Forest County Potawatomi tribal member, Kip Ritchie, serves as Chief Operations Officer of the Potawatomi Business Development Corporation. Prior to being promoted to COO, Kip served as President of Greenfire Management Services, LLC—a subsidiary of the PBDC—since 2014. Ritchie joined PBDC full time in 2006 as Senior Vice President and served on its founding Board of Directors from 2002-2007. Guided by the objectives of PBDC and its tribal philosophy and values, Kip provided outstanding leadership for Greenfire, drives the vision and strategic planning, and played a major role in networking and business development. During his tenure as President, the company has received dozens of awards including Fastest Growing Firm, Diversity in Business, Top Construction Company, Newsmaker of the Year, Largest Minority-Owned Company, and a Cream of the Cream City Award, among others. Throughout his career with the Forest County Potawatomi, Ritchie promotes the importance of investing in the tribe’s future by diversifying resources beyond gaming. Ritchie’s career in Indian Country began in 1997 when he joined Potawatomi Hotel & Casino as Director of Marketing. He was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2002.
Ritchie is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Communication. Ritchie serves on the following Boards; National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, Froedtert Hospital & Medical College Foundation, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce—Council of Small Business Executives, New Mexico Community Capital (Board Chair), NUMU, Inc.—the economic development arm of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and Gun Lake Investments—the economic development arm of the Gun Lake Potawatomi Tribe. Since 1999, Kip has served as the Chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation’s Board of Directors.