Jack Salzwedel
The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Zimmerman Field in Walston-Hoover Stadium and will be livestreamed at www.wartburg.edu/commencement.
Salzwedel, of DeForest, Wis., began his career with American Family in 1983 as a claim adjuster. In 1985, he became an agent for the company and later took sales and product line leadership roles before being elected chairman and CEO in November 2011.
In his current role, Salzwedel oversees the American Family enterprise of companies, which includes the American Family brand and subsidiaries, CONNECT, Homesite, The General, and Main Street America. In his tenure, the company has transformed, adding new companies and distribution systems, with revenue and assets more than doubling since 2011.
The company also has expanded its commitment to the community, establishing a corporate foundation in 2015 and the American Family Institute for Corporate and Social Impact in 2018. They also host a PGA Champions Tour golf tournaments that has raised more than $10 million for charity and delivered more than $70 million in local economic impact in its five-year history. Earlier in 2021, American Family announced its Free to Dream Initiative, a $105 million commitment to addressing equity gaps in the United States.
He and his wife, Sarah, a 1982 Wartburg graduate, established the Salzwedel Family Foundation and have been leading community supporters to the United Way, American Family Children’s Hospital, Bethel Horizons and other Wisconsin charities.
Salzwedel served on the Wartburg Board of Regents from 2007 to 2016. The family established Wartburg’s Slife Institute for Social Work Consultation, Research and Training in 2012. In 2019, they offered a challenge gift in support of the Outdoor Athletic Facilities project; the college’s soccer venue is named Salzwedel Field in their honor. Sons Luke, Tyler and Sam all played soccer for the Wartburg Knights.