Lee Michael Gentine is an American marketing professional and business leader from Plymouth, Wisconsin. He spent more than two decades at Sargento Cheese, where he became president of the Consumer Products Division and spearheaded the introduction of resealable cheese packaging. After 1997, he pursued investment, property-development, and community-development work in the Plymouth area.
Background
Lee Michael Gentine was born on February 18, 1952, in Plymouth, Wisconsin, to Leonard Alvin Gentine and Dolores Ann Becker Gentine. He grew up in a family associated with Sargento, the Plymouth-based cheese company founded by his father in 1953.
Gentine graduated from Plymouth High School in 1970. His early environment connected a Wisconsin manufacturing community with a family-owned food business that developed national markets for packaged natural cheese. Later accounts describe members of the Gentine family working in different parts of the company before taking on leadership responsibilities.
Education
Gentine graduated from Plymouth High School in 1970. The school serves the Plymouth community in Sheboygan County and recognizes alumni for achievement in business, public service, and other fields.
He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1974 and a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University in 1977. Notre Dame is a Catholic research university founded in 1842 in Indiana, while DePaul, founded in Chicago in 1898, is the largest Catholic university in the United States. His education combined business administration with the accounting and marketing preparation that preceded his corporate career.
Career
Gentine began his professional career as an accountant with Hurdman & Cranston in Chicago from 1974 to 1975. Hurdman & Cranston was an accounting firm operating within the public-accounting profession, where he gained experience before returning to Plymouth and joining Sargento Cheese.
He joined Sargento as a sales representative in 1975 and became the company's first marketing manager in 1978. He subsequently served as senior vice president of marketing from 1981 to 1984, executive vice president of marketing from 1984 to 1989, and president of the Consumer Products Division from 1989 to 1997. Sargento, founded in Plymouth in 1953, became known for introducing prepackaged sliced and shredded natural cheeses and for developing packaging and merchandising innovations for grocery retailers.
In 1986, Gentine spearheaded the implementation of a resealable Zip-Pak for cheese. The packaging was test-marketed in 1986 and rolled out nationally in 1987, making it easier for consumers to close an opened package. His work formed part of Sargento's broader effort to turn packaged natural cheese into a nationally marketed consumer product.
After leaving Sargento's operating management in 1997, Gentine became managing partner of Dairyland Investors Group. He also became involved in property development and community projects, including the Vintage Neighborhood and other redevelopment initiatives in Plymouth. He served as a director of Sargento Foods and later participated in the development of hospitality, downtown-revitalization, and community facilities in the Plymouth area. In 2026 he was identified as chairman of the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority, a municipal body concerned with eliminating blight and supporting urban renewal.
Achievements
Gentine spearheaded Sargento's implementation of a resealable Zip-Pak for cheese in 1986. The package was test-marketed that year and rolled out nationally in 1987, contributing to the development of convenient resealable packaging for perishable food products.
As a senior Sargento executive, Gentine helped develop the company's national consumer-products business and strengthen the market for prepackaged natural cheese.
After 1997, Gentine led or supported community-development projects in Plymouth, including the Vintage Neighborhood, the Quit Qui Oc Athletic Complex, downtown improvements, and other redevelopment initiatives.
Religion
Gentine is a Roman Catholic. His religious affiliation belongs to the Catholic tradition within Christianity, whose institutional life is organized around sacramental worship, parish communities, and the teaching authority of the church.
His documented community activities included service connected with a parish council, placing his religious affiliation within the local parish and civic life of Plymouth.
Views
Gentine's documented public work reflects an emphasis on family-business continuity, practical innovation, and investment in the communities where businesses operate. His later development projects connected commercial activity with the preservation and renewal of Plymouth's historic and civic environment.
Membership
Gentine's organizational activities have combined professional, civic, religious, athletic, and community-development service. He was associated with the American Marketing Association, Beta Gamma Sigma, the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce, and the board of Sargento Foods.
His civic work included leadership of the Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation, the Plymouth Advancement Committee, the Quit Qui Oc Athletic Alliance, and the Elkhart Lake Tourism Commission. He also served on or advised organizations including Plymouth Softball Association, St. Nicholas Hospital, and the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority. These organizations address professional exchange, business development, health care, recreation, tourism, and local urban improvement.
Board member.
Plymouth Softball Association
,
United States
1980 - present
President.
Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation
,
United States
1981 - 1985
Parish Council
,
United States
1989 - 1990
Chairman from 1992 to 1996 and president from 1992 to 2002.
Plymouth Advancement Committee
,
United States
1992 - 2002
Advisory board member.
St. Nicholas Hospital
,
United States
1998 - present
President.
Quit Qui Oc Athletic Alliance
,
United States
1999 - present
Vice chairman.
Elkhart Lake Tourism Commission
,
United States
1998 - 2004
Member.
American Marketing Association
,
United States
Board member.
Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce
,
United States
1987 - 1989
Member.
Beta Gamma Sigma
,
United States
Board member.
Sargento Foods Incorporated
,
United States
Chairman.
Plymouth Redevelopment Authority
,
United States
2025 - present
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
Sargento and community accounts describe Gentine as a family-business leader whose work extended from marketing and packaging innovation to local development and civic projects.
Interests
Home rehabilitation and historic-property redevelopment
Sport & Clubs
Softball and golf
Connections
Gentine is the son of Leonard Alvin Gentine and Dolores Ann Becker Gentine. His father founded Sargento in Plymouth in 1953, and the family remained associated with the company across successive generations.
He married Debra Ann Suemnicht on December 29, 1973; the marriage ended in divorce in November 2003. They have three children: Amanda, Joshua, and Jonathan Gentine.
Father:
Leonard Alvin Gentine
Founder of Sargento in Plymouth, Wisconsin, in 1953.
Mother:
Dolores Ann Becker Gentine
Spouse:
Debra Ann Suemnicht
Married Gentine on December 29, 1973; their marriage ended in divorce in November 2003.
Sargento Foods: Our Company
Provides institutional context on Sargento Foods as a family-owned company founded by Leonard Gentine and headquartered in Plymouth, Wisconsin.
Sargento Foods: 70th Anniversary History
Documents Gentine's role in implementing resealable Zip-Pak packaging in 1986 and places the innovation within Sargento's history.
City of Plymouth Redevelopment Authority
Identifies Lee Gentine as a member of the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority and describes the authority's urban-renewal purpose.
