Bio

Mr. Gies is the Founder and CEO of Madison Industries, one of the largest and most successful privately held companies in the world (www.madison.net). Madison builds entrepreneurially driven, branded market leaders that are dedicated to making the world safer, healthier and more productive by creating innovative solutions that deliver outstanding customer value. The team at Madison is committed to building something truly remarkable that long outlasts them while coaching others to reach their highest potential. Madison has built market leaders in the filtration, medical, safety, rescue & firefighting equipment, heat transfer, industrial equipment, process improvement, instruments & controls, advertising, service outsourcing, and indoor air quality industries with combined revenues in excess of $10 billion. Mr. Gies serves as the President of The Gies Foundation (which focuses on democratizing education and enhancing health) and is a featured speaker at several universities. He was instrumental in establishing The Gies Campus of Chicago Jesuit Academy (a full scholarship school for 3rd – 8th grade boys on Chicago’s West Side). He serves on the boards of Northwestern University, Amsted Industries, 2016-2022 (one of the largest ESOP’s in the United States) and the Accelerate Institute (which is solving for the ‘achievement gap’ in United States education). He holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. In 2017, the University of Illinois named its leading business school, the Gies College of Business.