Speaker Spotlight: Chris Hardie, CEO, 7 Rivers Alliance
Monday–Tuesday, March 30–31, 2026 | Havenwood Event Center | Sparta, WI
Chris Hardie
CEO
7 Rivers Alliance
Chris Hardie has been the CEO of the 7 Rivers Alliance, one of nine regional economic development organizations in Wisconsin, since Sept. 2017. Prior to joining the 7 Rivers in September, Chris was the executive director of the Black River Area Chamber of Commerce for two years.
He spent more than 30 years in the newspaper industry as a reporter, editor and publisher, where he was the past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and has received numerous state and national journalism awards, including being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2001.
He still writes a weekly column published in several state newspapers. He and his wife Sherry are proprietors of Brambleberry Winery in West Salem, WI.