RallyPoint, a military-themed social network<\/a>. His work will include looking for ways to use the firm\u2019s resources to ease military transitions and connect veterans through technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHe said serving on the company\u2019s board of directors gives him a chance to highlight a broad array of veterans organizations and assistance programs, an opportunity he sees as building off his VA experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one agency or government can do everything itself,\u201d he said. \u201cFinding the right way to balance the partnerships, create an ecosystem on behalf of veterans, servicemembers and military families is really the big idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McDonald frequently spoke about those kind of connections during his two-and-a-half-year tenure as VA Secretary. He took over the post in the wake of the 2014 wait time scandal which shook public confidence in the system, and forced him into a role of chief VA marketer along with his CEO duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The West Point graduate said he has been generally pleased with department news since his departure, and sees significant continuity with initiatives he put in place. The biggest change has been on the legislative side, where a host of bills that he lobbied lawmakers on are now moving more quickly in a Republican-controlled Congress and White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But McDonald said he does worry that VA Secretary Shulkin \u2014 a holdover from his own leadership team \u2014 has not been able to fill top department posts because of a slowed confirmation process. In six months, only Shulkin has been confirmed by the Senate as a new permanent department senior official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe most important thing for him is to get the team he needs around him,\u201d he said. \u201cLeadership matters. That\u2019s job number 1, 2 and 3.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He called recent public discussions of VA privatization \u201cmyopic,\u201d adding that all involved parties need to do more to highlight the broader importance of department health care operations to American society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf VA goes away, who is going to train the 70 percent of doctors in the country that VA currently handles?\u201d he asked, echoing a familiar refrain from his time in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During recruiting speeches, McDonald would frequently refer to VA medical innovations like the nicotine patch and prosthetics advances as proof of the wider importance of the department\u2019s medical system, beyond the direct mission of helping veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo me, the issue of (outside collaboration) is not a question of \u2018either\/or.\u2019 It\u2019s a question of \u2018and,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McDonald said he has stayed in contact with Shulkin, but drifted away from the day-to-day developments on VA policy and operations. Instead, he has maintained relationships with veterans groups and events, including involvement in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said he hopes to grow those relationships even more in his new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n