WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson today released the following statement after President Obama’s announcement that he intends to nominate former Proctor & Gamble chief executive Robert A. McDonald to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“I have been close friends with Bob McDonald for over 40 years; I welcome his nomination with the utmost enthusiasm,” said Acting Secretary Gibson. “He is an exceptional person—a great leader, a skilled manager, an extraordinarily talented executive of great experience, and a man with the strongest moral compass. I will do everything I can to help him be successful, and I expect the same to be true for our dedicated VA workforce.
“Personally, professionally, and on behalf of Veterans and all of our VA employees, I look forward to Bob’s speedy confirmation—and to working closely with him and the rest of our VA leadership team toward restoring the public trust in VA by providing Veterans and their families the very best in timely care and benefits.”
Acting Secretary Gibson’s full message delivered to VA employees is below:
Message from the Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Sloan D. Gibson
Today, after a careful search, President Obama announced his intention to nominate former Proctor & Gamble chief executive Robert A. McDonald to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
I have been close friends with Bob McDonald for over 40 years; I welcome his nomination with the utmost enthusiasm. He is an exceptional person—a great leader, a skilled manager, an extraordinarily talented executive of great experience, and a man with the strongest moral compass.
All of those attributes contributed to his rise through the ranks to the top spot at P&G, a Fortune 50 company with more than 120,000 employees. Under his stewardship, P&G consistently ranked among the best companies in the world for leadership development, being twice named best company for leaders by Chief Executive Magazine.
Bob graduated from West Point in the top 2 percent of his class and served five years in the U.S. Army. He was a captain in the 82nd Airborne Division before leaving the Army to join P&G. He is a Life Member of the U.S. Army Ranger Association and the 75th Ranger Regiment Association.
His commitment to Veterans is deeply personal. His father served in the Army Air Corps just after World War II. His wife’s father was shot down over Europe during World War II and ended the war as a POW. Her uncle was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and still receives treatment from VA.
With his years of executive success and principled leadership philosophy, stressing caring for others and personal ethics—choosing “the harder right instead of the easier wrong,” in words he often quotes from the West Point Cadet Prayer—he is an inspired and inspiring choice to lead VA through this period of restructuring and reform.
The planned nomination of Bob McDonald to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs is a very positive step. I will do everything I can to help him be successful, and I expect the same to be true for our dedicated VA workforce.
Personally, professionally, and on behalf of Veterans and all of our VA employees, I look forward to Bob’s speedy confirmation—and to working closely with him and the rest of our VA leadership team toward restoring the public trust in VA by providing Veterans and their families the very best in timely care and benefits.
Sloan D. Gibson, Acting Secretary
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