Management Expert Scott MacDonald Describes Iconic Company Rescue in Business Memoir Saving Investa

DEL MAR, Calif. - Nov. 1, 2016 - PRLog -- San Diego corporate management and leadership expert, Scott MacDonald, announces the release of his business memoir, Saving Investa: How an Ex-factory Worker Helped Save One of Australia's Iconic Companies (ISBN 978-1-68102-080-8). Saving Investa recounts MacDonald's efforts to save an Australian commercial real estate property company with $9 billion in assets purchased by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund investors in 2007. As he deals with this perilous and oftentimes impossible-seeming task, MacDonald also explores his own personal journey from his days as a financially struggling student raised by a single mother in Chicago to his position as a renowned management leader in the world of commercial real estate. Also included at the end of the book is a list of the 25 most valuable lessons MacDonald learned in his long and successful career in corporate turn-arounds.

Set in Sidney in 2008, Saving Investa begins when Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund investors give management leader Scott MacDonald the herculean task of turning around Australia's Investa Property Group, one of Australia's largest commercial real estate companies. Although he first resists, MacDonald ultimately agrees to the assignment and soon finds himself mired in the financial dealings of a company swamped with debt and mismanaged by its associates. As he moves Investa through painful but necessary department house-cleaning and massive debt-restructuring, MacDonald also flashes back to the key moments of his life as a young boy in Chicago and, later, a struggling college student and factory worker, that helped him develop the courage and strength needed to undertake the task of revitalizing the floundering Investa Corporation. MacDonald also describes the costs, both personal and emotional, for those who were involved in the company's turnaround.

Like Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.'s My Years with General Motors and Jan Carlzon's Moment of Truth, Saving Investa is a rich, layered narrative that describes the stamina, grit, and determination – along with vision and creativity – that rebuilding a failing organization requires. In addition, Saving Investa provides personal insight into the author's past, so that the reader understands the foundations MacDonald developed over the years that prepared him for his roles as a management leader and turnaround expert. The book is a must-read for those who are interested in business leadership and restructuring and for students who would like to learn more about the skills required to successfully navigate the turbulent waters of corporate management. Masterfully written and researched, Saving Investa takes readers through actual moments in the company's history to witness the dire circumstances and near-fatal decision-making that lead to its successful evolution as a now healthy and vibrant corporation.

"I've always felt a keen responsibility to the investors who put up the money to fund the companies I work for," said MacDonald. "They often represent workers who have spent their lives working in expectation of retiring someday with sufficient proceeds to pay for their needs. I also felt that employees deserved a supportive and professional work environment and that every company owes some responsibility to the community in which it operates. These principles guided me during my years as an executive at Investa, and they helped to shape the corporate vision that eventually led to the company's ability to overcome its struggling finances and emerge as the industry leader it is today."

Scott MacDonald is the former Chairman and CEO of Investa Property Group and has worked in the real estate industry for more than 40 years, serving as Chief Executive Officer or President of five operating companies. He has developed specialized expertise in corporate management and leadership, as well as formulating and executing corporate repositioning. MacDonald also is the founder of MacDonaldscholars.com, a program for universities that raises money and awards scholarships to needy students. Scott holds a B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University and an M.A. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina. He currently resides in Del Mar, California.

For more information on the author or Saving Investa, please visit www.authorscottmacdonald.com.

For further information, please contact:

Paula Margulies Communications

858-538-2047

paula@paulamargulies.com

www.paulamargulies.com