Hall of Fame
Cole Pinnow is one of the most successful swimmers in St. Olaf history. He was a 13-time All-American, 21-time conference champion, 27-time All-MIAC honoree and held a pair of school records when he graduated. Pinnow qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships each of his four seasons, adding eight All-America honorable mention swims to his 13 All-America efforts. In each of his final two years he was an Academic All-American. Pinnow captained and was team MVP in his final season. At the MIAC’s, Pinnow set two individual (100 Fly in 1995 and 1996) and four relay meet records (800 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay and 400 Free Relay in 1994 and the 400 Free Relay again in 1996). After graduating from St. Olaf, Pinnow earned an M.S. in microbiology from the Veterinary College of Iowa State University in 1999. While there he developed a novel diagnostic test for the dairy industry. He also earned an M.B.A. from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago in 2006. Cole started his industry career at Abbott Laboratories, researching the use of preservatives in anesthetics. From there he moved into program management, where he led the development and launch of new pharmaceutical products. In 2004, he joined Hospira, Inc. to manage their new product portfolio. After several roles of increasing responsibility within the commercial organization, he is now the head of global marketing for Hospira’s $3 billion pharmaceuticals business. He and his wife, Margaret, have three children -- Clare, Marie, Jack -- and are expecting their fourth in December.
