Julie Smolyansky

Julie Smolyansky is the CEO of Illinois-based dairy company Lifeway Foods.

She was born in Kiev, Ukraine to Ludmila and Michael Smolyansky. Her family immigrated to the United States when she was one.[1] She earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1996.[2]

Her father founded the kefir company Lifeway Foods in 1986.[3] She joined the business in 1997. After he died of a heart attack in 2002,[4] Julie, aged 27, became the youngest CEO of a publicly traded firm.[5]

She, along with her brother as CFO, transformed the company into a multinational firm, growing its earnings from $12 million to $98 million in 2014.[6]

Smolyansky has served on the boards of the Anti-Defamation League, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

References

  1. ↑ Samuelson, Kristin (September 26, 2011). "Office space: CEO of Lifeway Foods Inc.". Chicago Tribune.
  2. ↑ "Julie Smolyansky". United Nations Foundation. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  3. ↑ SEC filing, Lifeway Foods Inc, 31 December 1999
  4. ↑ Business Wire, 11 June 2002, Lifeway Foods Announces Death of President Michael Smolyansky; Board Appoints Julie Smolyansky as Successor.
  5. ↑ Gerdes, Lindsey (July 1, 2004). "Dairy Queen Julie Smolyansky, head of Lifeway Foods (#38), is fermenting big things at the firm her father founded". Fortune Small Business.
  6. ↑ Strauss, Karsten (June 29, 2014). "Women, Leadership, Matt Lauer And Taking Over A Family Business: Julie Smolyansky Sounds Off". Forbes.

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