Charles Koch

Charles Koch is chairman of the board and co-CEO of Koch Industries, Inc., a position he has held since 1967. Since then, the company has been transformed into a dynamic and diverse group of companies with more than 120,000 employees and a presence in about 60 countries. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested about $60 billion in acquisitions and other capital expenditures. Based in Wichita, Kan., Koch Industries is involved in refining, chemicals and biofuels; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; process and pollution control equipment and technologies; electronic components, commodity trading; minerals; energy; ranching; glass; and investments. Familiar Koch companies’ brands include Quilted Northern® tissue and the Dixie® brand of cups, plates, and cutlery. Much of Koch Industries' success can be traced to Mr. Koch's interest in and commitment to scientific and social progress, which led to the development and implementation of Principle-Based Management® (also known as Market-Based Management®) business philosophy. Principle-Based Management is a framework based on the principles of human progress that enables individuals and organizations to succeed long-term by creating superior value for others. He has continuously supported academic and public policy research (including a number of Nobel Prize winners) for 50 years, with a special focus on developing voluntary, market-based solutions to social problems. This interest led Mr. Koch to found or help build a number of organizations, including the Institute for Humane Studies, Cato Institute, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Bill of Rights Institute, and Market-Based Management Institute. Mr. Koch received a bachelor’s degree in general engineering (1957) and two master’s degrees in nuclear and chemical engineering (1958 and 1959, respectively) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His employment has been as an engineer, Arthur D. Little, Inc. 1959-61; vice president, Koch Engineering Company, Inc. 1961-63, president, 1963-71; president, Koch Industries, Inc. 1966-74; chairman and chief executive officer, 1967- present. He was born in Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Koch and his wife, Liz, have two children.