Gary MacDougal is a wealthy businessman with an impressive resume. MacDougal has been a partner at the international consulting firm McKinsey and Company and was former chief executive officer of Mark Controls Corporation. He is on the board of directors of United Parcel Service.
MacDougal served on non-profit groups such as Russell Sage Foundation, and now with Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Bulgarian American Enterprise Fund.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1958, MacDougal spent three years as a U.S. Navy officer. He then received a MBA degree at Harvard Business School.
MacDougal has been married to Charlene Gehm for ten years. Gehm is a former leading ballerina who danced for 13 years with the Joffrey Ballet.
After selling his business in 1988, MacDougal worked on George Bush, Sr.’s Presidential bid. MacDougal wanted President Bush to appoint him Secretary of Health and Human Services, but was told by campaign aide George W. Bush that MacDougal had a “pigmentation problem” – meaning they needed a more diverse cabinet. Then McDougal bowed out when Lynn Martin decided she would challenge Carol Moseley-Braun in 1992. Moseley Braun became U.S. Senator that year.
When Jim Edgar became Governor, MacDougal challenged the Governor to revamp the human services infrastructure in his state. In 1993, MacDougal was appointed chairman of the Governor’s Task Force on Human Services Reform. He held that position for four years.
After his experience, MacDougal authored the book, Make a Difference: How One Man Helped Solve America’s Poverty Problem.
MacDougal was instrumental in the reconstruction of the welfare system in Illinois. He pushed Illinois politicians to adopt a “one-stop shopping” consolidation of state human-services programs, so that clients would have easier access to the various government services available.
The February 2, 2001 Capital Research.org publication stated, “This approach [of one-stop shopping] has been credited with helping Illinois reduce welfare rolls by nearly 60 percent in the past four years, exceeding federal requirements under the new welfare-to-work policy.”
MacDougal addressed conservatives last year at the 2001 Conservative Conference. While addressing the conference attendees, MacDougal proposed a contract similar to the Gingrich “Contract with America,” voiced his support of George W. Bush’s “faith-based initiatives” and spoke against extending special rights to special groups.
The MacDougal name is receiving positive response from conservatives. Jack Roeser and Joe Wiegand wrote in the Family Taxpayer Network’s March 2001 newsletter, The Champion, these words of acclamation, “Without his knowledge or involvement, we picked Gary MacDougal as an example of the kind of leader we think we need [in Illinois].”
Joe Wiegand told the Illinois Leader, "We believe that Gary McDougal would be a tremendous choice for the Illinois Republican State Committee Chair."