A 30-year Kimberly-Clark veteran, Thomas J. Falk is the
architect of the company's Global Business Plan, which is
positioning Kimberly-Clark to lead the world in essentials for a
better life. He was elected chief executive officer in 2002 and
chairman of the Board in 2003. He is one of only eight CEOs in the
history of our company.
At Kimberly-Clark, Mr. Falk has held positions of increasing
responsibility and authority. Since being appointed CEO in 2002 and
chairman in 2003, Mr. Falk has led Kimberly-Clark through Global
Business Plans designed to increase the company's sales and
profitability. Under his leadership, Kimberly-Clark has grown sales
to $21.1 billion in 2012. Kimberly-Clark has approximately 58,000
employees worldwide and operations in 36 countries.
Before joining the internal audit staff of Kimberly-Clark in
Neenah, Wisconsin, in 1983, Mr. Falk was with the accounting firm
of Alexander Grant & Co. He became senior auditor at
Kimberly-Clark in 1984 and senior financial analyst in 1986. He was
promoted to director of Corporate Strategic Analysis in 1987.
In 1989, under Kimberly-Clark sponsorship, he earned a master of
science degree in management as a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford
University Graduate School of Business. Following graduation, he
became operations manager for Infant Care at the Beech Island,
South Carolina, diaper plant in 1989.
Mr. Falk was elected vice president of Operations Analysis and
Control in 1990. In this role, he negotiated the divestiture of
Spruce Falls Power and Paper, a newsprint subsidiary jointly owned
by Kimberly-Clark and The New York Times, by transferring ownership
control to its employees. Mr. Falk was elected senior vice
president of Analysis and Administration in 1991, reporting to
Chairman and CEO Wayne R. Sanders.
In 1993, Mr. Falk was elected group president of Infant and
Child Care with responsibility for Huggies diapers, the company's
best-selling product, and for Pull-Ups training pants. He became
group president of North American Consumer Products in early 1995.
In this role, he led the company's consumer and professional tissue
businesses, U.S. consumer sales and U.S. consumer business
services.
In 1996, he took on additional responsibilities for the
company's then pulp and newsprint operations, its premium business
and correspondence papers business, wet wipes business and two
staff functions: human resources and environment and energy.
He was elected group president of Global Tissue and Paper in
December 1998, adding global oversight for the company's consumer
and professional tissue and wet wipes businesses to his existing
responsibilities. He was elected as president and chief operating
officer and to the company's Board of Directors in November
1999.
Mr. Falk serves on the Boards of Lockheed Martin, Global
Consumer Goods Forum, Catalyst and the University of Wisconsin
Foundation and as a National Governor of the Boys and Girls Clubs
of America.
He received his bachelor's degree in accounting from the
University of Wisconsin in 1980.
Mr. Falk was born in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1958. He and his wife,
Karen, have one son.
