Tina Klocke of South St. Louis County, Missouri, chief financial officer and chief operations officer for the Clark-Fox Family Foundation, has been appointed by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and confirmed by the Missouri Senate to serve as a member of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents.

Klocke’s term will run for a period of six years through spring 2024. She is expected to be sworn in during the Southeast Board of Regents meeting May 11. She replaces Tom Meyer of Cape Girardeau, whose term on the Board expired Jan. 1, 2018.

“I am very pleased to have Mrs. Klocke, who is a dedicated Southeast alumna and accomplished businesswoman, join the Southeast Board of Regents. We look forward to working with her in her new role as Regent,” said Dr. Carlos Vargas, president of Southeast Missouri State University. “I also would like to thank Tom Meyer for his dedicated service to the Board over the past six years and for his contributions to Southeast during his tenure.”

Klocke is an accomplished finance and operations C-Level executive with a distinguished career and a record of success in the start-up and leadership of public and private corporations generating $30 million to $500 million in annual revenues.  Hired during the start-up of Build-A-Bear Workshop as one of its three original full-time employees, Klocke is respected for helping Build-A-Bear Workshop become a leader in the retail make-your-own stuffed animal business.

Since stepping down from her roles of chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Build-A-Bear Workshop in 2015, Klocke has continued to make an impact on the St. Louis region by serving as a mentor and advisor to start-ups throughout the St. Louis entrepreneurial community.  She serves on a variety of boards supporting state and local educational institutions, including Central Institute for the Deaf, Cor Jesu Academy Advisory Board, St. John Vianney High School and the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.  In 2007, Klocke was named one of the 25 Most Influential Women by the St. Louis Business Journal.

Prior to joining Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., she was controller for Clayton Corporation, a manufacturing company, where she supervised accounting and finance functions as well as human resources. Earlier, she was controller for Love Real Estate Company, a diversified investment management and development firm. She began her career in 1982 with Ernst & Young LLP.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in accounting from Southeast Missouri State University and, in 2009, was presented with an Alumni Merit Award by the Southeast Alumni Association.

Klocke and her husband, are the parents of two sons, Jim and Michael. Both her husband and son, Jim, are Southeast alumni.