Koch Center for Family Enterprise
History
The Koch Family
In 2019, the Koch Family—Paul A. (BSBA 1961, JD 1964, MBA 1968) and his wife, Elke; Roger L. (BSBA 1964, MBA 1966) and his wife, Fran—provided gifts and commitments of more than $9 million to create the center and its associated directorship and professor of practice. They made the investment to create a center dedicated to studying the distinctive features of family-owned businesses and serving the family business community with programs and insights for improving business practices. The family also wanted to raise awareness about the complexities and opportunities in family business, and to engage students in understanding the rich career potential within the family business ecosystem.
When I think about the Koch Family’s legacy, one piece of it is centered around their impact on the region. St. Louis is filled with privately held companies, family philanthropists, and family offices seeking ways to drive impact through their work. The second piece is their impact on our students. For many of us, the legacy that we seek is not merely in names on buildings or plaques. It’s in the people that we impact and the places that we love and care about.
—Peter Boumgarden, Koch Center Director and Koch Family Professor of Practice
Blending academic and professional expertise, the center disseminates its findings and practical recommendations to guide the decisions of business owners and policymakers alike. This influence extends widely through publications for general audiences, such as white papers and newspaper and magazine articles, as well as more novel media like podcasts. Some of the most energetic dialogue takes place at in-person events that the Koch Center hosts for the business community here in St. Louis.
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Center Leadership
Peter Boumgarden, Director
In 2021, Peter Boumgarden was appointed center director and the Koch Family Professor of Practice. Working with members of the community, Dr. Boumgarden refreshed the center’s strategic plan and vision, widening its scope to include not only family business research and practice, but also family philanthropy and investment activities. The recent name change from “business” to “enterprise” intends to reflect a broader direction for the center. To understand the “purpose and performance” of family enterprise, one must look at ownership from multiple angles. This means paying attention to family owners looking to continue their legacy to the next generation. But it also means exploring family offices and their direct investment portfolios, family philanthropists seeking to impact the world through their acquired wealth, and even students and alumni looking to pursue business building, acquisition and ownership.
Read more about Peter Boumgarden.
Jennifer Wintzer, Associate Director for Programs and Research
As Associate Director, Jennifer supports research and program development for students and executive leaders. She enjoys work at the intersection of education, the arts, and social impact.
Prior to her work at WashU, Jennifer spent over 15 years in the nonprofit sector, leading large-scale education and community initiatives for organizations such as Lincoln Center Theater, Second Stage Theatre, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. She has also been a guest director and adjunct faculty member at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and Saint Louis University’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts. Her professional theater background informs her interdisciplinary approach to program development and event production, creating experiences that build connection through storytelling.
Jennifer holds an MFA in Classical Acting & Directing from George Washington University and a BFA in Musical Theatre from Webster University. She is an MBA candidate in the Flex Program at WashU Olin. When she is not at the Koch Center, Jennifer blends her interests in the arts and business by working with Fortune 500 leaders and their teams on executive presence and high-performance communication as a performance coach with the global firm, Stand & Deliver. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Saint Louis Children’s Choirs and is a proud Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri mom.
Gretchen Abraham, Program Manager
Gretchen joined the center in 2025 to support our growing portfolio of initiatives. As Program Manager, she manages operations and communications across the center’s focus areas and coordinates our efforts with university partners.
Gretchen spent the first decade of her career in the federal government, starting as an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most recently, she was the Chief of Staff to the COO of the Federal Trade Commission, where she supported the C-suite team in running the business operations of the agency. Her experience in the public sector has given her a keen interest in the social impact of business practices and a deep appreciation of the centrality of small and family-owned firms to our economy. Gretchen has a BS in Economics and a BA in Spanish from the University of Evansville and a Master’s in Economic Analysis from the Barcelona School of Economics.
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Board
- Spencer Burke, Senior Counsel, St. Louis Trust and Family Office, Eugene F. Williams Jr. Family Business, Executive in Residence, Washington University in St. Louis
- Michael Dierberg, Chairman of the Board, First Bank
- Susan Fitzpatrick, Retired President, James S. McDonnell Foundation
- Chris Hoffmann, Founder & CEO, Deutschmann Lane Holdings
- Katie Hopkins, CEO/President, Truck Centers, Inc.
- Clay Hunter, Chief Executive Officer, Broadview Group Holdings, Inc.
- Paul Koch, Owner, Koch Development Company
- John Stupp III, President, Stupp Fiber
- John Thee, President, Taylor Family Office
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Initiative Directors and Faculty Affiliates
- Margaret Schnuck Rogers, PhilanthropyForward
- Margarita Tsoutoura, WashU Olin Business School
- Seth Carnahan, WashU Olin Business School
- Nora Williams, WashU Olin Business School
- Sharon James, WashU Olin Business School
- Brian Wolfe, Entrepreneurship through Acquisition
Koch Center Origins
Hear about how the Koch Center for Family Enterprise got started.
