Kurt R. Bauer became the fifth head of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) in 2011. Founded in 1911, WMC is the combined Wisconsin State Chamber of Commerce, Wisconsin Manufacturers’ Association and the Wisconsin Safety Council. WMC represents 3,800 employers of all sizes and from every sector of the economy, and is referred to as “the state’s most powerful business and manufacturing group” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
WMC became the first organization to win both State Chamber of the Year (2020), presented by the National Association of State Chambers, and the Council of State Manufacturers Associations Leadership Award (2023).
Bauer has served on multiple state, regional and national committees, councils and boards and is currently a member of the National Association of State Chambers Board and a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs Committee.
Bauer is a Wisconsin native and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.