Employee Spotlight – Claude Lois
Claude Lois, former mayor of Burlington, Wisconsin for four terms, has been #allin with Kapur to make the Foxconn production facility (the largest in US history) project dream into a reality. He worked his way through local and state government in one of the most dynamic states for this grueling business: Wisconsin.
When Kapur began working with Claude, the year was 1998. We had just opened an office on the south edge of Burlington, which opened our dialogue with Claude and supporting city staff. Claude made it apparent that he wanted the best for Burlington and wanted to help it live up to its full potential.
We formed a close partnership to promote growth and watched his vision come into reality. Our staff worked year-round to promote and grow ChocolateFest (one of the biggest and most well-known events in Burlington). Kapur, along with the help of Claude, created a more welcoming downtown area that boasted added parking and revised streets, making it a great area for downtown businesses, easier for trucking operations, and more efficient for manufacturers.
Some large projects we worked on included the Riverfront Parkway, reconfiguring the STH 83/STH 36 intersection, improvements to the landfill, the Walmart Development, and designing the Burlington Bypass which helped lead the growth for the area’s housing boom.
Claude finished his time as mayor in 2008 after four great terms and soon found a new challenge as Division Administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. He brought in his knowledge and experience as mayor into his new role and immediately reduced a backlog of work for the Department of Revenue, increased electronic tax return filings, and was a key figure when it came to managing the shared revenue program.
When a massive storm hit the Burlington and surrounding area in 2017, it was Claude who was at the scene at 1:00am in the morning to ensure the pump station was operating and led efforts to install sandbags. Claude proved himself to be #allin, even before he joined the Kapur team officially.
Since joining Kapur, Claude has overseen the acquisition of more than 2,600 acres, managed the issuance of relocation benefits, and coordinated demolition and construction activities around the Foxconn development. In addition to his project management services for Mount Pleasant, he has handled local and national press inquiries, created progress presentations, worked with local special interest groups, and is considered to be one of the busiest people in Wisconsin.