Nina Kohler has been appointed as chief executive officer – hospitality, effective immediately
She will lead strategy, growth, talent, and guest experience across a portfolio spanning Kohler; St. Andrews, Scotland; Green Bay; and Chicago.
The appointment comes as Kohler advances a multi-year investment in its flagship Wisconsin destination.
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 Kohler 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. 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.
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.
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 30 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.”
Nina 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.
For more information and to follow the latest updates from Kohler, Wisconsin, visit KohlerWisconsin.com.
