Katherine Gehl

Katherine Marie Gehl
Born 1966
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA)
Alma mater

University of Notre Dame Catholic University of America

Northwestern University
Political party Independent
Website www.katherinegehl.com

Katherine M. Gehl (born 1966) is an American business leader, entrepreneur, policy activist, and political reformer. She was the President and CEO of her family-owned company, Gehl Foods, Inc. She served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a role to which she was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010.[1] She is the daughter of former Gehl Foods CEO John P Gehl.[2]

Early life and education

Katherine Gehl was raised in a small town in Wisconsin. She is the second of five children.

She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1988 and holds an MA in education from the Catholic University of America. She also earned an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.[3]

Career

Before she began working at Gehl Foods, Gehl held a range of public service and private industry positions. These roles included being Vice President at Bernstein Investment Research and Management, as well as Special Assistant to Mayor Richard M. Daley for Technology and Economic Development, Director of Information Technology Services at Chicago Public Schools, and Organization Development Manager at Oracle Corporation.[4]

During Gehl's tenure as CEO at Gehl Foods, the company was honored as part of the "Wisconsin 75", and was included in the top 100 dairy companies in the nation.[5] BizTimes named it small business of the year in 2015, and the Milwaukee Business Journal proclaimed it as one of Southeast Wisconsin's "Fast Growing Firms".[6]

Gehl oversaw the company's acquisition by Wind Point Partners in 2015, and still serves on the Board of Directors. At the time of the sale, Gehl Foods had nearly $250 million in sales and 350 employees.[7] Gehl earned nationwide attention for sharing proceeds with workers of the company's sale.[8]

Public service

In 2010, Gehl was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and was confirmed by the United States Senate in October 2011.[9] She stepped down in 2015.

Business and community positions

Gehl is a board member of the Marcus Corporation, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, Gehl Foods LLC, The History Makers, University of Wisconsin's Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs , The Water Council and The Milwaukee Repertory Theater. She is a former board member for Joffrey Ballet, Public Allies, the Faye Gehl Conservation Foundation and the Golden Apple Foundation. She is currently a member of The Greater Milwaukee Committee, The Economic Club of Chicago and the University Club of Milwaukee.[10]

Gehl was named to Who's Who in Chicago Business, was honored with Crain's Chicago Business "40 under 40, Chicago's Rising Stars: designation and was a 2001 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow.[11] . In 2013, she was honored by the BizTimes, a Wisconsin publication with the Bravo Entrepreneur Award and was included in the Business Journal's listing of influential Milwaukee business leaders.[12] She received the Sacagawea Award in 2016.[13]

Policy activism and political reform

Before her departure from Gehl Foods in 2015, Gehl began supporting No Labels, a national organization working to break the political gridlock in Washington, D.C.[14] She also serves on the CEO Fiscal Leadership Council of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, and is a board member of The Centrist Project.[15] Katherine Gehl and Michael E. Porter from Harvard Business School, are working together to analyze the political industry through the lens of industry competition. They published an article with a short summary of that work in March 2017, in Fortune (magazine), entitled "Why Politics is Failing America."[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Boards And Committees | The HistoryMakers". www.thehistorymakers.org. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  2. ↑ "Former CEO wants to reform political process". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  3. ↑ "Katherine M. Gehl: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  4. ↑ Milwaukee, Urban. "Former Gehl Foods chief goes 'On the Issues' to discuss political reform and U.S. competitiveness". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  5. ↑ "2014 Deloitte Wisconsin 75". Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  6. ↑ "Gehl Foods acquired by Wind Point Partners". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  7. ↑ "Chicago private equity firm acquires Germantown-based Gehl Foods". Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  8. ↑ "Gehl Foods gives employees parting gifts". Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  9. ↑ "Katherine M. Gehl | OPIC : Overseas Private Investment Corporation". www.opic.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  10. ↑ "Katherine Gehl Elected to The Marcus Corporation Board". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  11. ↑ "40 Under 40 2001 Profile 9". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  12. ↑ "BizTimes announces recipients of Bravo! Entrepreneur and I.Q. Awards | BizTimes Media Milwaukee". BizTimes Media Milwaukee. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  13. ↑ "Honoring Trailblazing Women in Business". TMJ4. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  14. ↑ "Redistricting ruling could help, hurt both parties". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  15. ↑ "Katherine Gehl & Maya MacGuineas: Debt and deficits rising: Who has courage?". Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  16. ↑ "Why Politics Is Failing America". Retrieved 2017-09-29.
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