When Dale Pilger ’77 returned to his alma mater in 2020, he brought with him decades of international business leadership — and a clear vision for how Kettering University could grow in reputation, reach, and industry impact.
Today, as Vice President of University Advancement and External Relations, Pilger oversees fundraising, alumni engagement, and strategic external partnerships. His goal: unlock new levels of support and recognition for the University through bold corporate and philanthropic partnerships.
“I’ve made a career of stepping into challenges — that has taken me all over the world,” said Pilger. “But this role lets me contribute in a new, deeply rewarding way.”
After graduating from Kettering (then GMI) with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Pilger earned a Master’s in Management as a Sloan Fellow at MIT. He spent his career building and expanding businesses around the world — from Nairobi to Tokyo and Shanghai.
With more than 18 years of P&L responsibility, Pilger’s leadership highlights include:
Doubling revenue to $250M and increasing EBITDA margin by 50% as President & CEO of a five-company merger
Driving $100M in sales growth and record profits while expanding operations across East Africa
Growing Asian business by $150M through new joint ventures, new customer conquests, and operational optimization
Launching 10x year-one revenue growth as COO of a technology startup through innovation and commercialization
Despite serving in President, CEO, COO, Chief Engineer, and Managing Director roles, Pilger says his passion has always been business development — building inspired teams, sharpening strategy, and delivering profitable growth. But eventually, he began asking a different question:
Where can I feel best about and most fulfilled in what I’m doing?
Pilger’s return to Kettering was a purposeful decision. He sees opportunity in aligning Kettering’s strengths with industry needs, particularly by substantially fortifying scholarships to grow and support our current and future students and updating campus labs and equipment to match what students will encounter in the field. That alignment, he says, reinforces the University’s value proposition: career-ready graduates who already know how to deliver.
“I get a rush from slaying dragons — solving complex problems — but now I want to do it in a way that builds lasting value for students, alumni, and partners.”
In his previous role as Senior Director of Philanthropy for Corporate and Foundation Relations, Pilger helped secure partnerships across broad industry segments. Now, he’s focused on scaling that success.
“This institution has an incredible base of strong individual, foundation, corporate, and government supporters who have collectively helped us achieve great things, including the new Learning Commons, expanded scholarships, and others - I believe there is huge potential to build on that solid base,” he said. “We can’t be shy about thinking big and bold - pursuing big grants and bold partnerships — because we and our donor partners know the extraordinary value impact those investments can have.”
Pilger is energized by the momentum he sees building — from alumni engagement to national rankings and global collaborations.
“It’s time to go bigger,” he said. “The foundation is here. The talent is here. What we need now is to work with partners who believe in what we’re doing — and who are ready to invest in the future we’re creating.”
