Dawn Schefelker has enjoyed a multi -decade career making an impact in Wisconsin manufacturing. For the past 13 years, she has been chief fi nancial officer for Design Specialti es, a custom fi replace door and hearth accessory manufacturing business in Milwaukee. Her leadership helped the company transiti on from being a privately-owned business to one of private-equity ownership (Blackthorne Partners) in 2015.
She has helped deliver 25% EBITDA expansion for the business over the past three years. She operates as a mentor to other Blackthorne company CFOs, sharing her best practices to the benefit of four additional Wisconsin manufacturing businesses.
In October, Schefelker successfully completed the acquisition of another competitor and fireplace door manufacturer from Indiana (Hearth Craft ) and she will now act as brand leader for this new business in addition to her CFO duties to provide long-term strategic guidance, ensure financial success and support future growth for the company’s combined Milwaukee-based operation.
