William Robert Kohorst (born February 21, 1953) is an American attorney and businessman who served as the

United States Ambassador to Croatia The diplomatic post of United States Ambassador to Croatia was created on April 7, 1992, following Croatia's independence from SFRJ, SFR Yugoslavia and its recognition as an independent state by the United States, although official presence of the ...

until January 2021.

Early life and education

Kohorst is the son of William Robert and Mary Helen Kohorst. He graduated from La Salle High School in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, in 1971. He graduated with honors from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science in accounting, in 1975. and earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the University of Michigan Law School in 1978.

Career

Kohorst started his career as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

with Judge Engel at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1978. In 1979, he then went on to work as an attorney for a law office in California, where he made partner in 1982. Afterwards, Kohorst worked as an investment banker for what later became a Fortune 1000 company and stayed until he founding his own firm,

Private placement Private placement (or non-public offering) is a funding round of securities which are sold not through a public offering, but rather through a private offering, mostly to a small number of chosen investors. Generally, these investors include friend ...

Group for Public Storage, Inc., a U.S. real estate syndicator, in 1984. He worked as President in this position until 1990, when he bought two companies and became CEO and principal of Tiger Shark Golf, Inc. and Masquerade International, Inc. and also began serving as President of RK Holdings, Inc. In 1991, Kohorst co-founded KH Financial, Inc., which later became Everest Properties, a company that purchases and operates apartment, self-storage, and retail properties. In 2002, Kohorst began working for Maxus Realty, Inc. and stayed with the company until 2015. From 2015 until 2017, Kohorst served as Director of Posey Company. Today Kohorst is the President, CEO, Chairman and Director of multiple businesses within the Everest Group. Kohorst donated over $1.1 million to Republican national and state committees and candidates from 2015 to 2017. He was nominated as United States Ambassador to Croatia in early September 2017, testified before the Senate on October 5 and was confirmed by Senate voice vote on November 2, 2017.

Additional affiliations

Kohorst has served as director and chairman of the San Gabriel chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization, regent of Loyola Marymount University, since 2009 trustee of

La Salle College Preparatory La Salle College Preparatory is a private, Catholic college preparatory high school founded and run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Pasadena, California and located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. ...

, and president of the San Gabriel Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Kohorst is also a trustee of the Maxus Realty Trust. Through the Kohorst Allen Family Foundation, which was established in 2008, the family has donated more than $1 million to

and is part of the Saint Benilde Society.

Personal life

Kohorst is married to Shelley Allen, they have two sons and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Biography at Everest Properties
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohorst, W. Robert 1953 births Living people University of Dayton alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Trump administration personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Croatia