National business leader Gochnauer to present at Business Week 2016 Keynote Event
Green Bay, WI — The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Business Week 2016 will feature a national business leader with Midwest roots and a long history of working with successful organizations. Richard W. Gochnauer, retired (2011) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Stationers, Deerfield, Ill. will present the keynote address at UW-Green Bay’s Business Week Keynote Networking Dinner.
Richard Gochnauer
The event will be held from 5:00 to 7:15 p.m. Thursday, March 31 on the stage of UWGB’s Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, with the dinner beginning at 5:45 p.m. The event engages business leaders and top students in an evening of networking, conversation and learning. Gochnauer is expected to use his past leadership and insight to speak about the keys to business success and the future of business leadership in the United States. The title of his keynote address will be, “Lessons Learned: Implications for Business Today and in the Future.”
Gochnauer joined United Stationers (now Essendant) in July 2002 as Chief Operating Officer and Director. In December 2002, he was named the company’s President and CEO. United Stationers is a leading wholesale distributor of office and business products. From 1994 until he joined United, Gochnauer held the positions of Vice Chairman and President, International, and President COO of Golden State Foods (GSF), a privately held food company that manufactures and distributes food and paper products for McDonald’s Corporation and other customers in 55 countries. Prior to GSF, he served as Executive Vice President of the Dial Corporation; President of the Stella Cheese Company, a division of Universal Foods; and as President of the international division of Schreiber Foods, Inc.
Gochnauer earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University. He serves on the boards of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, UGI Corporation, and Golden State Foods. His non-profit work includes service on the boards of Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Opportunity International Global Board and the Center for Higher Ambition Leadership. He is a past board member for the Saint Joseph Ballet, Orangewood Children’s Foundation, Rising Tide Transitional Housing, the Foundation for Christian Fellowship, and the Green Bay, Milwaukee and Phoenix YMCAs. The Gochnauers also have a named Phuture Phoenix Endowed Scholarship at UWGB.
Gochnauer, has strong ties to Green Bay. Both his father and grandfather were residents of the area. Gochnauer spent his summers in Green Bay as a child. He and his wife Beth — a member of the UWGB Chancellor’s Council of Trustees/Foundation Board — have two adult children and three grandchildren.
In its sixth year, Business Week has proven valuable to both business leaders and students in the Austin E. Cofrin School of Business. Students are able to add to their classroom learning by participating in a variety of events, all of which include community business leaders. Events leading up to the keynote, such as the Learning to Dine Like a Professional Etiquette Lunch and Mock Interview Day help students develop the interpersonal and professional acumen expected of business professionals. The Job and Internship Fair and Elevator Pitch Competition & Networking Night give students the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and become more than a name on a resume. The event is sponsored by UWGB’s Austin E. Cofrin School of Business and the Office of Career Services.
Cost of the event is covered by private sponsorship. Seating is limited. If interested in attending, contact Beverly Hendricks, administrative assistant for the Austin E. Cofrin School of Business, 920-465-2044 hendricb@uwgb.edu to reserve a seat.
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