Dona Davis Young

Dona D. Young retired as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Phoenix Companies, an insurance and asset management company after a nearly 30-year career.  During her six-year tenure as CEO, she oversaw major restructuring of the company, including the successful spinoff of its asset management business at the end of 2008. The spinoff company, VIRTUS, trades on the NASDAQ.

Among her accomplishments as CEO was a focus on leadership and talent development.  Dona took particular care in elevating succession planning, grooming internal talent and also positioning a number of people in expanded senior roles. She was among the first women to serve as General Counsel of a financial services company, and later as its Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. She was one of only 24 women CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies at the time of her 2008 retirement.

Dona’s current and prior public company board experience spans a range of industries from retail to manufacturing to financial services. Board memberships have included Footlocker, Sonoco Products Company and Wachovia Bank.

Dona has also been active in community and nonprofit organizations. She has received numerous awards and recognition from the United Way, The Boys and Girls Clubs, Food Share of Greater Hartford and the National Conference of Community and Justice.  

Her nonprofit board experience includes the following: Saint James School, Saint James, MD; Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH; Godspeed Opera House, East Haddam, CT; and Hartford Hospital, Harford Healthcare Corporation and The Connecticut Science Center, Hartford, CT.

Dona received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Drew University in Madison, NJ, and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She has received distinguished alumni awards from both schools. Dona is a 2012 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University.

Dona is married to Roland F. Young, III, a leading healthcare attorney and business owner. Their primary residence is in West Virginia. They also have a home and business interests in Cincinnati, Ohio. They have three grown children.

She was elected to the Board in December 2012 and serves on the Audit & Risk and Development Committees. She is also a member of the SCI/A Board.