Chris McDonald (born in 1976) is an English CEO. In 2014 after working his way through the ranks at British Steel (now known as Tata Steel), McDonald became CEO of the Materials Processing Institute following its independent breakaway from Tata. McDonald travelled to both Shanghai and Slovakia to advise and speak to government officials regarding the steel industry and steel processes.
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In his role at the Materials Processing Institute, the country’s oldest centre for industrial materials research, McDonald openly discusses the hopes of it becoming a Catapult Centre, and included amongst the eight other government appointed technology and innovation centres across the UK.
Early life
McDonald was born in Blackhall, County Durham, a village built around the extensive mining industry. Both McDonald’s grandfathers were miners.
During his time at school McDonald discovered he had a natural aptitude for science and engineering, as quoted in Middlesbrough’s The Gazette, McDonald describes: “I really enjoyed those subjects and I thought at the time there were a lot more career opportunities in these areas.”
McDonald’s first taste of employment saw him work in a battery factory in Peterlee at 14, earning him £10 per day.
He went on to study Chemical Engineering at Cambridge University and then returned to the North East in 2000 to work for MPI, the former R&D arm of Tata Steel.
During his time at the company, McDonald worked closely with Corus, which was bought by the Indian Steel giant in 2007 for £6.2bn.
Political involvement
McDonald regularly travels to Westminster to keep abreast and generate discussion about the importance of the materials processing sector.
Before her appointment as Labour MP for Redcar, prospective parliamentary candidate Anna Turley visited the Institute in January 2015 alongside Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills Iain Wright MP after a formal invitation from McDonald.
After his meeting with McDonald, Wright said: “We need to step up and think about our economic future because other nations are snapping at our heels, and how we can use materials in a smarter way.
“I want the MPI to thrive, because locally, nationally and internationally it is vital.”
Turley added: “I totally support the future of the processing industry in this area. It is the beating heart of the UK economy and I ill do all I can to support it. There is so much potential in this field across the area and the MPI is a key part of it.”
In March 2015, McDonald asked a question to MP panel members about the UK industrial strategy and the need to enable SMEs in the supply chain to engage more widely with innovation and the various funding agencies.
In response, Ian Swales Redcar MP described MPI as “an important part of the Government’s innovation policy.
In September 2015, McDonald met with Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Tom Blenkinsop and private consortium members in Westminster to try and build political support for a new Teesside-based project.
Career achievements
McDonald is a regular face in the media and on January 18, 2015 appeared on the Sunday Politics Show to discuss future prospects for the Steel Industry in the UK.
Since then the CEO has appeared in numerous media outlets, including radio, international trade magazines, newspapers and online publications.
After his appointment at MPI, McDonald alongside Dr Gerard Stephens, Director of the SME Technology Centre at MPI secured the Institute a £3m investment from the Tees Valley Growth Deal, creating 14 new jobs and allowing the organisation to build a SME technology centre.
In March 2015, McDonald announced the Institute would be building two new facilities, a Centre for Doctoral Training to aid students from Durham, Sheffield and Newcastle universities to carry-out industry-focused research and the SME Technology Centre.
McDonald travelled to China in August 2015 to present a key-note paper at the 10th Biennial Conference of the Chinese Society of Metals. The conference focused around the theme of Better Steel, Better Life and focused on steel industrial structure adjustment and transformation, technological innovation and sustaining an eco-friendly steel industry.
In November 2015, McDonald visited Slovakia to advise the Government about setting up a similar research model for the country, whilst being the keynote speaker at the Slovakian Research and Development Management Conference.
McDonald met with the Slovakian Government and advised on the management and cultivation of innovation centres. The Head of the Slovakian Research and Development Association described MPI as “world-leading” and “successful” as he introduced Chris McDonald to the conference.
In March 2016, McDonald announced that Materials Processing Institute would launch a commercial steelmaking operation from its facility on Teesside.
Personal life
McDonald lives in County Durham with his wife Claire and two children.