Cathy Schillinger

2021 Distinguished Alumni

B.S. German '97, MBA '03

 

Cathy Schillinger graduated cum laude from OSU with her B.A. in German and a French minor in 1997. She earned her MBA at OSU in 2003.

Cathy served as president of the German Club and received the Bailey Family Memorial Scholarship, which enabled her to study abroad in Salzburg, Austria. She worked in the Study Abroad Office at OSU and was fortunate to have the opportunity to study abroad again, this time in Graz, Austria.

Cathy worked at CITGO Petroleum Corporation and focused her career on purchasing and supply chain management. While there, she went to OSU-Tulsa and served as the President of the OSU-Tulsa MBA Student Association.

After earning her MBA, Cathy began a 15-year career with American Airlines. She used her language skills working with suppliers from different countries and working with the member airlines of the oneworld Alliance. While with American Airlines, she served in various roles including as the Managing Director of Corporate Purchasing, with responsibilities over contracts representing over $3 billion in annual spending. She project managed the bankruptcy for American and served on the team tasked with due diligence for the merger of American Airlines and US Airways.

After retiring from American Airlines, Cathy formed her own consulting company and focuses on projects related to restructuring, purchasing and supply chain challenges within the aviation and aerospace industries. She is a member of the Supervisory Committee of the American Airlines Credit Union..