Karen Bailey

EAB member since 2018

Education

MBA, University of Toledo, 1988

BBA Accounting, Ohio University, 1981

Professional Experience

Karen started her business career at Owens-Illinois (now Georgia-Pacific) as a cost accountant immediately following graduation. She held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility before enrolling in the executive MBA program at the University of Toledo in 1987 and was the recipient of the Robert Lein Academic Scholarship.

During her early years with the company she worked in accounting, finance, and strategy roles. As her career progressed, she gained additional experience in marketing and sales roles. She was recognized as an Atlanta YWCA Women of Achievement in 1999.

Karen recently retired from Georgia-Pacific as the Vice President of Global Foodservice Accounts after 35 years with the organization. Her global team had responsibility for all global and national foodservice accounts headquartered in the United States such as McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks, and Wendy’s, to name a few. Prior to this role, she was the Vice-President - East Region and Canada where her cross-functional team was charged with delivering unique solutions that improve customer satisfaction and improve operational efficiency of the operators.

Karen’s industry and community involvement includes representing Georgia-Pacific on the board of the Women’s Foodservice Forum for six years where many global suppliers and operator executives worked collectively to increase gender diversity in the foodservice segment. She most recently served as chair of the board of the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House as they embarked upon supporting a large, new children’s regional healthcare facility in Atlanta, which will serve families in the Southeast.

Karen joined the Ohio University Foundation on July 1, 2020, and is serving on the Audit Committee and Development Committee. In 2018, Karen was given the Award for Achievement in Business by OHIO's College of Business.

Karen is a native of Columbus, Ohio. She and her husband, Jim, live in Atlanta, Georgia. Their three young adult children also reside in Atlanta.