WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM 2026: Pine Hills County Club

Sam Rikkers 
Chief Operating Officer at Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)

Sam Rikkers is deputy secretary and chief operating officer for WEDC. Prior to joining WEDC in November 2019, he served as strategic economic initiatives director at the Wisconsin Department of Administration.Sam has an extensive background in rural development, both in the U.S. and internationally. He served in the White House from 2013 to 2014 as director on the energy and environment team in the Presidential Personnel Office, then was administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Before returning to Wisconsin in 2017, he launched and led the Rural Opportunity Initiative of the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. In Wisconsin, he served as executive director of Tiny Earth, a global initiative based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, harnessing the research of undergraduate students to discover new antibiotics. A native of Stoughton, Rikkers holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School, a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy from Macalester College. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.

Kevin Formolo 
Principal at Sheboygan South High School
Kevin Formolo is the principal of Sheboygan South High School in Sheboygan. He has spent his entire educational career at South High, serving first as a school counselor, then as the school's first Dean of Students, later as Associate Principal, and ultimately Principal. He has worked in education for more than two decades, with over eight years of service as principal. As principal, Formolo has emphasized a positive school culture, student diversity, community engagement, and career readiness. Under his leadership, South High has promoted service-learning initiatives and partnerships that connect students with opportunities in manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, public safety, education, and entrepreneurship.

Russell Coff 
Thomas J. Falk Distinguished Chair in Strategy at University of Wisconsin Madison School of Business - Management and Human Resources Department
Professor Coff’s research explores the role of human assets in innovation, creativity, and, ultimately in competitive advantage. For example, he studies management dilemmas associated with human capital including: 1) the management of strategic investments in knowledge-based assets under great uncertainty 2) capturing value from competitive advantages, 3) creativity & innovation, and 4) how buyers cope in mergers and acquisitions that involve human assets.

​Talk title: People as a Strategic Resource
Talk description: Explores how to take seriously the notion that people are your most critical assets. Why are most statements that “people are our most important asset” empty (and ignored)? What drives human capital based competitive advantages? When do accounting and financial management tools mislead managers about human capital?