Karen Mills facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karen Gordon Mills
Official portrait, 2009
23rd Administrator of the Small Business Administration
In office April 6, 2009 – September 1, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Marie Johns
Preceded by	Steve Preston Darryl Hairston (acting)
Succeeded by	Maria Contreras-Sweet Jeanne Hulit (acting)
Personal details
Born	Karen Gordon (1953-09-14) September 14, 1953 (age 71) Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barry Mills
Education	Harvard University (BA, MBA)

Karen Gordon Mills (born September 14, 1953) is an American business leader and author. She also served as a government official. From 2009 to 2013, she was the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). This agency helps small businesses across the country.

President Barack Obama chose her for the role in 2008. The Senate approved her appointment in 2009. During her time, her job became even more important. She joined the President's special group of advisors, called the Cabinet. This gave her more power to make big decisions. She left her position in September 2013.

After leaving the SBA, Karen Mills continued her work. She became a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School. She also leads an investment company called MMP Group, Inc. She writes articles for Fortune magazine and other publications. She has written books about how technology helps small businesses. Her book Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream was first released in 2018. A new version came out in 2024.

Early Life and School

Karen Mills' parents were also important business leaders. Her mother, Ellen, became the CEO of Tootsie Roll in 2015. Her father, Melvin Gordon, was the president and CEO of Tootsie Roll Industries for many years.

Karen Mills studied economics at Harvard University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there. Later, she received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. She was a top student, earning the Baker Scholar honor.

Her Career Journey

In the 1980s and 1990s, Karen Mills worked with many small factories. These included companies that made wood floors, refrigerator parts, and plastic items. She helped these businesses grow and succeed.

Before leading the SBA, she was president of MMP Group. This company helped businesses in areas like food, clothing, and industrial parts. Before that, she helped start Solera Capital. This company invested in many businesses, including those owned by women. One example is Annie's Homegrown, which makes natural foods.

In 2007, the governor of Maine asked her to lead a group. This group focused on helping Maine's economy grow, especially in rural areas. She also helped plan what to do with the Brunswick Naval Air Station after it closed.

She also worked as a business advisor for McKinsey & Company. She helped companies in the U.S. and Europe. She also worked for General Foods and served on the boards of other large companies.

Helping Businesses Work Together

Karen Mills believes in "regional innovation clusters." These are groups of similar businesses in one area. For example, many tech companies are in Silicon Valley. They can share ideas, resources, and skilled workers. This helps them all become stronger.

In 2005, she helped create new jobs in Maine. This was after the Brunswick Naval Air Station closed. She helped start the North Star Alliance. This group brought together boat builders, material makers, and university researchers. It helped Maine's boat building industry become more competitive around the world.

She also helped create a group for specialty food producers in Maine. Companies like Peak Organic Beer used local farm products. In 2007, she led Maine's Council on Competitiveness and the Economy. Her goal was to attract more investment to Maine's industries and rural areas.

She even wrote a paper about these business clusters for the Brookings Institution in 2008.

Leading the U.S. Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953. It helps small businesses in four main ways:

• Helping them get money (loans).
• Making it easier for them to get government contracts.
• Teaching them how to run a business.
• Providing help after disasters.

Under President Obama, the SBA became very important. Small businesses were key to helping the economy recover after the 2008-2009 recession. Karen Mills became the head of the SBA in early 2009. At that time, it was hard for small businesses to get loans.

She helped put into action parts of President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This law removed fees on SBA-backed loans. It also increased how much the government would guarantee on loans from banks. These changes quickly helped. The number of loans given out each week went up by over 60 percent.

Karen Mills also helped pass the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. This was a very important law for small businesses. It continued the successful loan programs. It also allowed for larger SBA-guaranteed loans. The law created more chances for small businesses to get federal contracts. It also provided more money for business development centers.

In 2012, her position as Administrator of the SBA became a "Cabinet-level" job. This meant she had more influence on government decisions. She also attended meetings with the President and his top advisors.

She announced her resignation in February 2013. President Obama praised her work. He said that because of her, small businesses were better able to create jobs. She left her role in September 2013. She was praised for making the agency's loan programs simpler and stronger. During her time, the SBA helped provide over $106 billion in loans to more than 193,000 small businesses. Also, small businesses received $32 billion more in federal contracts than in the previous three years.

After the SBA

After leaving the SBA, Karen Mills continued to work at Harvard Business School. She also wrote a report in 2014. It looked at how small businesses got loans after the 2008-2009 recession. It also explored how online lenders were changing the market. In 2016, she co-wrote another report about technology and small business lending.

At Harvard, she also researched how new businesses affect the middle class. She wrote about how fewer new businesses can lead to income inequality. She suggested ways to help more new businesses start. This included making it easier to get money and training.

Karen Mills wrote the book Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream in 2018. This book talks about how important small businesses are to the U.S. economy. It also explains how technology and artificial intelligence are changing how businesses get loans. A second edition of the book came out in 2024. This new version looked at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected small businesses. It also covered new financial products that use AI and data. She also contributed to the 2021 book Big Data in Small Business.

She is the vice chair of the board for the National Bureau of Economic Research. She also worked with the Milstein Commission. This group looked at how startups could help the American Dream. She also served on other important committees related to finance and technology.

In 2013, she returned to lead MMP Group, Inc. This company invests in various businesses. She is also on the board of directors for Skillsoft. She has served on the boards of other companies and organizations. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She also served on the governing boards of Harvard University. She received an award from the U.S. Navy for her public service. She continues to write for Fortune and other publications. Her articles often focus on the economy, small businesses, and starting new ventures.

Published Works

Books

• Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream (Second Edition) (2024).
• The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, (chapter) The Servicification of the U.S. Economy: The Role of Startups versus Incumbent Firms, with Mercedes Delgado and J. Daniel Kim (2022).
• Big Data in Small Business: Data-Driven Growth in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (contributor) (2021).
• Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream (2018).

Papers

• The Supply Chain Economy: New Policies to Drive Innovation and Jobs, with Mercedes Delgado (2021).
• Creating Smart Policy to Promote Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with Annie Dang (2020).
• A New Categorization of the U.S. Economy: The Role of Supply Chain Industries in Innovation and Economic Performance, with Mercedes Delgado (2017).
• The State of Small Business Lending: Innovation and Technology and Implications for Regulation, with Brayden McCarthy (2017).
• Growth & Shared Prosperity, with Joseph B. Fuller and Jan W. Rivkin (2015).
• The Challenge of Shared Prosperity, with Jan W. Rivkin and Michael E. Porter (2015).
• The State of Small Business Lending: Credit Access During the Recovery and How Technology May Change the Game, with Brayden McCarthy (2014).
• Clusters and Competitiveness: A New Federal Role for Stimulating Economies, with Andrew Reamer and Elisabeth B. Reynolds (2008).

Personal Life

Karen Mills is married to Barry Mills. He was the president of Bowdoin College from 2001 to 2015. They have three sons.