Appointment comes amid a multi-year investment in the company’s Wisconsin destination and the continued evolution of its hospitality portfolio
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KOHLER, Wis., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kohler Co. today announced the appointment of Nina Kohler as Chief Executive Officer – Hospitality, effective immediately. 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.
Kohler’s hospitality business has an unusual provenance. The American Club opened in 1918 as housing for immigrant employees of Kohler Co. In 1981, under Herbert V. Kohler Jr., it reopened as a resort hotel. That reinvention established the foundation for a destination where the company’s approach to design and craftsmanship extends beyond its products to the places and experiences it creates.
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. Her work has helped shape the business’s long-term direction and modernization, building on its reputation for championship golf while developing a broader offering in wellness, dining, and year-round recreation. The company reported consecutive years of record performance in 2024 and 2025.
“Kohler Hospitality gives people the opportunity to experience our company’s commitment to design and craftsmanship firsthand,” said David Kohler, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Kohler Co. “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, that evolution includes the renovation of the Forbes Five-Star 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. Together, these additions extend the destination’s appeal while creating new spaces for guests and residents to gather.
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 Nina. “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, Nina 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.
For more information and to follow the latest updates from Kohler, Wisconsin, visit KohlerWisconsin.com.
About Kohler, Wisconsin
The Kohler Hospitality profile includes The American Club and world-renowned championship golf venues Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run. The Inn on Woodlake in the Village of Kohler is a three-diamond property, and LODGE KOHLER in Green Bay’s Titletown entertainment district is a four-diamond property. A sister property, the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St. Andrews, Scotland, is located at the birthplace of golf alongside the 17th fairway of the Road Hole – the most famous and difficult par-4 hole in golf.
Herb Kohler created Kohler Hospitality with the reclamation of The American Club and then built world-renowned championship golf courses, The Straits and The Irish at Whistling Straits, The River and Meadow Valleys at Blackwolf Run, as well as the 10-hole, par-three Baths of Blackwolf Run. The Straits course has hosted three PGA Championships and the 43rd Ryder Cup in 2021. Kohler Waters Spa is the only five-star spa in Wisconsin and has four other locations in St. Andrews, Chicagoland, and Green Bay, Wis. The resort features 12 dining establishments from the remarkable Immigrant Restaurant and Winery Bar to pub fare at The Horse & Plow, to River Wildlife located in a forest next to the Sheboygan River, just outside Kohler.
The resort is located in the Village of Kohler, Wisconsin, one hour south of Green Bay, one hour north of Milwaukee and two and a half hours north of Chicago, just off of I-43.
About Kohler Co.
For more than 150 years, Kohler Co. has been a global leader in bold design and innovation, dedicated to helping people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives through its kitchen and bath products, wellness products and services, and luxury hospitality experiences and major championship golf. Privately held Kohler Co. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin. The company also develops sustainable living solutions to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations. Its Innovation For Good platform addresses pressing issues, such as clean water and safe sanitation, with breakthrough products and services for underserved communities. David Kohler serves as Chair and CEO and represents the fourth generation of Kohler family leadership.
Press Contact:
Magrino PR | kohlerwisconsin@magrinopr.com
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