Karen Mills

Karen Mills
Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 6, 2009
President Barack Obama
Deputy Marie Johns
Preceded by Sandy Baruah (Acting)
Personal details
Spouse(s) Barry Mills
Alma mater Harvard University

Karen Gordon Mills is the 23rd administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), a federal agency which provides small businesses with access to capital and government contracts, counseling and training, and disaster relief. She was nominated by President-elect Barack Obama on December 19, 2008, confirmed unanimously by the Senate on April 2, 2009, and sworn in on April 6, 2009.[1][2]

Mills is the daughter of Mr. Melvin and Ellen Gordon, the CEO and President of Tootsie Roll Industries, respectively. She is married to Barry Mills, the president of Bowdoin College, and has three sons. She has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[3]

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Career

Mills has extensive experience in managing and investing in small businesses. During the 1980s and 1990s, Mills worked with and managed several small manufacturing firms throughout the country, including producers of hardwood flooring, refrigerator motors, and plastic injection molding.

More recently, she served on the board of the Maine Technology Institute, a nonprofit that invests in local technology companies and innovative small businesses.[4]

Before becoming SBA Administrator, Mills served as president of the private equity firm MMP Group, a firm focused on growing businesses in areas such as consumer products, food, textiles, and industrial components. Prior to MMP, she was a founding partner and managing director of Solera Capital, a venture capital firm based in New York City which invested in many women-owned firms, such as natural food producer Annie's[5]

In 2007, former Maine Gov. John Baldacci appointed her to chair the state’s Council on Competitiveness and the Economy, which was focused on rural and regional development, including a regional "cluster" with Maine’s boatbuilding industry. She also served on the state's Council for the Redevelopment of the Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Previously, she has worked as a management consultant in the US and Europe for McKinsey and Co., and as a product manager for General Foods, and has served on the boards of directors for Scotts Miracle-Gro and Arrow Electronics.[6]

Mills is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has been a vice chairman of the Harvard Board of Overseers.[3]

Clustering

Mills is an advocate for regional industrial clusters—geographic groupings of related industries (such as tech companies in Silicon Valley) that can share resources, ideas, and human capital. In 2005, Mills became involved with the effort to create new jobs following the closing of the Brunswick Naval Air Station. She helped organize the North Star Alliance, a partnership between local boat builders, composite material manufacturers, and researchers at the University of Maine, which has helped increase the global competitiveness of Maine’s boat building and composite industries.[7]

She went on to organize the creation of a specialty foods cluster in Maine, with specialty producers, such as Peak Organic Beer, taking advantage of Maine’s local agriculture.[8] In 2007 she was appointed chair of Maine’s Council on Competitiveness and the Economy, where she focused on attracting investment in regional industries and rural areas of Maine.[9]

Mills authored an influential paper on the subject of clustering for the Brookings Institute in April, 2008.[10]

US Small Business Administration

Recently, the agency has gained a high profile under President Obama, who has made small businesses a cornerstone of his effort to revive the economy.[11]

Created in 1953, the Small Business Administration operates in four key areas: access to capital, government contracting, entrepreneurial development, and disaster relief. The SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loan programs offer guarantees on loans to small businesses that aren't able to receive traditional bank loans. They work with federal agencies to ensure that small businesses win 23% of all government contracts. The SBA’s 68 district offices, along with SBA counseling partners such as Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), offer technical training and counseling for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Lastly, the SBA makes direct, low-interest loans to businesses and individuals that have been affected by natural disasters.[12]

References

  1. ^ McLoone, Sharon (2008-12-19). "Obama Taps Venture Capitalist to Head Small Business Administration". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121902112.html. Retrieved 2008-12-21. 
  2. ^ "Senate approves venture capitalist as SBA administrator". Government Executive. 2009-04-03. http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=42428. Retrieved 2009-04-06. 
  3. ^ a b [1]
  4. ^ Senate Confirms Karen Mills as Head of SBA
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/06/smallbusiness/karen_mills_maine_street.smb/index.html. 
  7. ^ "Karen Mills". Themainemag.com. http://www.themainemag.com/profiles/1164-karen-mills-small-business-administrator.html. Retrieved 2010-07-16. 
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ http://www.sbagateway.com/index.php?id=12&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1&tx_ttnews[backPid]=2&cHash=1b6bfe2dda)
  10. ^ <http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2008/04_competitiveness_mills.aspx>
  11. ^ <http://www.americanbanker.com/usb_issues/119_10/karen-mills-is-big-on-small-business-1002093-1.html>
  12. ^ <http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/index.html>
Political offices
Preceded by
Sandy Baruah
Acting		 Administrator of the Small Business Administration
2009–present		 Incumbent