Junior Achievement of Wisconsin held its 34th annual Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 30, at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. This year’s laureates included Jeffrey Joerres, Stephen Marcus, and Jack Salzwedel.
During Joerres’ tenure as ManpowerGroup’s leader, the company expanded its global presence from 42 counties to 80 countries and grew revenue from $8 billion to $20 billion. Following a career that culminated in roles as chairman and CEO, and later executive chairman, Joerres retired in 2015.
Marcus helped his father, Ben Marcus, acquire The Pfister Hotel in 1962 when it was at the brink of bankruptcy and became the hotel’s general manager, marking the beginning of his Marcus Corp. career. His leadership shaped the company’s expansion beyond Wisconsin, its embrace of new technologies, and its transition to a publicly traded entity.
Salzwedel joined American Family Insurance in 1982 as a claims adjuster and became chairman and CEO of the organization in November 2011. Under his stewardship, American Family Insurance evolved from a regional agency to a national enterprise, advancing technologically and diversifying its offerings. His approach led to the establishment of a data science and analytics lab, adoption of AI, and more.
Other honorees at the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame included Kamilah Williams- Kemp, chief insurance officer at Northwestern Mutual; and Shamit Surana, recognized as the Junior Achievement Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the founder and owner of Halokeys, a company that markets a cutting-edge keyboard that uses AI to help predict and complete repetitive tasks and make typing more efficient for the user.
