Bill’s story began when his interest in entrepreneurship was sparked at an early age. “You might think my path to entrepreneurship began at JA,” Bill has said, “but it actually didn’t!” In fact, Bill’s mother ignited his entrepreneurial mindset at a young age. An immigrant from Kiev, Ukraine, his mother turned her knack for knitting and crocheting and into a yarn shop that she operated with her sisters out of their house in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. According to Bill, “Many of the skills I used later to succeed were rooted in what I learned watching and working with my mother.” He honed those skills as a student in the Junior Achievement Club and in the JA Company Program in 1956, where he was elected President of his student company. 

Bill advanced his business education at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and, after graduation, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Bill went on to become the first product manager for Gillette, establishing and acquiring new businesses for the corporation (a time he affectionally refers to as real-world Junior Achievement . . . aka, “Senior Achievement”).

Over his 18 years with Gillette, Bill held senior management positions, including President of Gillette–Japan and President of Braun North America. He made significant contributions to many of Gillette’s divisions within the U.S. and internationally.

Bill left Gillette and, over the next four decades, created and sold over 30 companies, covering a wide array of consumer product categories, including personal care, housewares, hardware, food and drug, and pest control. This chapter began in 1981, when Bill bought two divisions of the Gillette company and formed The Schawbel Corporation.  Bill and his team created a portable heat technology utilizing a butane cartridge in a range of cordless products such as hair curlers, glue guns, and baby bottle warmers. And, of course, the Thermacell Mosquito Repellent.

In 2014, Bill sold the Schawbel Corporation and its highly successful ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent business and founded Schawbel Technologies LLC.  Under his new company, Bill has developed and patented heat-related technologies, including the next generation of cordless, portable, butane consumer products. Today, Bill oversees Schawbel Companies, which encompasses the technologies business and The Schawbel Group LLC, a boutique consulting organization.

Bill Schawbel is recognized not only as a business leader but also as a social entrepreneur.  He believes that by supporting causes that focus on education, entrepreneurship, and diversity, we can positively impact the world around us. With that in mind, in early 2023, Bill established Schawbel Companies Trust, whose sole objective is to manage the profits from the technology and consulting businesses and distribute them to pre-selected charitable organizations to level the social playing field. These donations and grants will be made through The Boston Foundation and The Schawbel Family Foundation. 

As a JA student, alumnus, board member, and donor, Bill is deeply committed to all of JA’s three pillars—entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial health. He demonstrates this through his continued support of JA, including the Trust he established that will benefit JA Worldwide and JA of Greater Boston now and into the future. In recognition of his contributions, he has been honored by JA of Greater Boston at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the JA Innovation Center and the 2022 JA Worldwide Legacy of Leadership Award.