Ronne and Donald Hess

Ronne and Donald Hess both grew up in Alabama. Donald, a native of Birmingham, and Ronne, from Jasper, knew each other as teenagers. Donald graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in mathematics in 1970. He returned to Birmingham and started working at Parisian, Inc., the business which his grandfather, Carl Hess, purchased in 1920. In 1976 he assumed the company presidency, succeeding his father, Emil Hess. When Parisian was sold to Saks, after experiencing significant growth under the leadership of Donald Hess, Donald joined the Board of Saks, and Ronne and Donald Hess both continues to be an active member of the Board and Lead Director.

Ronne graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in education, and taught special education in Walker County. Ronne and Donald have demonstrated a remarkable interest in philanthropy in Birmingham, on the national stage and for Israel. Their community involvement spans a number of local and national groups. Both of them have served as President of the Birmingham Jewish Federation. Ronne was Chair of the Resources Committee for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and served on the International Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Outreach National Board. She has held numerous positions on local boards, including Temple Emanu-El, the YWCA, and was President of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham and Collat Jewish Family Services. She currently serves on the Board of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

During the summer of 1998 Donald chaired the MAPS campaign for the Birmingham area. He was the Chair of United Way of Central Alabama, and on the boards of Birmingham-Southern College, the McWane Center and countless other organizations. He is currently Chair of the Board of Indian Springs School.

Their philanthropy locally and nationally, through the Ronne and Donald Hess Foundation and the Balmoral Foundation, has been exemplary, and includes many Jewish and wholly secular organizations. Along with sharing a passion and sense of responsibility to give back to their community, Ronne and Donald share six children and 12 grandchildren.