David W. Graebel was founder and Chairman Emeritus of Graebel Companies, Inc., the global relocation management company he built from a single truck into a worldwide organization spanning three continents with more than 1,000 employees.
David was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1929. He left the University of Wisconsin (Marathon County) in 1950, at age 21, to enter the moving industry with his father, Ben, purchasing a Mayflower statewide moving authority and renaming the company Graebel Movers. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, David returned home and ran the company for his mother until he and his wife, Lois, purchased her share of the business in 1960.
In 1956, David affiliated the company with Allied Van Lines, where he introduced packaging innovations such as wardrobe boxes and cell-packs, and expanded operations from the Midwest into New York, Florida, Georgia and Texas. By the 1970s, Graebel Movers handled nearly 10% of Allied’s national volume and operated the group’s largest U.S. fleet.
Following industry deregulation in 1980, David took the company independent, establishing Graebel Van Lines in 1982 and building a nationwide hub-and-spoke transit system. Under his leadership, the company grew from 13 locations to 32 within two years, and annual revenue reached nearly $50 million within five. David and his teams introduced a series of industry firsts, including price and delivery guarantees, 24-hour customer hotlines, driver certification programs and performance-based contracts.
By 2000, Graebel Companies was the largest independent relocation company in the United States, employing 2,200 people across 40 locations. David moved company headquarters to Aurora, Colorado, in 1990, and championed a servant-leadership culture along with employee benefits including scholarship and tuition-reimbursement programs.
Recognizing a shift in the industry toward relocation management companies (RMCs), David launched a full-service relocation division in 1996 that grew into Graebel Relocation Services Worldwide. Working alongside his son Bill, he later oversaw the divestiture of the company’s moving and storage operations in 2015, redirecting the organization fully toward relocation management. Bill Graebel was named CEO in 2007 and Chairman of the Board in 2018, with David serving as non-executive Chairman Emeritus.
Beyond Graebel Companies, David was a charter member of Overseas Moving Network International (OMNI) and served on the boards of the American Movers Conference and the American Moving & Storage Association. He was active in his community as President of the Wausau School District, President of the Samoset Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Founding President of Northern Wisconsin Junior Achievement, and a board member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation. David was an avid skier who competed in downhill races into his 80s.
David received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Moving & Storage Institute in 2008 and the Champions of Business Founder Award from Junior Achievement of Wisconsin – Northcentral District in 2021. He passed away on November 29, 2023, at the age of 94, leaving a legacy built on service, trust and the belief that “commitments made are commitments kept.”