ICW Excellence in Leadership Award

Former Dollar General CEO
Receiving ICW's Excellence in Leadership Award for 2007

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), announced today that David A. Perdue was awarded the prestigious ICW Excellence in Leadership Award for 2007. This award honors a private or public sector leader who has demonstrated a commitment to creating positive, systemic change in education.

“David Perdue has shown remarkable dedication to providing opportunities for adults to learn to read; the most basic foundation for finding successful employment,” said Arthur Rothkopf, Chamber senior vice president and the leader responsible for the Chamber’s education and workforce initiative. “The Chamber and ICW applaud his efforts and hope that his service will provide an example to others.”

Perdue is the former Chairman and CEO of the Dollar General Corporation, the parent company of the Dollar General retail chain. He is currently Honorary Commissioner of the National Commission on Adult Literacy, an independent panel of leaders from labor, business, government, education, literacy, and philanthropy. Mr. Perdue’s work with the commission is being lauded for its efforts to reduce adult literacy. Over 30 million adults are currently functionally illiterate in America.

Since 2004, ICW and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have recognized an individual for their commitment to improving the quality of education and workforce readiness by raising awareness and supporting solutions. To be considered for the ICW Excellence in Leadership Award, a leader must exemplify strong evidence of engagement in initiatives that:

Support and encourage student/employee involvement in education.
Have proven results.
Develop, support, or promote sustainable programs that improve student academic achievement.

Past award recipients include former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt and President and CEO of State Farm Insurance Companies, Ed Rust, Jr.

ICW's annual Education and Workforce Summit took place September 24-26 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. This annual event brought together more than 300 leaders in business, education, and workforce development to discuss issues vital to America's competitiveness. The award was presented during the annual ICW Awards Dinner on Tuesday, September, 25th.

More about David A. Perdue

David Perdue recently retired as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Dollar General Corporation. He served as Chairman of the National Commission on Adult Literacy from July 2006 to June 2007, and is presently active as Honorary Commissioner. Prior to joining Dollar General in 2003, David Perdue led Pillowtex Corporation—a producer and marketer of home textiles—as chairman and chief executive officer. Previously, he was the president and CEO of Reebok Brand. Prior to Reebok, he was senior vice president of Haggar, Inc., where he was senior vice president of global operations. He gained additional international expertise while based in Hong Kong with Sara Lee Corporation as senior vice president of operations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Perdue spent 12 years in management consulting with Kurt Salmon Associates, an international management consulting firm. He received his Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering and Master of Science in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a director of Alliant Energy Corporation and serves on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board and the Georgia Tech Foundation Board. In addition, he serves on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations.

Advancing human progress through an economic, political and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity, and responsibility.