Manufacturing
Chair and chief executive officer
Kohler Co. | Kohler
David Kohler represents the fourth generation of family leadership for the Kohler Co. One of the largest employers in the state, Sheboygan County-based Kohler Co. has roughly 40,000 employees across its operations. David Kohler, who has been with the company for three decades, was named president and chief executive officer in 2015. He was also elected to board chair and CEO in September of this year, following the death of his father and Kohler Co. executive chairman Herbert Kohler Jr. that same month. In his role, he oversees the company’s three business groups – kitchen and bath, power and hospitality.
Under David Kohler’s leadership, the company acquired Clarke Energy Ltd., a UK-based provider of engineering, construction, installation and maintenance of power plants that use gas engines, in 2017. In 2021, Koher Co. acquired Curtis Instruments and Heila Technologies. Kohler Co. surpassed $8 billion in annual revenues in 2021.
David Kohler was general chairman for the 2015 PGA Championship and was general chair for the 43rd Ryder Cup in 2021, both of which were held at Whistling Straits, owned by Kohler Co.
In addition to Kohler Co., Kohler serves on the board of directors of Old Course Ltd, Interface Inc., Interceramic and the Green Bay Packers. He also serves on the board of the Kohler Foundation and on the advisory board of the Duke University Fuqua Center on Leadership and Ethics.
Education: Bachelor’s, Duke University; master’s, Northwestern University