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David Donaldson retired in 2020 from Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC), the nation’s leading producer of construction materials used in all types of infrastructure projects, having served as senior advisor to the chairman and chief executive officer and previously as vice president of external affairs & corporate communications.  Responsible for the company’s community and governmental relations programs in the United States and Mexico, David served as a leader in the company’s sustainability and ESG initiatives, its highly successful growth program for new site developments in California, the Sunbelt, the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, and had senior management responsibility for corporate communications and crisis management as well as the company’s giving initiatives through the Vulcan Materials Company Foundation. He also formalized and then led the company’s federal governmental relations practice over an 18-year period prior to his retirement.  Throughout his career with Vulcan, he held roles of increasing responsibility both at the company and with state and national industry associations, addressing a wide range of governmental, regulatory, communications and coalition-building initiatives.  Since retirement, David has enjoyed extensive travel, fly fishing, reading, and spending time with his family in Alabama and Colorado, while also consulting with clients on strategic communications, sustainability, litigation issues and reputation management. 

Active in the civic life of his home state of Alabama, David currently serves as president of the board of directors of The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, which provides research and data-driven analysis for local and state governments and education institutions throughout the state.  He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Blackburn Institute, a student leadership organization at the University of Alabama, and on the board of the National Conference for Community and Justice in Alabama.  He previously has served as chair of the Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy – Alabama Chapter, and as a director of the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the Wildlife Habitat Council, Silver Spring, Maryland, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and the Alabama Governor’s School. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, is past president of Leadership Birmingham’s Member’s Council, and is a member of the Birmingham Kiwanis Club. 

David holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Sewanee: The University of the South, and has a master’s degree in public and private management from Birmingham-Southern College.  He studied Renaissance history and literature at University College, Oxford University, and completed Harvard-MIT’s executive Program on Negotiation.