The adoption of digital technology across Milwaukee’s business community was greatly accelerated in 2020 due to people working remotely and virtually as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The adjustments made within weeks, and even days, for some local companies demonstrated the importance of advanced technology. It also demonstrated the mission of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, an area nonprofit created to strengthen Milwaukee’s tech industry.
“One thing that Covid has brought is there's now a general recognition of the criticality of tech to our future as a region, to organizational prosperity, regional prosperity and individual prosperity,” said Kathy Henrich, who was named CEO of the coalition in January 2019. “It has accelerated so many trends, and people understand just how critical this is to our future success as a region.”
The coalition launched in October of 2019, with Northwestern Mutual, Kohl's Corp., Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls International, Advocate Aurora Health and Accenture, which is incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, but has an office in Milwaukee, as the six founding companies. The companies pledged a two-year commitment to contribute a combined $5 million to fund the nonprofit coalition.
The coalition was designed to aid Milwaukee programs and initiatives that support tech workers and tech startup companies. One of its main purposes is to double the number of tech workers in the metropolitan area by 2025. To help fulfill that purpose, the coalition has partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards and Seattle-based apprenticeship program Apprenti to build a technology apprenticeship system in the Milwaukee area.
Under Henrich, the coalition has also grown from the six founding companies to more than 60, including Milwaukee Tool, We Energies, American Family Insurance, Carroll University and Molson Coors Beverage Co.
“That's a critical component because a small nonprofit is not going to change the region alone,” she said. “It’s only going to be done in collaboration with the entire region, which includes the nonprofits, higher education, government, startups and the corporates. Together, we have the resources to be able to be regional changing. Harnessing that power, that collective power, is the approach by which we’re approaching this.”
The coalition also operates FOR-M, a free 10-week incubator used to strengthen Milwaukee's tech supply chain of talent, startup companies and idea generation. The program is operated in partnership with The Commons, the entrepreneurial skills accelerator for college students in southeast Wisconsin that's an initiative of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and We Pivot, a Milwaukee-area organization that's dedicated to creating diversity within the tech industry.
Since launching in October of 2019, more than 110 founders have gone through FOR-M, of which 45 said they would consider progressing their ideas. In the most recent cohort, 65% of the founders were diverse individuals, Henrich said.
“Our goal is to do this inclusively,” Henrich said. “With everything we do, our goal is 50% diversity across women, person of color, disabled and veteran.”
Rashi Arora Khosla, founder and CEO of Waukesha-based MARS Solutions Group, and board member of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, said Henrich works tirelessly to position the coalition as a catalyst and driving force in the region's tech job growth.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Kathy as the top executive for the coalition," Khosla said. "She has not only built an effective and lean organization from the ground up, but has provided unparalleled leadership in evolving various committees that work towards many coalition goals. Kathy is an inspiring and natural leader that is well engaged in the community."
Added Jason Fields, the former state legislator who also serves on the coalition's board: “Kathy is an outstanding visionary as it relates to technology and moving Milwaukee forward. Her ability to look forward and devise a plan on advancing innovation is second to none.”
Prior to leading the coalition, Henrich held leadership positions at IBM and Accenture while based in Wisconsin. She began at IBM as a systems programmer and over the course of roughly 30 years, moved into roles in sales and service partnerships. At Accenture, she served as senior manager of talent and organization and future of workforce.
In 2017, Henrich enrolled at Louisiana State University to earn a master’s in workforce and talent development with a focus on artificial intelligence and automation.
“At IBM, I could see that technology was quickly changing roles and we were essentially getting rid of people over here and then trying to hire new types of skills,” she said. “I truly believed there was a better way to bring talent along with us as we were going through technology transformation.”
That belief is what attracted Henrich to the tech hub coalition.
“Tech will be the core to every industry and job in the future,” Henrich said. “Our ability to be successful will significantly affect the trajectory of the region’s prosperity."
Kathy Henrich
- Title: Chief executive officer
- Organization: Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition
- Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Northern Iowa; master’s, Louisiana State University
- Family: Husband, three children
- Native: Dubuque, Iowa
- Resides: West Bend
- Age: 55
- Hobbies: Outdoor activity
- Board/associations: Technology United (United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County); Wisconsin Policy Forum Economic Development Board
- What is the Milwaukee tech industry’s greatest strength? "We are really strong at embedded tech and transforming essential industries and products to the world."
- How do you see the balance between being in the office and working remotely playing out in 2021 given what’s happened with Covid-19? “There's this need for a hybrid approach where people are able to come together, especially around tasks that require collaboration, innovation, et cetera. That’s better done in person. Productivity for more task-oriented work can actually improve when people are alone because they can concentrate. I anticipate over time, employers will consider ‘how do I continue to build the teamwork that's required for me to be innovative while at the same time creating some flexibility for employees that's also good for task-oriented activities?’"
- Will we see more workflow technology adopted by local companies? "We'll continue to see that. One thing about the pandemic, obviously, is it has accelerated many of the trends towards automation. You’ll continue to see that going forward."
