Bill Koch is founder and president of The Oxbow Group, a diversified holding company listed by Forbes as one of the 400 largest privately held companies in America. He has created a habit of success, combining the discipline of an advanced engineering education with a broader, almost renaissance view of the world and business.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Koch developed his entrepreneurial attitude from his father, Fred. An independent, strong-willed engineer, Fred became rich after beating the nation’s oil companies’ efforts to block his patents for extracting more gas from crude oil. For 12 years Bill and his brothers worked together in the company his father founded. In 1980, Bill left to develop a company reflecting his own vision of corporate responsibility and the power of self-initiative.

Today The Oxbow Group is more than 30 companies specializing in producing electricity from alternative energy sources such as wind and geothermal sources, coal and petroleum coke trading, oil production, composite pipe manufacturing, and real estate development.

Koch’s unique business approach and independent viewpoints make what he sets his mind to possible. His T³ philosophy — talent, teamwork, technology — led him to tackle other challenges that, on the surface, seem unrelated to business.

Koch uses the same approach and independent point-of-view to fight crime. In 1993, Koch and his son were at a community Fourth of July celebration in Wichita where two people were killed in a gang-related shooting. It spurred Koch to launch a personal anticrime effort that at the governor’s request has become a statewide initiative — the William I. Koch Crime Commission on Crime Reduction and Prevention. The Koch Crime Commission encourages innovative local solutions by bringing together experts and citizens from across the nation and Kansas.

Koch’s generosity also includes funding the Wichita Boathouse. Its elegant turn-of-the-century architecture along the Arkansas River is headquarters for Wichita RiverKids Club to teach sailing, kayaking, and canoeing. But Wichita and Kansas aren’t the only communities to benefit from Koch’s attention. In Boston, he has served as a trustee, member of an executive committee, or corporate member for Massachusetts General and University hospitals; and a past board member of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Koch also is active in alumni activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His winning the 1992 America’s Cup demonstrated that competitive sailing success isn’t limited to only those few for whom it’s a career. His leadership united more than 200 people who worked for 19 months to bring the Cup back to America. True to form, Koch launched an even more daring experiment with the all-women America’s Cup team for 1995.

Oxbow has sales of $600 million and specializes in the production of electricity from alternate energy sources, with plants in the U.S. and Philippines and projects in China, Vietnam, and Costa Rica. The company is also involved in coal production and petroleum coke marketing, oil production, composite pipe manufacturing, and real estate development. Oxbow is privately held.

The second largest privately held company in the United States.

A division of Koch Industries that traded in petroleum, coke, and mined coal.

A division of Koch Industries that traded in natural gas, industrial chemicals, and specialty chemicals.

Investment company that financed high technology start-up companies.

Doctorate of Science in Chemical Engineering — 1971

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering — 1963

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering — 1962

Harvard Business School

Business Administration Minor (in conjunction with MIT major in Chemical Engineering)

Culver Military Academy

Culver, Indiana

Minneha School

Wichita, Kansas

Hunneman Prize for Outstanding Originality — Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tau Beta Phi

Sigma Xi

Honorary Doctor of Political Science — Massachusetts Maritime Academy — 1993

Honorary Doctorate, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas — 1993

Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor — 1993

Outstanding Business Leader — Northwood University — 1994

Good Guys Award — National Women’s Political Caucus — 1995

The Women’s Sport Foundation Tribute Award For The Creation of A³ — 1995

President’s Living Legacy Award — Women’s International Center — 1995

Herreshoff America’s Cup Hall of Fame — 1993

New York Yacht Club Medal of Honor — 1993

Kansan of the Year — The Topeka Capital Journal — 1993

Kansan of the Year — Kansas Society of Washington, D.C. — 1994

City of Wichita, Kansas, Medallion for Outstanding Citizenship — 1993

City of Newport, Rhode Island, Medal of Honor — 1992

Living Legacy Award San Diego — 1995

Koch Crime Commission Awards:

Karl Menninger Award — Kansas Department of Corrections — 1994

Culver Military Academy’s "Man of the Year Award" — 1992

Admiral of Kansas, Nebraska, and Alabama Navies

Winning skipper of the 1992 America’s Cup

CEO of the 1995 women’s America’s Cup team

1990 and 1991 winner of Maxi Yacht World Championships

In addition, Mr. Koch played varsity basketball and track at MIT and played rugby in graduate school. He has also been a white water kayaker, tennis player, and skier.

Current

Koch Crime Commission Founder and Chairman

Topeka, Kansas

America³ Foundation Founder and Chairman

West Palm Beach, Florida

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Member of Visiting Committee for Nautical Engineering

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Previous

Museum of Fine Arts Trustee and Member of Executive Committee

Boston, Massachusetts

University Hospital Trustee and Member of

Boston, Massachusetts Executive Committee

Massachusetts General Hospital Member of the Corporation

Boston, Massachusetts

McLeans Hospital Member of the Corporation

Belmont, Massachusetts

Castle Hill Foundation Trustee

Ipswich, Massachusetts

Fred C. Koch Foundation Member of Board of Directors

Wichita, Kansas

Culver Military Academy Member of Board of Directors

Culver, Indiana

Mr. Koch has made substantial donations to hospitals, museums, universities, schools, medical research foundations, programs for disadvantaged children, and programs to reduce crime.

Born: May 3, 1940

Wichita, Kansas

Parents: Fred C. Koch and Mary R. Koch

Brothers:

Frederick R. Koch

Charles G. Koch

David H. Koch (twin)

Family: Wife: Divorced

Children: (4)

Wyatt, Charlotte, William, Robin

Mr. Koch has a diverse art collection of paintings and sculptures that includes works by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Modigliani, Picasso, Remington, Homer, Wood, Buttersworth, Russell, Botero, and others. His collection has been shown at art museums in San Diego, Wichita, Oklahoma City, and Topeka with record attendance. Selected works have been on exhibit at the Louvre in Paris, Metropolitan in New York, National Gallery in Washington, Museum of Fine Arts, and other museums around the world.

Mr. Koch also has an extensive wine collection.

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