Karl Gouverneur, Don Schlidt, Kevin Zaba, Jim Griffin ’88 and Tom Glaister were elected to the MSOE Board of Regents. In electing these Regents, the university is further demonstrating its commitment to being a national leader in computational science and artificial intelligence education.  

Since it was founded in 1903, MSOE has benefitted from the advice and support of volunteer leaders. Meaningful involvement is the most accurate way to describe the manner in which MSOE’s Board of Regents and Corporation members assume their responsibilities. Comprised of representatives of business, industry, government and education, the Board of Regents governs the operations and the future planning of the university. The new Regents’ experience and expertise in digital innovation will be invaluable as MSOE continues to develop its offerings in the computational science field. ­­­­

Karl Gouverneur is vice president digital workplace, corporate solutions and head of digital innovation for Northwestern Mutual. In this role, Gouverneur partners with business areas across the enterprise, such as finance, HR, investments and compliance, to integrate digital solutions with strategies and objectives. Gouverneur also focuses on providing a digital core to enable efficiency and flexibility to enrich the experience of the company’s employees, including an award‐winning digital innovation program. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual in 2006, Gouverneur was the vice president and chief technology officer at Seattle‐based Safeco Insurance. Gouverneur is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration – computer science. He is currently a member of the CIO Research Board and the ALPFA National Corporate Advisory Board. In the Milwaukee community, Gouverneur serves as the head of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute and is a member of the Discovery World Board. He is also a board member of Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Cream City Venture Capital Investment Committees, and an advisor to the Northwestern Mutual Hispanic Employee Resource Group. 

Don Schlidt is the president and CEO of Dedicated Computing. He joined the company as CEO in 2008 and was elected to the board of directors that same year. Schlidt is responsible for overall strategic direction and operational execution within the organization. He brings more than 30 years of business experience and 20 years of technology industry experience leading high-performance organizations. Prior to joining Dedicated Computing, Schlidt served in several executive positions at Arrow Electronics, most recently as president of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Arrow/Zeus Electronics. Earlier in his career, he served as president of several business units within Corporate Express – North America. In addition to serving on the Dedicated Computing Board of Directors, Schlidt currently serves on the Technical Advisory Board for Intel Corporation as well as the Wisconsin Technology Council. He also maintains strong ties to the non-profit community, serving on boards for several local and regional charities. Schlidt is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business where he earned degrees in finance and real estate.  

Kevin Zaba is group executive and president of Rexnord Corporation’s Process and Motion Control Platform. Zaba leads the platform, overseeing the company’s product portfolio delivered within end markets such as process, consumer goods, energy and aerospace. Prior to joining Rexnord, Zaba held a number of leadership roles with increasing responsibility at Rockwell Automation, including vice president of solutions, services and sales, and vice president and general manager of the control and visualization products business. Zaba’s experience as a global business leader includes assignments across a variety of sales, marketing and operational roles, including a multiyear role leading an Asia-Pacific ETO solutions business while residing in Shanghai, China. Zaba has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Portland.  

James P. Griffin ’88 is the CEO and owner of The Angelus Corporation, a premier provider of engineered products and services for the aerospace & defense industry. Griffin joined the company in 1989 as an outside sales engineer, driving the company’s transition from a distributor of industrial wire & cable to a leading provider of engineered interconnect solutions for aerospace applications. As CEO, Griffin has successfully executed his vision to build a “dual bottom line” company, where success is measured by both financial performance and employee development within a collaborative, respectful and professional culture. With a continued focus on Griffin’s mission to “Make our customers’ jobs easier,” the company has profitably grown ten-fold since he became CEO, becoming a diversified, internationally recognized industry leader. Griffin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from MSOE. He has been an active donor to, and advocate for, the ongoing success of MSOE.  

Tom Glaister is the retired president and chief operating officer of Charter Manufacturing. Glaister joined the company as president in March of 2000. During his tenure, Charter more than doubled in size and expanded internationally, including in China and Europe. In 2012, Charter acquired Charter Dura-Bar as a fourth division to the company, which also includes Charter Steel, Charter Wire and Charter Automotive. Prior to his time at Charter Manufacturing, Glaister worked for Keystone Steel & Wired Co., starting there in January 1997 after a career at Lukens Inc., a $1.1 billion Fortune 500 steel company (as of 1998) in Washington, Pennsylvania. He joined Lukens as a technical assistant in 1974 following his graduation from Drexel University. In 1989, after a series of promotions leading him to director of human resources, he was tapped to run a small struggling Lukens unit. Within five years he had improved operating earnings more than tenfold. Shortly after Lukens acquired Washington Steel in late 1993, Tom was appointed general manager of the Washington operations. After the merger of Washington and Luken under one corporate umbrella, he was appointed to the newly created position of general manager of logistics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Gannon University and an MBA with a concentration in industrial relations from Drexel University.  

In addition, John Cain, CEO and chairman of the board, Scot Forge, and Thomas Hauske Jr., executive chairman of Marshall Street Capital, returned to the Board of Regents from Emeritus status. 

MSOE also welcomed new Corporation members:

• Scott Allan, president, The Angelus Corporation
• Matt Bertsch ’97, vice president of engineering, cordless power tools, Milwaukee Tool
• Tim Chambers, president of business solutions, Snap-on Tool
• Ron Hahn ’91, president, Scot Forge
• Seth Patin ’05, owner, Accelogix
• Larry Rocole, vice president, Milwaukee division, JP Cullen
• Tim Schneider ’04, vice president, J.F. Ahern  

MSOE is an independent, non-profit university with about 2,800 students that was founded in 1903. MSOE offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, business and nursing. The university has a national academic reputation; longstanding ties to business and industry; dedicated professors with real-world experience; a 95% graduate outcomes rate; and the highest ROI and average starting salaries of any Wisconsin university according to PayScale Inc. MSOE graduates are well-rounded, technologically experienced and highly productive professionals and leaders.