“They thought women should be nurses, not administrators,” she said of the prevailing attitude at the time.
Instead, MacDonald made her mark in the world of business and continues to do so. She heads the Harbour Grace Group, a diversified holding company, and is chief executive of Airia Brands that makes air-purification systems.
MacDonald has no interest in being a personality, so consumers may not recognize her, but it’s likely they’ve used products she created. Phoenix Interactive Design — the London company she sold in 2015 after 28 years at the helm — for example, is credited with revolutionizing the way banks use automated banking machines.