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Thomas J. Falk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas J. Falk (Tom Falk; born 1958)[1] is an American businessman. He was. Chief Executive Officer of consumer product products giant Kimberly-Clark Corporation from 2002 until 2018 and remained as Executive Chairman until his retirement at the end of 2019.[2][3]

Early life

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Thomas was born in a modest family, where he was the oldest of nine children.[4] Tom grew up in the Milwaukee area.[5] Falk's first job was as a caddie at a local golf course Chenequa Country Club, at the age of 12.[5] By age 16, he professionally played drums.[6]

Education

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He won the Evans Scholarship (a full-tuition award available only to caddies)[5] and received his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin in 1980.[4][5] Falk earned a Master's of Science in management at Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1989.[7][4]

Career

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Alexander Grant & Co

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His first job was with accounting firm Alexander Grant & Co, where he got his public accountant certification. He worked there for 3 years, from 1980 till 1983.[4]

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

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Mr. Falk began his career at Kimberly-Clark in 1983.[8] He was appointed as a senior auditor in 1984 and two years later he became a senior financial analyst, in 1986.[4]

In 1989, Falk worked as an operations manager for infant care at South Carolina diaper plant.[4]

In 1991, Thomas Falk took the position of the senior vice-president of analysis and administration.[4]

He has been an executive director of Kimberly-Clark Corporation since 1999. He served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Kimberly-Clark Corporation from 1999 to 2002[9] and as chief executive officer from September 12, 2002, until December 31, 2018. He became Chairman of Kimberly-Clark Corporation's Board of Directors on February 18, 2003, a position he retained for a year following his December 2018 retirement as CEO.[10]

Falk served as Group President - Global Tissue, Pulp and Paper in 1998. He served as the President and Chief Operating Officer since 1999, and as president and chief executive officer in 2002.

Other activity

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He currently serves on the board of directors of Catalyst, the University of Wisconsin Foundation and Centex Corporation. He is also a governor of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.[11]

Personal life

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Thomas was born in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1958. Thomas Falk is married to Karen Kalk, a native of Hartland.[5] Together they have a son Michael. Tom's brother, Bob Falk, is CEO of Purdue Federal Credit Union in West Lafayette, Indiana.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Company Overview of Kimberly-Clark Corporation". Bloomberg. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  2. ^ Mertens, Maggie (9 April 2014). "Why Companies Need to Hire More Women, Straight From a Male CEO". Glamour. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. ^ Corkery, Michael (23 January 2018). "Kimberly-Clark Cutting 5,000 Jobs Amid Pressure on Prices". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Student of the business". The Business Times. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Tom and Karen Falk give $10 million for scholarships, faculty support". Wisconsin-Madison News. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Dallas 500: Tom Falk, Kimberly-Clark". Dallas magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Chairman and CEO Thomas J. Falk". Kimberly-clark. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  8. ^ Koenig, David (13 September 2002). "Sanders steps down as Kimberly-Clark CEO". The Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Kimberly-Clark Names Thomas J. Falk President and COO | Kimberly-Clark Corporation". investor.kimberly-clark.com. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  10. ^ "Kimberly-Clark names new CEO". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  11. ^ "Thomas Falk Profile". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2018.