Julie Smolyansky
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Julie Smolyansky (born 1975) is a Ukrainian-American businesswoman. She is the CEO of Illinois-based dairy company Lifeway Foods.
Life and career
Smolyansky was born in
Jewish parents Ludmila and Michael Smolyansky. Her family immigrated to the United States when she was one.[1]
Smolyansky 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] In 1997, Smolyansky joined the business. 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 revenue from $12 million to $130 million in 2015.[6]
Smolyansky was featured on Fortune's 2014 40 under 40 list.[7]
Philanthropy
Smolyansky has served on the boards of the
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
.
Smolyansky has been active in the conversation about
Muslim-majority countries.[8] She is also the co-founder of Test400k which is a non-profit dedicated to eliminating the backlog of 400,000 untested rape kits in the U.S. and stop violence against women.[9]
References
- ^ Samuelson, Kristin (September 26, 2011). "Office space: CEO of Lifeway Foods Inc". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Julie Smolyansky". United Nations Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ SEC filing, Lifeway Foods Inc, 31 December 1999
- ^ Business Wire, 11 June 2002, Lifeway Foods Announces Death of President Michael Smolyansky; Board Appoints Julie Smolyansky as Successor.[permanent dead link]
- ^ 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.
- ^ Strauss, Karsten (June 29, 2014). "Women, Leadership, Matt Lauer And Taking Over A Family Business: Julie Smolyansky Sounds Off". Forbes.
- ^ "Julie Smolyansky". 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
- ^ ""Putting My Pregnancy Photos Out There Was A Big Deal": Julie Smolyansky". 2014-10-14. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
- ^ "Lifeway CEO: I Was On Stage With Lady Gaga at the Oscars". Fortune. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
External links
- Entrepreneur: Julie Smolyansky of Lifeway Foods, interview with Bill Moller