MARIL GAGEN MACDONALD

Maril MacDonald is a nationally recognized leader in the field of communications and workplace performance enhancement. She has pioneered a discipline that collaborates with corporate leaders to engage and mobilize stakeholders behind a company’s strategic goals, its culture and its brand.

Maril previously served as vice president, corporate communications, and was a member of the executive management committee for International Truck and Engine Corporation (formerly Navistar).   She joined Navistar in 1993 and in 1998 founded Gagen MacDonald with that company’s blessing.  She continued serving as International’s vice president until successfully transitioning that position in 2000. 

In addition to leading communication and brand strategy for International, Maril worked closely with CEO John Horne to direct the company’s highly successful cultural turnaround, which was a key factor in that company’s resurgence from the brink of bankruptcy to being named to the Wall Street Journal’s  “Top 10 Performers” list and Business Week’s  “Top 50 Companies”.

Prior to joining International, Maril was a vice president, communications, for Pitman-Moore Inc., the then leading international animal health company.   There she led a global initiative across 120 countries to leverage the strengths of several key acquisitions under one brand, corporate identity, and ethical packaging system.  Previously, she held leadership positions spanning operations, communications, public and government affairs, branding, and human resources with Bayer USA Inc., The Standard Oil Company/British Petroleum, and Watt, Roop & Co., a Cleveland-based public relations firm. Her broad range of corporate experience has allowed her to claim “the white space between the silos” as her ultimate functional expertise.

In 1999, Maril was named by PR Week one of “the 50 Most Powerful Women in PR” and recognized as a “PR All-Star” by Inside PR. She is also a frequently invited speaker at major conferences and universities. In 2001, Gagen MacDonald was named”Employee Communications Firm of the Year” and in 2002 “Strategic Agency of the Year” by the Holmes Group.

Education: Purdue University, B.S., Communications