How Did I Get Here?

Arnold Donald

President and chief executive officer, Carnival Corporation
  • Education
  • St. Augustine High School, New Orleans, class of 1972
  • Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., class of 1976
  • University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, class of 1980
  • Work Experience
  • 1977–81
    Intern, supervisor, Monsanto
  • 1981–86
    Market research analyst, product supervisor, marketing manager for Canada, Monsanto
  • 1991–93
    Vice president, general manager, group VP for North America, Monsanto
  • 1995–2000
    Senior vice president, president, crop protection unit, Monsanto
  • 2000–03
    Chairman, CEO, Merisant
  • 2006–08
    President, CEO, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
  • 2010–12
    President and CEO, Executive Leadership Council
  • 2013–Present
    President and CEO, Carnival Corporation
  • Life Lessons
  • “If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the answers.”
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  • “Be totally results-oriented. Don’t get distracted by other people’s problems.”
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  • “If you can imagine it, it can be done.”
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  • “I grew up in the Ninth Ward, and my parents took in 27 foster kids, along with the five of us. We were dirt-poor, but as a kid you’re just having a good time.”
  • In high school
  • With wife Hazel on a cruise, 1997
  • “I had a buddy from school in private equity. I said, ‘I have a great deal for you.’ So we took Merisant out of Monsanto through a private equity deal. We made the sweetener Equal and around 19 other brands with aspartame around the world.”
  • “I should’ve been begging for the job, because it’s just a hoot—we have the best entertainment and chefs.”
  • “We went all over the world. In every little nook and cranny, there’s agriculture.”
  • With Desmond Tutu during the 2014 Grand World Voyage
  • “I said, ‘I’m a corporate animal. You don’t want me running a nonprofit.’”
  • “It’s an African American executive association for CEOs and high executives, by invitation only. The purpose is networking and promotion of diversity.”
  • “I was on the board for 12 years, and then the director asked me. The thought had never crossed my mind.”
  • In Antarctica, 2014