Robert J. “Bob” DeKoch, a longtime business executive, leadership mentor and co-founder of New North, died Saturday, Oct. 17. He was 74.
DeKoch spent more than four decades in leadership roles across multiple industries, including more than 20 years at The Boldt Co., where he served as president. During his tenure, DeKoch and his leadership team tripled the company’s revenue through organic growth, building it into a $1 billion enterprise.
He also helped shape economic development in Northeast Wisconsin as a founding executive and co-chair of New North, the regional economic development organization serving an 18-county area. His work brought together business, government and public-sector leaders to strengthen the region’s economy and attract and retain companies and jobs.
After leaving Boldt, DeKoch founded Limitless, a leadership consulting firm focused on developing leaders. He also co-authored three books on leadership, including “Leading with Care in a Tough World: Beyond Servant Leadership,” published in 2022. Throughout his career, he mentored hundreds of leaders.
His contributions were recognized with the Lawrence University Collaboration in Action Award, the Paul and Elaine Groth Mentoring Award and induction into the Fox Cities Business Leader Hall of Fame. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for his work in economic development.
DeKoch earned his undergraduate degree from Lawrence University and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Services will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Bob and Debbie DeKoch Scholarship in Business and Entrepreneurship at Lawrence University or The Salvation Army.
New North interim President and CEO Barbara Koldos says DeKoch’s ongoing involvement with the organization has profoundly shaped it:
A statement posted on LinkedIn from DeKoch’s family honors his legacy of mentorship:
“Perhaps Bob’s most lasting legacy is the one that won’t appear on any resume: the hundreds of leaders he personally mentored throughout his career. He believed, deeply and genuinely, that everyone around him had more in them than they knew — a belief he put into practice not just through his consulting work, but through three books he co-authored on leadership … Bob’s impact on the people, companies, and community he touched will be felt for generations to come.”
