Campaign Co-chairs
Kurt Bechthold
Walbec Group
Kurt Bechthold is the Chairman & CEO at Walbec Group. He began his career in 1978 at Payne and Dolan (a Walbec Group company) as a summer intern. After obtaining his master’s degree, he rejoined Walbec in 1990.
Kurt is a community advocate serving on the board of directors of various civic and industry organizations. Previously, he served as chairs of several organizations and was a board member of the Next Door Foundation, Milwaukee Opera, St. Coletta of Wisconsin, Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, and Urban Land Interests.
He earned his Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and his Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Wisconsin.
Steve Booth
Baird
Steve Booth is Chairman, CEO, and a member of the board of directors of Baird Financial Group and affiliated entities including Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated. Steve joined Baird in 1994. He has held a variety of different leadership positions before becoming CEO in 2016.
Steve serves on the board of directors of several organizations including the United Performing Arts Fund and Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He also serves on several executive boards for higher education and is the Chairman of the American Securities Association (ASA)’s Board of Directors.
He received his MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Southern Methodist University.
Raquel Filmanowicz
VC 414
Raquel Filmanowicz is Founder and Managing Partner of VC 414, a Milwaukee-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage, high potential startup companies led by women and under-capitalized founders. Previously, Raquel held executive positions at BMO for ten years. She was also CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention Host Committee.
Raquel currently serves as a board member for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and United Community Center. She previously served as a board member of Wisconsin Center District and as Chairman of the Board for Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee.
She attended Cardinal Stritch University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.
Scott Lauber
WEC Energy Group & We Energies
Scott Lauber joined Wisconsin Energy Corp. in 1990 and was named president and CEO of WEC Energy Group in February 2022. In his role, he also is CEO of WEC Energy Group subsidiaries We Energies, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas and is president of Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources.
He is on the board of directors for American Transmission Co. and Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
Scott graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting. He is a certified public accountant.