[caption id="attachment_596857" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Natalie Black Kohler[/caption]
Natalie Black Kohler, a former top executive for the
Kohler Company and the widow of former Kohler Co. president, CEO and chairman
Herbert V. Kohler Jr., died today at the age of 74, the company announced.
Black Kohler served as Kohler Co.’s general counsel and as senior vice president of corporate communications. She also led the Kohler Foundation.
“Whether she was protecting Kohler Co.’s legal interests worldwide as general counsel; guiding the company through significant global expansion and unprecedented growth through a series of mergers and acquisitions; ensuring Kohler Co.’s privately-held status through a historic stock recapitalization; promoting the Kohler brand as senior vice president of corporate communications; or supporting and leading the Kohler Foundation and other charitable endeavors, Natalie’s insight, candor, and work ethic were evident to all,” the company said in a news release.
Herb Kohler Jr. and Natalie Black were married in 1988 and were partners in life and in business
until Herb Kohler’s death in 2022.
“Partners in business, in life, and in philanthropy, they were rarely apart and enjoyed seeing the world together, traveling frequently and seeking thrilling adventures. Matched in will, wit, and charm, Natalie and Herbert’s time together was larger-than-life. Their families will remember their spirits, like their innumerable personal and professional achievements, as irrevocably and affectionately entwined,” the company said in a news release.
Black Kohler was inducted into the Wisconsin Advertising Hall of Fame as part of its 2019 class along with her husband.
“When Natalie assumed leadership of Kohler Communications, the Kohler brand was a distant third place in brand awareness among consumers. Within a few years, Kohler ascended to the top and has never looked back. Much of that achievement and domination was due to Natalie’s dogged determination, entrepreneurial spirit, and keen intuition,” the company said in its new release.
Black Kohler started the
Black Spring Foundation, Inc., a non-profit that focuses on literacy, education, hunger, and improving life for animals.
She focused much of her philanthropic efforts on Sheboygan County and providing substantial funding to the
Sheboygan County Food Bank, the
Sheboygan County Humane Society, and
Sheboygan Public Education Foundation.
Black Kohler was a 1978 magna cum laude graduate of
Marquette University Law School. She received an A.B. degree in economics and mathematics from Stanford University in 1972. She was also a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Program for Management Development in 1982.
She joined Kohler Co. in 1981 as a member of the Legal Department after previous employment since 1978 as an attorney with the Milwaukee law firm of
Quarles & Brady, specializing in securities and general corporate work.
She was a member of the Kohler Co. board of directors from 1987 to 2022, and a member, and then president of Kohler Foundation from 1998 to 2022.
Black Kohler was active on numerous professional boards and organizations. She served on the board of directors for
Johnson Controls, Inc. from 1998 to 2018. She was on the board of trustees for the
Medical College of Wisconsin from 1997 to 2009, and on boards of the
Sheboygan County YMCA and the
Milwaukee Ballet Company.
