Jesse MacDonald

Jesse MacDonald, President of TFO Marketing Group, views his journey to TDC as a series of fortunate events that guided him to the life-changing decision to join the organization.

Originally from Burlington, Ontario, Jesse attended college in Tennessee before moving to Ohio with his then-fiancé (now wife) to pursue his graduate studies. As a former college tennis player, Jesse looked for a local tennis club to join and ended up being hired as the head professional. It was here that Jesse met TDC Chairman/CEO, Cleves Delp.

“If I would have chosen a different club, I wouldn’t have met Cleves, which changes my family’s entire life,” Jesse marveled. “Soon before I graduated from graduate school, I asked for Cleves’ help in how to best prepare for finding a new career. I had no idea, right there in that office, I was actually being interviewed. Despite not knowing the exact role I could play in the company, I was offered a job on the spot.”

Jesse started in 2009, being tasked with helping the company develop a firm-wide training program for new hires. Shortly after, he transitioned into the company’s life insurance business by directing operations for the Exclusive Marketing Organization, a national life insurance producer group. Jesse was then asked to lead TDC Energy, a subspecialty helping commercial businesses manage and reduce their energy costs.

“While I loved the different ways I was able to help the business, my passion had always been for marketing. The leadership at TDC recognized this and entrusted me to grow a marketing division within the company, a role I was thrilled to take on.” Under Jesse’s direction, the marketing team continued to grow, bringing on graphic design and digital creative talent. Before long, the new team became a vital part of each TDC entity.

“At this point, we wanted to turn marketing into a revenue generator for the firm and help other similar businesses with their marketing and creative needs.” Unlike most internal marketing departments, Jesse has used his team’s talent to turn their department into a marketing agency that at any given time can be the outsourced marketing team for up to 30 firms.

“At TDC, I’m blessed to be part of a team that embraces constant change. My journey within TDC certainly hasn’t been linear, but I’ve learned and grown so much by touching so many different parts of the business. We are always thinking of new ways to make our clients’ lives better and new challenges to take on, and that has permeated through the TDC team. Leadership is always thinking that way, and this ultimately means an abundance of opportunities for our people. It’s led to a lot of folks being here for a long, long time,” Jesse said. “If you’re a hardworking, self-initiating team player who wants a challenging and fun work atmosphere where leadership encourages personal growth and opportunity, TDC is the long-term place for you.”