Greg Fischer

Greg Fischer
2nd Mayor of Louisville Metro
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded by Jerry Abramson
Personal details
Born (1958-01-14) January 14, 1958
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Alexandra Gerassimides
Children 4
Alma mater Vanderbilt University
Religion Roman Catholic[1]

Gregory E. Fischer[2] (born January 14, 1958) is a businessman and Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Louisville's Trinity High School and Vanderbilt University, entrepreneur, and community leader.

Fischer ran in the Kentucky Democratic primary for the United States Senate in 2008, where he finished second and received over 209,000 votes (34 percent) among seven candidates.

In November 2010 he was elected Mayor of Louisville in a tight race against city councilman Hal Heiner. He succeeded Mayor Jerry Abramson.

Early life and education

Fischer was born in Louisville to Mary Lee and George Fischer, graduates of Loretto High School and Flaget High School in Louisville, respectively, and has four siblings. Fischer's father was the CEO of MetriData Computing Inc. and Secretary of the Cabinet of Kentucky under Governor John Y. Brown, Jr.

Fischer attended Trinity High School in Louisville and graduated in 1976. He has since been inducted as a member of the school's hall of fame. After high school, Fischer attended Vanderbilt University, where he majored in Economics, graduating in 1980.[3] To help pay for his education, Fischer worked summers as a crane operator on the fishing docks of Kodiak, Alaska unloading salmon boats. After his graduation, Fischer traveled solo around the world for a year, spending the bulk of his trip in Asia, before returning to Louisville.

Business career

At 25, Fischer co-invented the SerVend[4] automated ice/beverage dispenser used to this day in convenience stores and restaurants.[5] The small family business, SerVend International, transformed into a global manufacturing company employing over 300 people under Fischer's leadership. In October 1998, SerVend was one of three U.S. small business companies to be honored with a site visit by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award examiners. In November 1998, Flomatic International, SerVend's valve manufacturing division, received the Oregon Quality Award. The Rochester Institute of Technology and USA Today recognized SerVend's achievements by awarding it the Quality Cup Award in the small business category in 1999.[6] The Manitowoc Company purchased SerVend in late 1997.

In 1990, Fischer, along with his father and brother, Mark, was named a winner of an award sponsored by Inc. magazine, Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch and Business First. As Kentucky and Southern Indiana's regional Entrepreneurs of the Year in the manufacturing division for their work with SerVend, they were among the finalists for Inc. magazine's U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year award.[7]

Fischer was an investor and board member with MedVenture Technology.[8] MedVenture, located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is a leading engineering outsourcer and early stage manufacturer on non-invasive medical devices for companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic. He is an investor and past board member of Vogt Ice, a manufacturer of commercial and industrial ice machines. He also is an investor and serves on the board of Stonestreet One, a software company specializing in Bluetooth technology.

In 2000, Fischer co-founded bCatalyst, a business accelerator that evolved into a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm.[9] In early 2010, bCatalyst was acquired by Louisville-based Hilliard Lyons.[10] Currently, Fischer serves as founder and chairman of Iceberg Ventures, a private investment firm in Louisville.[8]

Fischer was part owner until 2011 of Dant Clayton Corporation, a sports stadium design, manufacturing, and construction company with prominent sports-related projects around United States.

Community life

Fischer held chapter offices, including chapter chair, in the Young Presidents' Organization Bluegrass chapter in 1997 and 1998. There, he led the YPO-funded construction of a Habitat for Humanity home and also created a community partnership with Louisville's Center for Interfaith Relations in 2003, resulting in bringing talent such as Robert McNamara to Louisville for community learning. In 2007, Fischer was awarded the first-ever Bluegrass YPO "Best of the Best" award for community contribution in 2007 for lifelong community service.

As past chairman of the Kentucky Science Center in 2001 and 2002, Fischer helped raise over $20 million to modernize the museum and create interactive children's programs. He has also endowed scholarships at Trinity High School and the University of Louisville. Currently, Fischer serves on the U of L's Board of Overseers, as well as on the boards of Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services, Inc., the Waterfront Development Corporation, and the Metro Parks Foundation. In 2006, Fischer received the Catholic Schools Distinguished Alumni Award from the Archdiocese of Louisville.

Fischer has been a guest lecturer at MIT and the University of Louisville, and was also an executive in residence at Indiana University Southeast in 1999 and 2000. He has served as a past board member of Crane House, an Asian cultural institute in Louisville, and Greater Louisville Inc. He also coached tennis at St. Raphael Elementary School from 2002 to 2009.

Fischer founded, chaired, and raised money for Roads to You, a music program that brought 25 international youth musicians to Louisville for a week in May 2007. The program was designed to create cross-cultural dialogue in the community with a focus on youth and high school students to prepare them to be productive contributors in a global society. Fischer recruited the event's sponsors, including the Office for International Affairs, the Muhammad Ali Center, and the Center for Interfaith Relations, as well as over 100 volunteers for the week.

U.S. Senate

Fischer was one of seven candidates in the 2008 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. He ran a five-month campaign and finished second with 34 percent of the vote. Primary winner Bruce Lunsford went on to lose the general election to Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell.

Mayor of Louisville Metro

Campaigns

Fischer announced his candidacy for Mayor of Louisville Metro in July 2009. On November 4, 2009, he became the first to file his letter of intent for the primary election on May 18, 2010.[11]

A television advertisement for Fischer released in late March 2010 cites four priorities under his would-be administration: creating jobs, investing in clean energy, making metro government more transparent and building two new bridges over the Ohio River.[12]

Fischer won the Democratic primary on May 18, 2010 with 45 percent of the vote. In the November 2 general election, he ran against Republican former council member Hal Heiner (plus two independent candidates) and won with 51% percent of the vote.[13]

Fischer was sworn in as Mayor of Louisville Metro on January 3, 2011 and again on January 5, 2015.

Tenure

Mayor Greg Fischer's Administration has centered on three main goals, "creating good-paying jobs, improving education at all levels, and making Louisville an even more compassionate city." Fischer also prides himself on a data-driven approach towards government efficiency. In 2013, Governing named Fischer a "Public Official of the Year",[14] the only mayor honored that year.

Economic development

During his first five years in office, the local economy added 58,209 jobs,[15] and had the unemployment rate drop below 5%. In 2014, Fischer cut ties with the regional commerce organization Greater Louisville Inc., citing concerns over the organization's financial stability and leadership.[16] Fischer then created a new Economic Development branch named Louisville Forward, creating 3,500 jobs and close to $500,000,000 in local investments its first 10 months,[17] while being named one of the top 10 economic development groups in the United States.[18] However, during his tenure, Louisville has struggled to catch up to neighboring metropolitan areas in percentage of "high paying jobs", ranking 9th out of 17th in the region.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer talks about attending White House ceremony for Pope Francis". WDRB. September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2016. I attended with two folks. One was Jewish another one was Mormon, I'm the Catholic guy in the group, so Pope Francis obviously appeals to people from all over the world
  2. ↑ "Kentucky Births, 1911 - 1999". Familytreelegends.com. January 14, 1958. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Hall of Fame". Trinity High School. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  4. ↑ http://us.manitowocbeverage.com/?xhtml=xhtml/mbs/us/en/general/productcatalog.html&xsl=productcatalog.xsl&category=0299/
  5. ↑ Shiba, Shoji; Walden, David. "Four Practical Revolutions in Management." p. 688. Center for Quality Management. 2001.
  6. ↑ "Management". Iceberg Ventures. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  7. ↑ A Business First Supplement. Week of July 9, 1990. "1990 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards." Business First of Louisville.
  8. 1 2 Gordon, Jennifer. September 24, 2004. Gordon, Jennifer (September 27, 2004). "MedVenture's shift to manufacturing focus boosts company's growth". Business First of Louisville. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  9. ↑ "About Us". bCatalyst. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  10. ↑ Boyd, Terry. March 26, 2010. Boyd, Terry (March 29, 2010). "Hilliard Lyons' bCatalyst acquisition part of 'renewed entrepreneurial spirit'". Business First of Louisville. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  11. ↑ D'Alessio, Ray. November 4, 2009. "Fischer files official paperwork for Mayoral race". Wave 3. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  12. ↑ Klepal, Dan. March 30, 2010. "Fischer TV spot hits air waves". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  13. ↑ Klepal, Dan. May 18, 2010. "Hal Heiner and Greg Fischer to face each other in race for Louisville mayor". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  14. ↑ Holeywell, Ryan. "PUBLIC OFFICIALS of the YEAR: Greg Fischer". Governing. Governing. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area". Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject FONT SIZE:Minus Font SizePlus Font Size. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Green, Ed. "Metro government cuts economic development ties with Greater Louisville Inc.". Louisville Business First. Louisville Business First. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Ryan, Jacob. "Louisville's Economic Development Team Gets National Recognition". WFPL News. WFPL. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  18. ↑ Finley, Marty. "Louisville Forward earns national recognition". Louisville Business First. Louisville Business First. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  19. ↑ Schneider, Grace. "Louisville struggles to attract high-wage jobs". The Courier-Journal. The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Jerry Abramson		 Mayor of Louisville Metro
2011–present 		Incumbent
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