Rich/Chrissie Wachter

Rich/Chrissie (he/she/they) is a openly transgender Private Equity Executive who has held global Operating Company, Strategic Platform and Corporate Leadership roles developing and implementing benchmark human capital systems and processes to; recruit and develop diverse talent; drive organization effectiveness, inclusiveness and culture change; engage associates, and integrate acquisitions.

They have trained, coached, and mentored students through C-Suite executives and recruited General Management and Human Resources talent at Michigan Ross and other top 10 US Business Programs. Rich/Chrissie led the development of, and facilitated, the first suite of Danaher Leadership Development Programs for Danaher’s Executives, Global Leaders, and High Potentials.

Under Rich/Chrissie’s leadership, Videojet Technologies, a Danaher Product Identification Company, was recognized in 2017 and 2018 as a “Best and Brightest Company To Work For” by the National Association of Business Resources and “Top 101 Companies in the US”. In 2018 and 2019 Videojet was also recognized as a “Best and Brightest Company To Work For” in Chicago as earning an “Elite Award”, for “Employee Achievement and Recognition”. In 2019, Videojet’s success in building an inclusive culture was recognized in a published article by Corp! Magazine who also interviewed Rich/Chrissie.

A keynote speaker and roundtable leader at national Human Resources Leadership Conferences, Rich/Chrissie was recognized as a 2020 “Top 50 HR Professional” by his peers earning the “ONCON ICON” award for Human Resources. Since 2019 Rich/Chrissie guest lectures at Ross on M&A Strategy and has previously conducted interviewing skills workshops for MBA students and admissions faculty at the Northwestern Kellog School of Business.

In 2020 Rich/Chrissie joined Gryphon Investors where she led and reorganized the Human Resources practice and is currently supporting multiple Portfolio platform companies and their acquisitions. Rich/Chrissie also serves on the board of a Chicago area Transgender support group is an active member of the Human Rights Campaign as he/she is increasing focus on giving back to young adults, early career aspiring leaders, and supporting the LBGTQIA+ Community.