Feature Stories

Kathleen Vogelsang, '95 & '99

Kathleen Vogelsang, '95 & '99

Kathleen Vogelsang earned her undergraduate degree in Finance from Grand Valley State University in 1995. Vogelsang was a nontraditional student; however, not long after graduation, she became employed by Amway Global, and worked for the Van Andel Family.

Beginning her work with Amway in July 1997, Vogelsang was the Investment Manager for JVA Enterprises LLC, /Amway. Within this time, Vogelsang was also working towards her Master of Business Administration, which she received from Grand Valley in December 1999. She also received the Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA institute at this time, becoming the second female in West Michigan to earn the Charter. 

Vogelsang worked with Amway until 2003, when she temporarily left the Van Andel organization to be the Vice-President/Senior Portfolio Manager for Fifth Third Bank in Grand Rapids. She was recognized as an expert in alternative investments, and assisted the entire banking corporation with the evaluation of those products. 

After her tenure at Fifth Third Bank, Vogelsang accepted a position at the Van Andel Institute, where she became the Director and Chief Investment Officer. She established the Van Andel Institute Investment Office from the ground up and recognizes the success of the organization as one of her most significant business achievements.

In addition to her professional work, Vogelsang has an extensive list of community involvement. She is a board member of the GVSU Seidman College of Business Alumni Association.  Her expertise in institutional investment management has allowed her to serve on several endowment committees, including the investment committee for the GVSU Endowment and Grand Rapids Community Foundation, as well as a national network of Endowment and Foundation CIO’s. In the fall of 2013, Vogelsang was appointed to Governor Rick Snyder’s Michigan Women’s Commission. At that time she also joined the National Board of the World Affairs Councils of America.

In 2008, Vogelsang was a featured speaker at a Wall Street meeting of top institutional investment officers.  In 2012 and again in 2014, she was named one of “The 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan” by the Grand Rapids Business Journal.

She currently lives in Ada with her husband, Phillip.

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Page last modified April 3, 2014