Manufacturing | Food & Beverage
Chairman
Sartori Cheese | Plymouth
Jim Sartori took the reins of Sartori Cheese in 1986 at age 30. Representing the third generation of family leadership, Sartori led the Plymouth-based company as chief executive officer for 34 years before passing the baton to Jeff Schwager in 2020. Recently, Bert Sartori was named CEO, representing the fourth generation of family leadership of the company.
The family-owned cheese manufacturer and marketer is best known for its premium cheeses, including BellaVitano and SarVecchio. The company has won more than 400 national and international quality awards, including the 2017 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest for its Black Pepper BellaVitano. It sells its products in all 50 states and more than 45 countries. Under Sartori’s leadership, the company made a series of acquisitions, including Linden Cheese Company, Antigo Cheese Co. and Tellory. He has served on the board of the National Cheese Institute and the International Dairy Foods Association’s cheese board.
Outside of the cheese business, Sartori is a founding impact investor of Eskala, a microfinance company associated with Marquette University’s Global Brigades organization. The company launched in 2021 after raising an initial seed round of $1.2 million with investments from Sartori and Gemini Global Advisors president Jim Stollberg. Sartori has also previously given to the Marquette Innovation Fund and other entrepreneurship initiatives at the university.
Education: Bachelor’s, Marquette University
