James Donaldson - 2009
MHS 1963 Graduate
James A. Donaldson, Class of 1963, was nominated by Dr. Robert Hines. Mr. Donaldson is a native of New Franklin where he attended school in grades one through seven and then came to Minerva. His home is presently in Naples, Florida.
Upon graduating from Minerva High School, Donaldson entered the United States Air Force. He did his basic training in San Antonio, Texas, followed by various specialty training schools in Mississippi and Texas. He completed a two-year tour in Misawa, Japan, and a one-year tour in Samsoon, Turkey. His position was in Security Service working under the National Security Administration. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant on December 7, 1966.
In January 1967, he began employment at Timken Roller Bearing in Canton as a time clerk on the night shift while working for William Powell during the daytime at Clearview Golf Course doing general labor and grounds keeping. In the spring of 1967, he moved to Chicago to attend DeVry Institute of Technology. He obtained a part-time position at the Chicago Board of Trade as a runner on the trading floor to the Archer Daniels Midland Corporation. His position soon became full time, and he began to attend DePaul University.
In 1971, Donaldson left Archer Daniels Midland to open the commercial commodity department for Kohlmeyer & Co. During this time, he also began trading and filling orders as a broker in the soybean oil pit. A year later, he joined the Kelly Grain Co., and was named a partner within a year. Upon incorporation of the firm, he became executive vice president and secretary. He remained in those positions until the sold the firm in 1986, but continued to trade for himself in the ensuing years.
He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Board of Trade in 2004. While on the board, it went from a member-owned institution to a for-profit entity and went public with their IPO in October of 2006. They then merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange creating the CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange. Donaldson now sits on the newly formed Board of Directors of the CME Group and has recently been slated for another three-year term.
Among his memberships and affiliations are The Union League Club of Chicago; Pelican Isle Yacht Club of Naples, Florida; Naples Grand Golf Club; Youche Country Club of Crown Point, Indiana; The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago; and the First Presbyterian Church of Naples, Florida.