Whirlpool Corporation has appointed former Vanguard executive Karin Risi to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Risi brings more than 30 years of experience in asset management and wealth management and will serve on Whirlpool’s Finance and Human Resources committees.
Risi spent 28 years at Vanguard, where she held a series of senior roles spanning strategy, product development, digital transformation, and client experience. She ultimately served as Managing Director and Chief Strategy and Product Officer, overseeing enterprise strategy, business development, and global product development for an investment platform managing approximately $12 trillion and serving more than 50 million investors.
She also previously served as Managing Director of Vanguard Personal Investor, where she led business strategy, financial performance, digital transformation, and client experience for millions of individual investors. Risi helped build and launch Vanguard’s Personal Advisor wealth management business, giving her direct experience scaling a technology-enabled financial-services platform.
Earlier in her career at Vanguard, she held leadership positions with increasing responsibility across investment analysis, corporate strategy, and institutional asset management. Risi holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from Villanova University and currently serves as an independent director of SEI Investments Company and HarbourVest Partners.
Whirlpool said the appointment adds financial, strategic, digital, and governance expertise to its board. The appliance company reported approximately $16 billion in annual net sales in 2025, with close to 90% of those sales generated in the Americas, and employs about 41,000 people across 35 manufacturing and technology research centers.
Risi’s financial-services background also gives Whirlpool additional board-level perspective on large-scale consumer platforms, digital transformation, and long-term financial strategy. Those capabilities complement the manufacturer’s focus on operating performance and consumer engagement across its portfolio of appliance brands.
KEY QUOTE:
“Karin’s exceptional leadership in asset management, strategic growth, digital innovation and global operations, combined with her extensive governance experience, makes her an invaluable addition to our board as we continue driving meaningful value and long-term success for our shareholders and consumers.”
Marc Bitzer, Chairman And CEO Of Whirlpool Corporation
