David McDonald, local business leader and president of Christchurch Rugby Club, is today announcing the expansion of his new Vistage executive peer advisory group for local business owners in and around Dorset. David is a Vistage Chair and business mentor who formed his group at the height of lockdown, providing one-to-one consultation and mentoring to local business executives and supporting businesses overcome the shock of the ongoing pandemic.
“Businesses in and around Dorset are run by fantastic, hardworking and passionate leaders with incredible vision for their companies and local communities”, said David McDonald. “As a Vistage Chair, I hope to continue to play a role in enabling them to tap into new perspectives and support systems that will accelerate their development and improve their decision-making capabilities.
My passion is coaching and helping people thrive. I see a lot of potential in our community here and I want to share my experience, knowledge and know-how to help develop local companies. On average, Vistage members grow their companies 2.2 times faster than their industry competitors, even during a crisis, and I want local businesses to benefit from this and become some of the fastest growing SMEs in the region and beyond”.
David has over 30 years’ experience in business leadership roles in engineering and defence sectors and has worked for companies with turnovers ranging from £500,000 to £60m, so he has an intimate knowledge of the challenges many SME leaders face today. David was most recently the Managing Director at Chemring Technology Solutions, an advanced technology defence company, and has also held senior positions at BAE Systems, Leonardo and Roke Manor Research.
David moved to Dorset in 1985 where he first co-founded the Christchurch Rugby Club before becoming the president of the resurrected club in 2019. David and his wife, Carla, are also local respite foster carers and very active members of their community in Dorset.
To find out more about the peer group in your area visit vistage.co.uk/david-mcdonald