Dave and Dina Powell McCormick

U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

Vice Chairman, President of Global Client Services and Partner, BDT-MSD Partners

This episode will air on Thursday, July 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET

We hope everybody will ask themselves three questions: Who believed in you? Have you thanked them? And who can you believe in and invest in to change the world?

Summary

In this episode of Leadership Matters, Alan Fleischmann is joined by U.S. Senator Dave McCormick and business leader Dina Powell McCormick to discuss their NYT bestselling book, Who Believed in You: How Purposeful Mentorship Changes the World. The conversation explores how mentorship shapes leadership, purpose and personal growth. 

Drawing from their own experiences in public service, business and the military, Dave and Dina share powerful stories of resilience and the importance of humility in leadership. They also highlight the potential of national service to unite communities and foster civic responsibility. This episode encourages individuals to seek out mentors, become mentors and help build a culture of service and purpose.

Mentions & Resources in this Episode

• Who Believed in You: How Purposeful Mentorship Changes the World - by Dina Powell McCormick and Dave McCormick

• Dina Powell McCormick and David McCormick on the Power of Mentorship

• Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America - by Dave McCormick

Guest Bio

Dave McCormick

Senator David H. McCormick was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, and raised in Bloomsburg. The son of two lifelong teachers and prominent educators and the oldest of two boys, Dave was raised to understand the value of hard work. Growing up, Dave played football and wrestled, trimmed Christmas trees, delivered newspapers, and bused tables at the Magee Hotel.

Dave was nominated to the United States Military Academy by a Pennsylvania Senator, and became the first kid from Bloomsburg to attend West Point in decades. After graduating, Dave went on to serve in the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper. He was deployed to the Middle East during the First Gulf War and following his service in Iraq he retired as a Captain.

After the Army, Dave earned his Ph.D. in international relations from Princeton University before moving to Pittsburgh to start a career in business. He worked his way up to become the CEO of FreeMarkets, a successful tech startup that employed hundreds in Western Pennsylvania.

In 2005, Dave was called to service again, this time in the highest levels of government, including as Under Secretary of Treasury and as Deputy National Security Advisor. For four years, Dave spearheaded the fight to protect American technology from Chinese theft, advised the President on key national security issues, and helped negotiate the global response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Following the administration, Dave joined Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest, most successful investment firms in the world, which manages the pension plans of groups including teachers, firefighters and law enforcement. He served as CEO until he resigned to run for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022.

Dave and Dina are proud to support organizations that work with veterans and their families.

Dina Powell McCormick

Dina Powell McCormick is Vice Chairman & President of Global Client Services and a Partner of BDT-MSD.

Powell McCormick joined BDT & MSD Partners from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., where she was Global Head of Sovereign Business, focused on growing the franchise and broadening the firm’s network with some of the world’s most important institutional investors. She also held the role of Global Head of Sustainability and Inclusive Growth, playing an instrumental role in furthering the firm’s investment goal of advising and financing clients on climate finance investment opportunities, and served on the firm’s Management Committee and the Firmwide Client and Business Standards Committee.

Powell McCormick initially joined Goldman Sachs in 2007, and from 2007 to 2017, she served as Head of the firm’s Impact Investing Business and served in various roles during that period, including Head of the Urban Investment Group, President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and President of Goldman Sachs Gives. She led the development of Goldman Sachs’ inclusive growth initiatives, including 10,000 Women, 10,000 Small Businesses, and One Million Black Women — programs that have positively impacted the lives of tens of thousands of female entrepreneurs and small business owners around the world.

Earlier in her career, Powell McCormick served in the U.S. government for more than a dozen years, including as Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel and Senior White House Advisor, as well as Assistant Secretary of State and Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy. In 2017, she served as Deputy National Security Advisor.

She is currently Chairman of the Robin Hood Foundation Board, Trustee of the National Geographic Society Board, Trustee of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and a Member of the Boards of Meta and Exxon Mobil. Additionally, she is a member of the Stanford University Freeman Spogli School.

Together, Dina and Dave recently co-authored a deeply personal and inspiring NYT bestseller, Who Believed in You: How Purposeful Mentorship Changes the World.

Episode Transcript

Transcript will be uploaded upon the episode’s premiere.