Welcome to our new board members!

The Waukesha County Business Alliance has announced five new additions to its board of directors: Neal Glaeser, president of Denali Ingredients; Dr. Cindy Gnadinger, president of Carroll University; Wendy Harris, general manager of customer education and training for GE Healthcare; Kim Hastings, president of CJ & Associates, Inc.; and Charles (Chuck) Palmer, managing partner of Michael Best’s Waukesha office. The Alliance’s 2017-2018 board chair is Tom Fotsch, chief operating officer for EmbedTek LLC.

Glaeser has over 30 years of experience in the ice cream/dairy related business and has been with Denali Ingredients since 2001. After 15 years with the company, his company vision is to be the “go to” ingredient supplier for innovative products and solutions – doing so by collaborating with work associates and customers. As president, he thoroughly enjoys interfacing with all levels in the organization each and every day and finds it rewarding to see those at Denali Ingredients be challenged, grow and have success.

Gnadinger began her role as president of Carroll University in July 2017. She has more than 23 years of experience in higher education and over 15 years in administration. Prior to her role at Carroll University, Dr. Gnadinger served as an executive consultant at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. She played an important role in the institution’s significant growth through the development of new programs and was instrumental in helping lead faculty development. Among her many accomplishments, Gnadinger is a 2013 recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship which allowed her to travel abroad to France with other administrators to visit many higher educational institutions and explore partnership opportunities.

Harris has 27 years of leadership experience at GE Healthcare with roles in service, sales, marketing and operations. She has progressed through roles based in several U.S. locations and held a global role in Women’s Health. Her current role at GE Healthcare is leading the Customer Education organization. This is a training organization of 250 clinical professionals who are responsible for clinical training and applications within the U.S. healthcare market and delivering $100 million in revenue annually.

Hastings is the second generation of leadership for CJ & Associates, a family- and woman-owned business that provides interior design services and office furniture environments for customers statewide and nationally. Her parents, Curt and Judy Rudy, founded CJ & Associates, Inc. in 1984. Hastings has been president since 2003 and has been successful in developing a culture which promotes a strong work/life balance for every employee. Hastings has been recognized as a Women of Influence and a New Berlin Chamber Business Person of the Year.

Palmer is a go-to lawyer for complex cases involving OSHA, employment law, labor negotiations, independent contractor and joint employment matters in industries such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture and more. Clients rely on his years of experience in dealing with state and federal enforcement agencies to develop human resource, safety and environmental policies and practices that prevent problems and save them significant expense. Palmer was named Milwaukee’s Lawyer of the Year in Employment Law by The Best Lawyers in America in 2013.

Please visit www.waukesha.org/about-us/board-of-directors for more information.