Kohler Co. has appointed Nina Kohler as CEO of its hospitality division. She will lead strategy, growth, talent and guest experience across a portfolio spanning Kohler, Wisconsin; St. Andrews, Scotland; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Chicago, Illinois.
The appointment comes as Kohler advances a multi-year investment in its flagship Wisconsin destination, expanding its accommodations, wellness offerings, golf, dining and recreation.
For the past four years, Nina has served as a consultant and strategic advisor to Kohler Hospitality, working closely with its leadership team on strategy, brand positioning, design and guest experience. “Kohler Hospitality gives people the opportunity to experience our company’s commitment to design and craftsmanship firsthand,” she said. “Nina has played an important role in shaping the direction of this business and the investments now taking place. She combines a clear commercial vision with a discerning eye for design and the details that distinguish our destinations.”
In Wisconsin, Kohler’s evolution includes the renovation of the Kohler Waters Spa, the transformation of The Carriage House into an adults-only wellness retreat with 55 redesigned guest rooms; the reopening of Woodlake Market as a gourmet marketplace and food hall featuring regional food and Wisconsin makers; and the opening of The Serve, a year-round racquet sports complex with indoor pickleball, outdoor platform tennis, and a social lounge.
The next phase includes an expansion and renovation of the Inn on Woodlake, adding 66 guest rooms and suites; Bucks & Birdies, a golf and entertainment venue combining interactive golf and racing simulators, duckpin bowling, dining and social spaces; and Purebred Farm, a 14-hole, King Collins Dormer-designed golf course west of Blackwolf Run. Its name recalls the former Kohler Farms cattle operation, connecting the destination’s next golf offering to the history of the land.
As CEO, Nina will work closely with the Hospitality leadership team to oversee these investments and the performance and long-term direction of the broader portfolio.
“I have called this community home for more than thirty years, and I have never thought of Kohler as a destination apart from the village around it,” said Kohler. “People come here for a sense of place—the golf, the water, the table, the landscape, and the feeling of being gathered well. Our opportunity is not simply to add more. It is to give people enduring reasons to return, and to be as careful about what we preserve as about what we add. That is the work I am honored to lead.
Beyond her work with Kohler Hospitality, Kohler serves as a board member of Old Course Ltd., chair of PGA REACH (philanthropic arm of the PGA of America), a trustee of Vanderbilt University and a director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sheboygan County.
