Kirk McDonald Returns to College

Kirk McDonald, the CEO of GroupM North America, one of the world’s largest media investment companies, has returned to The City College of New York to finally get his college degree. After 33 years, McDonald picked up where he stopped in 1989. He left school with only a few credits to go. “I’m excited about being a student again, excited about the three classes I’ve got to go take and whatever coursework I need to complete to earn my degree,” says McDonald.  

We decided to follow him on his journey this spring as he finally achieves his dream of a college degree, a dream that fulfills his mother’s wish. “I made Ebony’s Power 100 list the same year as Michelle Obama. And my mother said, ‘Oh, that’s so nice. But you know, you should go and check with City College and just finish your degree,” he chuckled. 

McDonald moved with his family from Jamaica to New York City when he was about twelve years old. As an immigrant child, he understood his parents came here to give him and his siblings a better life. By the time he was a young adult, he wanted to return the favor. “I was accepted into many tech schools, but I couldn’t figure out how to afford it; we didn’t have the resources. And I didn’t feel good about taking student loans or any of those things,” McDonald said. “I just wanted to start supporting my family and my parents. City College was the best choice for me.”  

Two days after graduating high school, McDonald got a summer job that eventually turned full-time at Rockefeller University. “I was cataloging books, putting them back on the shelves, and because I knew a little bit about computer coding coming out of high school, they allowed me to do some data entry work there as well,” he said. “And that job was how I paid for college up until my last semester.”  

McDonald started as a computer science major but jokingly reflects about having a challenging relationship with calculus courses and knew that wouldn’t work for him. Another field often mentioned at home was law. He knew he had strong communication and writing skills and decided to become an English major with the hope of becoming a lawyer.  

But in 1989, McDonald found himself in a dilemma. “That summer, my sister went away for college. Resources were tight at home; honestly, I didn’t have enough money to pay my last semester at City College.” McDonald decided to pause his education only 11 credits short of his degree.   

He was lucky enough to snag a job at the publishing giant Condé Nast that same year. Although he didn’t become a lawyer, McDonald learned that he enjoyed media marketing and advertising and worked hard at it. His career in marketing blossomed and he went on to work at Time Inc, Fortune Money Group and CNET Networks. He became the President of a marketing automation software company and the chief business officer at Xandr, an arm of Warner Media and AT&T, and ultimately became the CEO of GroupM, N.A. in 2020.  

While he climbed the corporate ladder, he always wanted to come back to City College and complete his degree. Then fate intervened.  Nancy Tag, the director of the City College graduate advertising and marketing program, Branded + Integrated Communication (BIC), reached out to him. She asked him to serve on BIC’s board.  

“When Nancy [Tag] came along and asked me if I were willing to do stuff and support the board [of advisors], the answer was going to be yes,” he explained. “But I didn’t feel that I could say yes, without also finishing up this one thing that I owe City College.” McDonald also credits his children in college for inspiring his return.  

The English Department also helped smooth the way. McDonald’s course work is slightly different than that of his younger classmates.  But he is doing the required work and hopes to walk as a proud graduate of the Class of 2022. We’ll continue to follow him.