About: Andrew Liersch’s Executive Career
Andrew Ferdinand Liersch has been a leader and executive for organizations such as Goodwill Industries, Santa Clara County, Calif., in which Andrew Liersch served as president and chief executive officer; and for Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH) International, where he was chief operations officer and a member of the international board of directors, in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Andrew Liersch has contributed 17 years of his life’s work to International Goodwill Industries, and Andy Liersch also dedicated six years of service to Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH) International.
Andrew Liersch served on the board of Goodwill Industries International for a three-year-term. Andrew Liersch also served on various advisory councils in and among the 17 countries through which he has traveled and worked throughout Andy Liersch’s stellar career in international humanitarian efforts.

Andrew Ferdinand Liersch has also acted as consultant for the U.S. Department of Education, in which Andrew F. Liersch reviewed rehabilitation facilities in Guam and provided reports with recommendations for operating facilities on a self-sustaining basis. Andrew Liersch was also invited to be guest speaker at President Reagan’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, as well as with the federal Projects With Industry (PWI) Council.

At Goodwill Industries, Andy Liersch spearheaded a major financial turnaround followed by consistent growth. Andy Liersch implemented innovative operations and human services programming that became the acknowledged model for Goodwill Industries International. Andrew Liersch also established a private, post-secondary school, certified by the State (CA) Department of Vocational Education, for classroom training of disabled students for industry jobs. Andy Liersch also served as administrator of The Institute for Career Development.

Andrew Liersch established an industrial production and manufacturing division for Goodwill Industries. Andy Liersch initiated production resources for Goodwill Industries that performed processing and manufacturing under contract for more than 200 Silicon Valley companies and organizations. This division provided on-the-job training and transitional employment for disabled and disadvantaged employees, students, and instructors certified by the State Department of Vocational Education.

Andrew Liersch’s Financial and Operational Successes
When Andy Liersch retired from Goodwill Industries, annual sales had increased by 1,775 percent to $12 million, and the company’s net worth was more than $25 million, including a $2 million restricted emergency reserve and trust fund for assisting needy and disabled students. Andy Liersch dramatically improved Goodwill Industries’ financial status. When Andy Liersch retired, all payables were current, there was no debt, and all eight of the surrounding area’s stores had been remodeled. In addition, Andy Liersch enabled the company to purchase six of the eight stores, including four stores built in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and Cupertino, Calif., to replace stores in non-productive locations. Andrew Liersch’s efforts led to the purchase of a 7-acre site adjacent to corporate headquarters, and Andrew Liersch was instrumental in the construction efforts for a 65,000-square-foot retail operations facility, including a transportation/truck yard, dock, refurbishing/recycling plant, and offices. Andy Liersch led Goodwill Industries to local, state, national, and international recognition for its innovative human service programs, and for providing these without government subsidies or grants. When Andy Liersch retired, the corporation was ranked #1 by Goodwill Industries International.

In 1994, Andrew Liersch continued to add to his life’s work by teaching entrepreneurship at Thunderbird Academy in Phoenix, Ariz. In this capacity, Andrew Liersch has also traveled through Mexico and Central America.

Andrew Liersch’s Education
Andrew Liersch holds a degree in Business Administration, with special focus on finance and accounting, from Arizona State University.