Spotlight: Donna Forbes
Markers:
With typical self-effacement, LKM leader Donna Forbes credits her preparation for eventual presidency to the most venerated institution in the country. The School of Learning by Doing.
An N.C. State graduate who confessedly “knew zip about marketing,” she went straight to a headhunter and landed a position as administrative assistant with McKinney+Silver, beginning a journey that ended 12 years later with major account responsibilities for Piedmont Airlines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, North Carolina Tourism, the Bahamas and NationsBank. But ironically, it was in saying goodbye to Piedmont, which had grown from a down home and personal airline to a major international carrier, that she knew she had not only stepped up, but irreversibly forward.
She moved on to the client side at Levolor, handling marketing duties, trade shows, retail trade relations and advertising. Assimilating. Putting the pieces together. A mere four years in the rough-and-tumble Newell environment, and she garnered the prestigious Presidential Award of Excellence.
At LKM, Donna closed the circle, leading projects for Hunter Douglas and Quoizel Lighting, as well as supervising operations, financial and human resources functions. In her words: “Creativity is the life blood; I’m about keeping the arteries open.”
Family:
Husband Chuck is Human Resource Director for Wykoff Color Corporation. Also the coach of son Chad, 12, already an All-Star pitcher, catcher and occasional shortstop who dreams of his first standing O at Yankee Stadium. Daughter Landon is a bright, articulate, candid 15-year-old whose motor never idles and whose mom sees her as a future chief executive. Gee. Imagine that.
Passions:
“Any time I see a new ocean.” Wakeboarding. (She learned scuba in her twenties, boarding in her forties.) The Boss (her favorite is “Dancing in the Dark”). Panthers football.
Words:
There’s a free spirit in all of us. Find it and live it.
