Alexander Hood MacLeod was born in Anstruther, Fife, Scotland on 27 February 1889. In c.1901 he began working in the office of John Thomson (1859-1933) and Robert Douglas Sandilands (1854-1913) of Thomson & Sandilands in Glasgow, probably as a junior clerk. In 1910 he enrolled in the Glasgow School of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art. Following the death of Sandilands, Thomson took MacLeod into partnership in April 1914 and the practice was renamed Thomson, Sandilands & MacLeod. The partnership was interrupted by World War One when MacLeod was called up to serve in the forces in 1915. After the war he resumed his partnership with Thomson. Following the death of Thomson, MacLeod became the sole partner in the business. Thomson, Sandilands & MacLeod continued until the 1950s with the name unchanged well after the death of all three partners.
MacLeod was admitted a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1932. He died in Anstruther on 31 December 1941
For a list of architectural projects by Alexander Hood MacLeod see Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1660-1980