Gale Klappa Inducted to Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – Junior Achievement of Wisconsin held its 33rd annual Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame™ on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Gale Klappa was among the class of 2023 laureates inducted to the Business Hall of Fame.
Gale’s earliest memories include watching his parents run the family-owned shoe store. It was there that he learned how important the qualities of honesty, integrity, and customer satisfaction are to the success of a business. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (UWM) with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, Gale took a job as a morning news anchor at a Minneapolis radio station.
He happened to see an ad for a Fortune 500 company that was looking to hire a spokesperson. He got the job and met the man who would become his lifelong mentor. Alvin Vogtle, CEO of Southern Company in Atlanta, Georgia reinforced the lessons Gale learned at his parent’s shoe store and taught him the energy company business.
Since joining Wisconsin Energy in 2003, Gale has served as Chairman and Chief Executive. Under his leadership, the company acquired Integrys Energy Group. Today WEC Energy Group is one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving 4.6 million electric and natural gas customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.
Gale received an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree from UWM in 2011 in recognition of his support of UWM’s growth initiative, his leadership in launching the Milwaukee 7 Regional Economic Development Initiative, and his extensive community involvement.
Established in 1990, the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame honors individuals whose business innovations, effective management, and civic involvement have made a difference in their companies and communities throughout the state. The laureates are also recognized for the high standards they set as role models for Wisconsin’s young people and as innovative business leaders who have positively shaped Wisconsin’s business climate.
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