2025 Alumnae Leadership Luncheon

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Experience an inspiring alumnae leadership luncheon featuring Dr. Karen Gritzmacher '71. Her career and life experiences took her from Waukesha to Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, China and an international life living overseas 30+ years. She followed a traditional career path life for the first 18 years after Carroll but moving overseas began a new life of learning and working. Her upcoming speech, "Leadership Outside the Boardroom," promises insights into her remarkable journey. Join us as we celebrate Karen's achievements and learn from her invaluable experiences in leadership.

Karen J. Gritzmacher, Ph.D., earned her undergraduate degree from Carroll in 1971, launching a dynamic career that would span continents and industries. Her experiences took her from Waukesha, Wisconsin to Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, China and living 33 years overseas. She followed a traditional career path for the first 18 years after Carroll but moving overseas sparked a new life of worldwide learning, working and traveling.

Dr. Gritzmacher was involved in Speech and Debate at Carroll and went on to become a Debate Coach at Marquette University in Wisconsin and Hope College in Michigan. She later earned her Ph.D., which opened the door to a unique opportunity with General Motors Corporation. At General Motors Institute (Kettering University), she served as Assistant Professor teaching courses, publishing articles, developing training programs and consulting across the corporation. After two years, she moved into a career in Corporate Materials Management. This included researching and forecasting price and availability of raw materials, negotiating steel, paint, nickel, and copper contracts, visiting GM Divisions and supplier locations, and writing corporate reports and Vice President speeches. She transitioned to Fisher Body Division Purchasing Department, where she gained experience in operations, contract negotiation, and supplier relationship management. She later returned to the corporate office to learn and implement key elements of Just-In-Time manufacturing. Subsequently, she joined the Packard Electric Division, where she managed scheduling across six smaller plants, including two located in Mexico.

In 1986, Dr. Gritzmacher shifted her focus to academia to teach at Arizona State University Business School. There, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in purchasing, scheduling and productivity/quality control. She also developed research projects, wrote articles and consulted with U.S. companies. In 1989, she pursued an opportunity to teach at a Tianjin, China University for 6 weeks. She arrived in late May and was evacuated on June 9 by the United Nations due to the 1989 Tiananmen Square Conflict. It was a chaotic time, but she traveled to and stayed in Thailand to conduct research.

Her research focused on a broad range of topics, including: interviewing, assertiveness, decision making strategies, group dynamics, problem solving in organizations, making change in organizations, leadership in cross cultural organizations, changing roles of men and women in organizations, women and leadership, managing fast track employees, materials management challenges, negotiating tactics, developing supplier relations, improving productivity and quality control in organizations, Just In-Time Manufacturing, and visual controls improving quality performance.

She was also engaged with organizations such as Leadership Flint, Leadership Detroit, National White House Fellowship Quarterfinals for two years and General Motors Women in Management.

From 1989-2022, Dr. Gritzmacher lived in Bangkok, Thailand, with her Canadian husband. There, she edited the book How to Do Business in Thailand in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank and Tilleke & Gibbins Law Firm. She was actively involved with the American Chamber of Commerce, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the International Women’s Association. She also consulted with U.S. companies, created workshops with universities and wrote various articles.

Later, she and her husband moved to New Zealand and Australia, where she continued her consulting work and community involvement. Their extensive travels to Antarctica and the Arctic offered a new perspective on leadership. After losing her husband to an aggressive cancer and navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gritzmacher finally returned to Milwaukee in 2022, bringing with her a lifetime of global experiences and a deeply enriched perspective.

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