official statement<\/a>, calling McDonald\u2019s work \u201ca reflection of the high standards that define Plano as the City of Excellence.\u201d Israelson added that McDonald\u2019s \u201ccommitment and forward thinking\u201d will continue as he transitions into the city\u2019s leadership team.<\/p>\n![\"dougplano\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/dougplano.jpg;w=960.jpeg\"\/)
\nPhoto: City of Plano
<\/p>\n
A Track Record Of Growth And Business Wins<\/p>\n
As Director of Economic Development since 2022, McDonald led a period of steady business expansion in Plano. According to the city, Plano has secured 21 projects over the past three years representing 7,200 jobs and $722 million in improvements. These projects included major corporate relocations, such as Sally Beauty Holdings and Simpson Strong-Tie, and expansions by Delta Electronics and Raising Cane\u2019s.<\/p>\n
McDonald also broadened Plano\u2019s outreach across domestic and international markets, strengthening ties with companies considering new locations or expansions.<\/p>\n
Strengthening Workforce Partnerships<\/p>\n
Beyond corporate recruitment, McDonald directed updates to Plano\u2019s economic development strategy to match post-pandemic workforce needs. That work included:<\/p>\n
\n\tLaunching a building modernization program for aging office campuses
\n\tReestablishing workforce partnerships with Plano ISD and Collin College
\n\tSupporting small business programming
\n\tExpanding commercial real estate engagement
<\/p>\n
His team also kicked off the first Master Area Plan for the Legacy district, a long-term strategy aimed at guiding future development in one of Plano\u2019s most recognizable business hubs.<\/p>\n
What Comes Next<\/p>\n
As Deputy City Manager, McDonald will continue overseeing Economic Development while taking on broader responsibilities across city operations. In the statement, Israelson said McDonald\u2019s experience has \u201cstrengthened our business community, supported quality jobs for our residents and advanced strategic initiatives that keep Plano well positioned for long-term success.\u201d The promotion places McDonald at the center of Plano\u2019s economic and workforce priorities as the city continues to attract new investment and support quality jobs for its residents.<\/p>\n
Don’t miss anything\u00a0Local.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our free newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doug McDonald steps into the role after leading major job gains and corporate expansions across the city
Plano…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-56899","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-plano","9":"tag-plano-headlines","10":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}