Building Success
From greetings cards to golf courses, Mike Keiser has disrupted industries by focusing on the real needs of the customer. When large card companies like Hallmark were providing cookie-cutter sentiments, Keiser, still in his 20’s, developed witty and eco-friendly cards that redefined the industry. Similarly, his golf course designs have focused on re-creating the European-style links where the game originated, bringing that same flair and sophistication to America.
At this private salon dinner, Keiser will discuss how he made his fortune in Chicago co-founding a greeting card company that was sold for nine figures, as well as how he gained his fame as a golf course developer. A Chicago native, Keiser will also share his opinions on public policy issues in the Windy City, such as the impact of urbanization and rising crime rates, as well as his passion for giving back and his approach to philanthropy.
Speaker
Mike Keiser is the co-founder of Recycled Paper Greetings and the owner and developer of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon. Keiser founded RPG in 1971. The company was noted for its use of recycled paper in production and the crediting of the artists its hired to design its cards, notably Sandra Boynton among others. Keiser's begin to translate his passion for golf into golf course development in the 1980s. In 1989, he discovered and purchased a remote stretch of land along the southwest Oregon coast. It was there he developed the courses of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, motivated by the idea of bringing Scottish-style links courses to the United States. He now owns 11 golf courses. Orginially from East Aurora, NY, Keiser is a graduate of Amherst College.