he is responsible for the academic program and in helping students be successful. Dr. McDonald considers the three pillars of servant leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit as the basis for future success of all KBCOB graduates. His community involvement interests include working with at-risk youth in increasing their likelihood of college attendance and success. John is active in his church and serves on the diocesan communications committee. Dr McDonald is married and resides in Phoenix, Arizona. He enjoys running and reading.
