Kevin Pieh ’06, CEO of Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, found purpose in dairy

For Kevin Pieh ’06, a love of cheese was always a given. “I've always loved cheese,” he says. “I love cheese curds. They were one of my favorite things at the State Fair growing up, but I never thought I would enter the cheese industry.” 

Years later, Pieh is CEO of Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, one of the foremost names in American dairy production. Since 1984, the small town of Ellsworth—population 3,298—is officially recognized as the "Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin."

Pieh didn’t start in dairy, though. After graduating from Bethel, he jumped headfirst into corporate finance. A degree in finance had been a simple decision for Pieh. 

He says, “In middle school, my dad walked me down to a Charles Schwab brokerage in downtown Minneapolis, and I opened an account with $500.” His dad said he could invest in anything, but that Pieh couldn’t take out any of the money until he turned 18. The ability to invest in stocks at such an early age set Pieh on a trajectory toward financial services. 

Before he knew it, his corporate career was launched, and he was helping manage a $30 billion asset portfolio for the insurance and annuities business at Ameriprise Financial. With the financial crisis in 2008, he gained a crash course in risk management when mortgage-backed securities and other assets took a dive.

Pieh earned an MBA while climbing the corporate ladder at Ameriprise. It was during his final semester, while studying abroad in China through his master’s program, that Pieh wrestled with one huge question: “What’s next?” 

The ladder that he had so diligently climbed began to lose its appeal. It was a reset moment for Pieh. 

“I asked God, ‘What do you want to do with me? I'm willing to do whatever you want. Just take me and lead me. Guide me,’” Pieh says. Upon returning from his study abroad program in China, he was introduced to the nonprofit Business for Transformation (B4T), and Pieh felt the pull back to China. 

He left his corporate job and went to work for a small furniture business in rural northwest China, an area that’s extremely sensitive to sharing the gospel. 

Regarding his journey to the dairy industry, the two years spent in China were transformative for Pieh and provided a new perspective on his career. He was struck by the experience of working with a physical product within a rural community, and his passion came alive. 

“I was looking for something tangible. I wanted tangible products that I could really make an impact with. I wanted to see the product on the shelf and be able to touch and feel it,” he says. It was time to reestablish himself back in Minnesota—and within one of its favorite commodities: cheese. 

He joined the finance team at Land O’Lakes and learned the corporate structure of a cooperative, which was distinctly different from the financial service corporations he had worked for previously. Then he transitioned to the dairy foods business and was the finance lead for the foodservice, retail cheese, and Kozy Shack pudding business lines.

It was during this time that Pieh met his wife, Kayla GS ’11, with whom he is now blessed with three boys. With enough perspective on his shifted career and life, Pieh felt the urge to give back to Bethel through student mentorship. “The Bethel community and network were so significant for my success,” he says. “At Bethel, I wasn’t just a number. I was cared for as an individual.” Now it was his turn to do this for others in the BethelBiz program, a mentoring program that pairs alumni with current Bethel students. 

Two paths soon presented themselves for Pieh: a new role in a private equity firm in the North Loop, where his career had launched, or a stretch leadership role with a dairy cooperative in rural Wisconsin. 

It was a decision between the intangible and the tangible. Pieh’s answer was clear: he accepted the role of chief financial office (CFO) at Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery. 

Kayla grew up on a farm, so there was a familiarity with the culture of small-town, rural farmers and what he calls “a hard-working agriculture community.” Within two years, his CFO role shifted, and he was promoted to chief executive officer (CEO) of the creamery that he had grown to love.

What Pieh had been searching for—a tangible product that could make a difference in families—is now central to the mission he fulfills daily. Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is collectively owned by about 180 farming families, working with 350 employees across three locations to sell high-quality, great-tasting cheese and dairy products.  

The mission of Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery is to provide the most value for members’ milk by leveraging a tradition of excellence so families can flourish. “Several of our patrons have generational farms that have been with the creamery for over 50 years, with one original farm shipping milk since 1910,” Pieh says. 

And now Pieh leads that mission while staying grounded in key principles he learned at Bethel. He says, “The foundation of what Bethel taught me was the parallel between a healthy company culture and healthy business decisions.” 

From a childhood love of cheese curds to leading a cooperative that sustains generations of farming families, Pieh’s journey has come full circle. With a deep understanding of both finance and tangible impact, he now stands at the helm of a company that embodies the values he’s carried all along—stewardship, community, and integrity.

Fast facts about cheese

1. The “Mouth Trap” booth at the Minnesota State Fair serves Ellsworth cheese curds. 
2. The average cow will produce about six to seven gallons of milk per day
3. The creamery’s cheese comes in many forms: 500-pound barrels of cheese, 40-pound blocks of cheese, five-pound loaves of cheese, and Pieh’s favorite—cheese curds.
4. The creamery brings in over 700 million pounds of milk a year to make all that cheese.
5. 100 pounds of milk will produce about 10 pounds of cheese.
6. Cheese curds are made from cheddar cheese, and the creamery makes 180,000 pounds of fresh cheese curds every day.

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