Donna James
Donna James
Donna A. James is a trusted resource and advisor to leaders in the public and private sector, ranging from entrepreneurs to C‐suite executives of Fortune 500 companies. As the managing director of Lardon & Associates, LLC, Donna’s expertise includes corporate governance, business strategy and development, human capital management, financial and risk management and leadership development. She serves on the board of directors for public companies L Brands and Boston Scientific, as board advisor for Marathon Petroleum, and board
member of the private company FIS Group. She is a past board member of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Time Warner Cable, Coca‐Cola Enterprises, Inc., Intimate Brands and CNO Financial Group.
Prior to starting her own business, Ms. James retired after 25 years as President of Nationwide Strategic Investments, a division of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. A formal education and experience as an accounting professional with PricewaterhouseCoopers provided the foundation for her effectiveness in both business and community endeavors.
In her community, Ms. James is the co‐founder and former board chair of the Center for Healthy Families, a non‐profit focused on transforming the lives of pregnant and parenting teens and their children. Ms. James is also a board trustee for OhioHealth, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and Co‐Executive Director for the African American Leadership Academy.
Past community roles include: An appointment by President Obama as chair of the National Women’s Business Council; Co‐Chair for the Columbus Celebrate One initiative to reduce infant mortality; Co‐Chair of the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio; trustee for The Health Policy Institute of Ohio; the United Way of America Board of Governors; Bennett College for Women Board of Trustees; Central State University Board of Trustees, I Know I Can; Wexner Center for the Arts Board of Trustees; NC A&T State University School of Business Advisory Board and chairwoman of the YWCA of Columbus.
Ms. James has received several recognitions – King Arts Complex Legends Award; Columbus Metropolitan Library Celebration of Learning Award; Columbus Museum of Art Honoree; Center for Healthy Families Honoree; Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year; Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council Trail Blazer Award; the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Hall of Fame; named by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the top 75 in Corporate America; received the national Beta Gamma Sigma Business Achievement Award and the YWCA Women of Achievement Award. She is the recipient of three honorary doctorates from Otterbein University, Tiffin University and her alma mater, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
She is the wife of attorney Larry James, partner with Crabbe, Brown & James in Columbus, Ohio. They have two adult children, Christopher and Justin, and five grandchildren.