Karen Mills | |
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23rd Administrator of the Small Business Administration | |
In office April 6, 2009 – September 1, 2013 |
|
President | Barack Obama |
Deputy | Marie Johns |
Preceded by | Darryl Hairston (Acting) |
Succeeded by | Maria Contreras-Sweet |
Personal details | |
Born |
Karen Gordon September 14, 1953 Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Barry Mills |
Education | Harvard University (BA, MBA) |
Karen Gordon Mills (born September 14, 1953) served as the 23rd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). 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. During her tenure, her office was elevated to the rank of Cabinet-level officer, expanding her power on policy decisions and granting her inclusion in the President's cabinet meetings. On February 11, 2013, she announced her resignation as Administrator and left the post on September 1, 2013. Since leaving the SBA, Mills has served as a Senior Fellow at both the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School with a focus on U.S. competitiveness, entrepreneurship and innovation. She is the president of the investment firm MMP Group, Inc., is the vice chairman of the board of directors of the immigration services company Envoy Global and a regular contributor to Fortune and other publications.
Mills is the daughter of Ellen (née Rubin), the present CEO of Tootsie Roll since 2015, and Melvin Gordon, the President and CEO of Tootsie Roll Industries from 1962 until 2015. She has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is married to Barry Mills, who served as president of Bowdoin College from October 2001 to July 2015, and has three sons.
Mills has extensive experience in managing and investing in small businesses. During the 1980s and 1990s, Mills invested in and managed several small manufacturing firms throughout the country, including producers of hardwood flooring, refrigerator motors, and plastic injection molding.