The position helps MSOE provide students the opportunity to include entrepreneurism in their field of study and assist students in establishing new business ventures.
Businessman and entrepreneur G. Woodrow Adkins is the first holder of the Uihlein/Spitzer Chair of Entrepreneurship in the MSOE Rader School of Business.
A longtime food industry executive, Adkins has initiated and nurtured a number of successful companies including Adkins Holdings LLC, a private investment company of which he is chairman, CEO and owner. He also serves as a managing partner in FCF Partners LP, a private equity fund investing in manufacturing companies in the upper Midwest.
Adkins brings to MSOE his strong commitment to free enterprise, a successful business career, and an earnest desire to share his knowledge and experience.
In addition to the investment companies, Adkins also is chairman, CEO and owner of food industry firms New Glarus Foods Inc. and Acme Machell Co. Inc. He is chairman and shareholder of Alkar-RapidPak and Thiel Cheese and Ingredients LLC.
He began in the meat industry with Swift and Company (Esmark), managing different profit centers of manufacturing and distribution, concluding as vice president of marketing and sales. He was president of Wisconsin Packing Co. for 13 years while revenue grew from $20 million to $250 million, and president of I.O.C. of Conagra Inc., an $800 million company.
Adkins is an international member of the Chief Executives’ Organization, a member of Wisconsin Presidents Organization, and past chapter chairman and international director of the Young President’s Organization.
He holds a B.S. degree from University of Maryland and has completed management development work at Northwestern University. He is a past lecturer at IMD University, Lausanne, Switzerland.
In addition to servicing as the Uihlein/Spitzer Chair of Entrepreneurship at MSOE, Adkins is a member of the MSOE Board of Regents.