Larry Gies

Larry Gies is the Founder and CEO of Madison Industries, a major privately held company focused on making the world safer, healthier, and more productive. His strategy involves creating long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs to foster organic growth. He holds a bachelors in accountancy from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Northwestern.

Alongside his wife Beth, Larry is a significant philanthropist focused on democratizing education. They made a historic $150 million donation to the University of Illinois, naming the Gies College of Business, and later gifted $100 million to its athletics program, renaming the football stadium Gies Memorial Stadium.

Interesting fact: After his historic $150 million gift, he initially requested that the University of Illinois business school not be named after him.