Askren came to HNI Corporation in 1992 as corporate vice president. He ran Hearth & Home Technologies and several other office furniture companies owned by HNI before being named president of HNI Corporation in 2003. He was named chairman and CEO in 2004.

“I never worried about the path. I was focused on making a positive impact,” Askren says.

Employment is one obvious measure of impact resulting from the success and growth of HNI. The corporation employs 14,000 people directly and keeps thousands more workers busy as vendors and suppliers.

“It’s not only about the pay and benefits paid to our members [employees]; it’s also the taxes, community involvement, and money we contribute as a corporation. We contribute heavily in Iowa. The best thing we can do is be a strong economic engine that attracts outstanding people, which raises the overall quality of life and has a huge financial impact,” Askren says. “The company isn’t going to be successful because of me, but I can have an impact on it. It feels like a big stewardship responsibility.”

Askren considers part of that responsibility to be helping others find their purpose, just as people did for him as he moved through the ranks. “I can name the people who guided me in each of my jobs.”

Askren's first job after graduating from UNI was at Emerson Electric in St. Louis. He worked long hours and attended night classes at Washington University in St. Louis, obtaining his MBA in 1987.

In 1989, he went to Wilcox Electric, a subsidiary of Thomson, S.A., a multinational electronics manufacturer and media services provider, to oversee human resources. Three years later, HNI Corporation—now a $3 billion company—hired him.

Founded in 1944 by two engineers and an advertising executive to provide jobs for returning servicemen, HNI began operations in 1947 in Muscatine. At the same time, the three founders, Max Stanley, Clem Hanson and H. Wood Miller, established a profit-sharing plan.

“They were way ahead of their time,” Askren comments. “Our company is unique and different. These three wanted to create a great place to work. It’s a member-owner culture; members own stock in our company and participate in profit sharing,” Askren says. “When you have this culture, you get a highly motivated working environment and people can focus on what’s important.”

Professional demands have kept the Askren family on the move. After living in Orlando, St. Louis, Kansas City, Muscatine and Mount Pleasant, the Askrens are happy to be back in Muscatine. “When we left Iowa after graduating from UNI, we said we’d never move back to Iowa. We traveled the world, lived a lot of places, started to raise a family, and realized Iowa is a great place to live. The values and the convenience are unparalleled.”

Askren was born in Oregon, then lived in Idaho and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area before moving to Cedar Rapids prior to his junior year at Jefferson High School. After graduating, he attended another Midwestern university for two years before transferring to UNI.

“What attracted me to UNI was the personalized approach—a “Students First” atmosphere with professors who are competent and thoughtful. UNI is big enough to have all the resources and the diversity to get an outstanding education but small enough and focused enough to get a personalized experience,” he says.

As a UNI student, Askren worked in the Academic Advising & Career Services office, which led to an internship with Lutheran Mutual (now CUNA Mutual in Waverly).

“When I started my career and went on and got my master’s degree, I found my choice to attend UNI was outstanding. At Washington University, the MBA program was pretty rigorous, but thanks to UNI, I had everything I needed,” Askren remembers.

Courtesy of University of Northern Iowa Today, story by CJ Hines; photo courtesy of HNI Corporation.