Jack Salzwedel

Jack Salzwedel is the former executive board chair and chief executive officer of American Family Mutual Insurance Company, where he started his career in 1983.

Prior to his retirement as CEO in 2021, Salzwedel led American Family in unprecedented growth, basically doubling the size of the organization and its workforce. Under his leadership, the company expanded its commitment to community with the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation and its Institute for Corporate and Social Impact. The DeForest native collaborated with PGA Tour golfer Steve Stricker to found the Madison-based American Family Insurance Championship, which has raised millions for charity.

Salzwedel serves on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, and on a variety of community and corporate boards including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and the American Family Children’s Hospital Development Partners Advisory Board. In 2024, the UW–Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs established the Jack Salzwedel Distinguished Faculty Chair in Business and Regulation, made possible by a $3 million donation from American Family Insurance in honor of Salzwedel’s leadership and career.

He was named to the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame in 2023.