Contact:
Ethnie Groves, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2156
New Report Shows Wisconsin Leads the Nation in Manufacturing Job Growth
and Continues to Lead All Its Neighbors in Overall Job Growth
Governor Jim Doyle today announced the appointment of Mary
Burke as Secretary of the Department of Commerce. Burke replaces Cory
Nettles who left at the end of 2004 to join the private sector.
“Mary is not only a Wisconsin native but a real Wisconsin
success story,” Governor Doyle said. “Her business experience stretches
from Wisconsin to Europe and Asia, from small business to Fortune 500
companies. She understands what it means to compete in the global
marketplace, and she’s had the experience of starting her own business.”
Most recently, Burke was Director of Forecasting and
Planning for Trek Bicycle. There she was responsible for forecasting the
sales of more than a million bicycles a year, predicting market demand not
only in the United States, but also in China, Japan, and the rest of the
world. Prior to that, Burke was Director of European Operations for Trek,
helping to start and oversee companies in the UK, Germany, France,
Switzerland, Spain, Austria, and the Netherlands.
As Commerce Secretary, Burke will play a key role in
continuing the implementation of Governor Doyle’s “Grow Wisconsin” plan that
is helping Wisconsin companies compete in the global marketplace. Governor
Doyle has signed the vast majority of “Grow Wisconsin’s” provisions into law
including legislation to eliminate the tax on creating jobs, enact the most
aggressive regulatory reform policy in the Midwest, and expand access to
venture capital.
“Governor Doyle has done a tremendous job getting
Wisconsin’s economy back on track,” Burke said. “I am honored to join his
cabinet and I look forward to working with him to find new ways to grow
Wisconsin’s economy and create good, family-supporting jobs.”
Burke also appreciates the important role businesspeople can
play in the community. For the past three years she served as President of
the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County where she helped spearhead a $6
million fundraising drive to open a second location in Madison.
Mary Burke holds a degree in Finance from Georgetown
University and a MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a member of the
Dean’s Advisory Board at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Business School
and is on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County.
New Jobs Numbers Announced
The appointment comes on the same day as new figures from
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Wisconsin led all its
neighbors in job creation over the past year – with nearly 70,000 new
private sector jobs.
The report also shows that Wisconsin has created more
manufacturing jobs in the past year than any other state. Wisconsin created
more manufacturing jobs than the next four best states combined. Meanwhile,
states like Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are losing tens of
thousands of manufacturing jobs.
