200 Minnesotans You Should Know: 2011 Edition
There are the usual “people to know”—the ones that show up in the top half of local Top 25 lists or are most cited when you ask whom you should network with. And then there are the other people to know—the ones who are, in many ways, more active in shaping our communities, our social fabric, our state's economy, and our sense of identity.
They're the titans and captains of industry who lead global businesses employing thousands of people, but who also still participate on corporate and philanthropic boards, and give their time and dollars to help support charitable and community causes back here in Minnesota.
They're the behind-the-scenes leaders who make the CEOs you've heard about look as good as they do.
They're the personalities who bring us pride—or make us cringe—when representing us on the national stage.Â
And they're a dozen other types of leaders categorized into this year's edition of Twin Cities Business's 200 Minnesotans You Should Know, including up-and-coming leaders, agents of innovation, and builders of the outstate economy.
All are uniquely interesting, intelligent, and accomplished. They are influential not only because of the positions they hold and challenges they are overcoming, but because of the networks they connect with and support. And they're definitely Minnesotans you should know.
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Click here to read about each of the 200 Minnesotans You Should Know in the digital edition of Twin Cities Business' December 2011 issue.
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New at the Top |
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| 1 | Benjamin Fowke | Chairman, CEO, and president, Xcel Energy |
| 2 | Brittany Mckinney | CEO and president, Analysts International Corporation |
| 3 | Carl Casale | CEO and president, CHS |
| 4 | Eric Kaler | President, University of Minnesota |
| 5 | Jay Lund | CEO and president, Anderson Corporation |
| 6 | Joseph Puishya | CEO, Apogee Enterprises |
| 7 | Larry Renfro | CEO, Optum |
| 8 | Michele Tafoya | Reporter, NBC Sunday Night Football Afternoon drive-time show host, WCCO-AM |
| 9 | Mike Buchner | CEO, Fallon |
| 10 | Mike Nelson | Managing Partner, Minneapolis Office, McGladrey |
| 11 | Omar Ishrak | Chair and CEO, Medtronic |
| 12 | Randy Pearce | President, Regis Corporation |
| 13 | Rhonda Olsen | CEO, Great Clips |
| 14 Â Â | Steven Rosenstone | Chancellor, MnSCU |
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Behind the Scenes |
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| 15 | Ann Cathcart Chaplin | Managing Principal, Fish & Richardson |
| 16 | Dominic Venturo | Chief Innovation Officer for Payment Services, U.S. Bancorp |
| 17 | Gail Boudreaux | Executive Vice President, UnitedHealth Group; CEO, UnitedHealth Care |
| 18 | Inge Thulin | Executive Vice President and Cheif Operating Officer, 3M |
| 19 | Judy Poferl | CEO and President, Northern States Power, Minnesota |
| 20 | Juliana Chugg | Senior Vice President, General Mills; President, Pillsbury USA |
| 21 | Laysha Ward | President of Community Relations, Target Corporation; President, Target Foundation |
| 22 | Todd Taylor | Cofounder of the Clean Technology Group, Fredrikson & Byron |
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Game Changers |
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| 23 | Abir Sen | CEO, Bloom Health |
| 24 | Blois Olson | Executive Vice President, Tunheim Partners |
| 25 | Dallas Meyer | Founder, President, and Cheif Technology Officer, TenKsolar |
| 26 | Daniel Ryan | CEO, RedBrick Health Corporation |
| 27 | David Tilford | CEO and President, Medica |
| 28 | Doug Ruth | CEO and Founder, EarthClean Corporation |
| 29 | Joel Kramer | Founder and CEO, MinnPost.com |
| 30 | John Van Dine | CEO and President, Sage Electrochromics |
| 31 | Kate Iverson | Creative Director, Permanent Art and Design Group |
| 32 | Marc Verbruggen | CEO and President, NatureWorks |
| 33 | Mark Eustis | CEO, Fairview Health Services |
| 34 | Nadim Yared | CEO and Presiden, CVRx |
| 35 | Paul Wagner | Chairman and CEO, Minnesota Wire |
| 36 | Rick Kupchella | Cofounder, I.E. Network and BringMeTheNews |
| 37 | Steve Flagg | Founder and CEO, Quality Bicycle Parts |
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Creatives |
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| 38 | Andrew Eklund | Founder and CEO, Ciceron |
| 39 | Dennis Ryan | Cheif Creative Officer, Olson |
| 40 | Elizabeth Redleaf | CEO, Werc Werk Works |
| 41 | Joe Duffy | Founder and Creative Director, Duffy and Partners |
| 42 | Kai Worrell | CEO, Worrel Design |
| 43 | Mark Addicks | Senior Vice Presiden and Cheif Marketing Officer, General Mills |
| 44 | Mauro Porcini | Head of Global Strategic Design, 3M |
| 45 | Michael Hart | Founder and Creative Co-Chair, Mono |
| 46 | Tanya Spaulding | Principal, Shea |
| 47 | Tim Larsen | Founder and President, Larsen |
| 48 | Tina Wilcox | CEO and Creative director, Black |
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Titans |
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| 49 | Al Annexstad | Chairman, Federation Insurance Companies |
| 50 | Bill Austin | Founder and CEO, Starkey Laboratories |
| 51 | Bradford Hewitt | CEO and President, Thricent Financial for Lutherans |
| 52 | Brian Dunn | CEO, Best Buy Company |
| 53 | Craig Herkert | President adn CEO, Supervalu |
| 54 | David Frauenshuh | CEO and Founder, Frauenshuh Commercial Real Estate Group |
| 55 | George Buckley | Chairman, CEO, and President, 3M Company |
| 56 | Gregg Steinhafel | CWO and President, Target Corporation |
| 57 | Gregory Page | Chairman and CEO, Cargill |
| 58 | Hubert Joly | CEO and President, Carlson |
| 59 | Ken Powell | CWO and Presidenr, General Mills |
| 60 | Richars Davis | CEO, U.S. Bancorp |
| 61 | Stanley Hubbard | Chairman, Hubbard Broadcasting |
| 62 | Stephen Hemsley | CEO and President, UnitedHealth Group |
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Social Entrepreneurs |
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| 63 | Brad Brown | Executive Director, Social Venture Partners of Minnesota |
| 64 | Dana Nelson | Executive Director, GiveMN |
| 65 | Ellen Walthour | Executive Director, BrandLab |
| 66 | Fred Haberman | CEO, Haberman and Associates |
| 67 | Jacquie Berglund | CEO, Finnegans |
| 68 | Jennifer Ford Reedy | Chief of Staff and Vice President of Strategy, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners |
| 69 | Joseph Selvaggio | CEO, MicroGrants |
| 70 | Matthew Hemsley | Founder and Executive Director, LEAD |
| 71 | Peter Heegaard | Founder and Director, Urban Adventure |
| 72 | Peter Hutchinson | Presidetn, Bush Foundation |
| 73 | Steve Rothschild &Â Art Berman |
Founder and Chairman; CEO and President, Twin Cities Rise! |
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Agents of Innovation |
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| 74 | Bob Kill | CEO and President, Enterprise Minnesota |
| 75 | Cem Erdem | CEO and Founder, Project Skyway |
| 76 | Don Ball & Kyle Coolbroth |
Co-Founders, CoCo |
| 77 | Ernest Grumbles & Brad Lehrman |
Co-Founders, Mojo Minnesota |
| 78 | James Damian | Founder, James Damian Brand Integration Services |
| 79 | Jay Coogan | President, Minneapolis College of Art and Design |
| 80 | Jeff Pesek & Mike Bollinger |
Co-Founders, TECHdotMN |
| 81 | Jeffrey Robbins | Founder, AngelPolleNation |
| 82 | Justin Kaster | Regional Director, Cleantech Open's North Central Region |
| 83 | Lars Leafblad | Principal, KeyStone Search |
| 84 | Uri Neren | Founder and CEO, Generate Companies |
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Captians of Industry |
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| 85 | Andrew Humphrey | Managing Partner, Faegre & Benson |
| 86 | Andy McNamara | Editor-in-chief, Game Informer magazine |
| 87 | Chris Neugent | Chairman and CEO, Malt-O-Meal |
| 88 | Douglas Baker | Chairman, President, and CEO, Ecolab |
| 89 | Greg Kurowski | CEO and President, Periscope |
| 90 | Gordon Viere | CEO, LarsonAllen |
| 91 | Jeffrey Ettinger | Chairman, CEOm and President, Hormel Foods Corporation |
| 92 | Joel Ronning | Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Digital River |
| 93 | John Koneck | President, Fredrikson & Byron |
| 94 | Kevin DiLorenzo | CEO and President, Olson |
| 95 | Kevin Powers | President, Twin Cities area and North Dakota, Bremer Bank |
| 96 | Lynn Casey | Chair and CEO, Padilla Speer Beardsley |
| 97 | Marianne Short | Managing Partner, Dorsey & Whitney |
| 98 | Mary Brainerd | CEO and President, HealthPartners |
| 99 | Mike Tattersfield | CEO and President, Caribou Coffee Company |
| 100 | Randall Hogan | Chairman and CEO, Pentair |
| 107 | Ron Fagen | Chairman, Fagen |
| 102 | Sally Smith | CEO and President, Buffalo Wild Wings |
| 103 | Sara Gavin | President, Weber Shandwick – Minneapolis |
| 104 | Scott Wine | CEO, Polaris Industries |
| 105 | Stan Gadek | CEO and President, Sun Country Airlines |
| 106 | Steve Wehrenberg | CEO, Campbell Mithun |
| 107 | Stuart Harvey | CEO and President, Ceridian Corporation |
| 108 | Susan Marvin | President, Marvin Windows and Doors |
| 109 | Tom Gunkel | CEO and President, Mortenson Construction |
| 110 | William Cooper | Chairman and CEO, TCF Financial Corporation |
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Builders of the Outstate Economy |
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| 111 | Chuck Mooty | CEO and Co-Owner, Faribault Woolen Mills |
| 112 | Dale Klapmeier | CEO, Cirrus Design |
| 113 | Greg Flack | CEO, President, and Chief Operating Officer, Schwan Food Company |
| 114 | Joel Conner | CEO and chairman, Bellisio Foods |
| 115 | Larry Lehtinen | CEO and Principal Owner, Magnetation |
| 116 | Mark Davis | CEO, Davisco Foods International |
| 117 | Michael Helgeson | CEO, GNP Company |
| 118 | Reggie Clow | CEO and President, Clow Stamping |
| 119 | Tony Sertich | Commissioner, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board |
| 120 | Willard Oberton | CEO and President, Fastenal |
| 121 | William Sweasy | Chairman and CEO, Red Wing Show Company |
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Job Advocates |
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| 122 | Dale Wahlstrom | CEO and President, LifeScience Alley and the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota |
| 123 | Dan Carr | Founder and CEO, The Collaborative |
| 124 | Jeremy Lenz | Chief Operations Officer, BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota |
| 125 | Kathy Tunheim | Founder and CEO, Tunheim Partners |
| 126 | Margaret Anderson Kelliher | President, Minnesota High Tech Association |
| 127 | Michael Langley | CEO, Greater MSP |
| 128 | Todd Leonard | Executive Director, Minnesota Angel Network |
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Sophisticated Users of Technology |
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| 129 | Jon Wikstrom | Chair, CEO, and President, Cool Clean Technologies |
| 130 | Mark Ahlstrom | CEO, WindLogics |
| 131 | Michael Jones | Chief Information Officer, National Marrow Doner Program and Be the Match |
| 132 | Ralph Awad | Director of Data Center Operations, Visi |
| 133 | Rick Born | CEO, RBA Consulting |
| 134 | Rick King | Chief Technology Officer, professional division, Thomson Reuters |
| 135 | Scott Burns | CEO, GovDelivery |
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Feeding Trends in Food and Drink |
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| 136 | Alex Roberts | Owner and Executive Chef, Restaurant Alma and Brasa Premiun Rotisserie |
| 137 | Brian McElrath and Christine Walthour |
Owners, B.T. McElrath Chocolatier |
| 138 | Isaac Becker | Co-Owner and Executive Chef, 112 Eatery and Bar La Grassa |
| 139 | Kam Talebi | CEO, Kaskaid Hospitality |
| 140 | Kieren Folliard | Founder, 2 gingers Whiskey Company |
| 141 | Majdi Wadi | Owner and CEO, Holy Land Brand, Inc. |
| 142 | Mark Stutrud | Founder and President, Â Summit Brewing Company |
| 143 | Omar Ansari | Founder and President, Surly Brewing Company |
| 144 | Paul Dzubnar | CEO, Green Mill Restaurants |
| 145 | Phil Roberts | Co-Founder and Chair, Parasole Restaurant Holdings |
| 146 | Russell (Tres) Jund | CEO, Lund Food Holdings, Inc. |
| 147 | Ted Marti | President, August Schell Brewing Company |
| 148 | Tim McKee | Owner and Executive Chef, La Belle Vie |
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Sports Figures |
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| 149 | Adrian Peterson | Running back, Minnesota Vikings |
| 150 | Brock Lesnar | Professional wrestler, WWE |
| 151 | Craig Leipold | Owner, Minnesota Wild |
| 152 | Jerry Kill | Head Coach, University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Football |
| 153 | Joe Mauer | Catcher, Minnesota Twins |
| 154 | Justin Morneau | First baseman, Minnesota Twins |
| 156 | Kris Humphries | Free agent power forward, National Basketball Association |
| 157 | Leslie Frazier | Head Coach, Minnesota Vikings |
| 158 | Lindsay Whalen | Guard, Minnesota Lynx |
| 159 | Lindsey Vonn | Olympic Skier |
| 160 | Matt Cullen | Center, Minnesota Wild |
| 161 | Mike Veeck | Co-Owner and President, St. Paul Saints |
| 162 | Ricky Rubio | Point guard, Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 163 | Ron Gargenhire | Manager, Minnesota Twins |
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Minnesotans on the National Stage |
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| 164 | Garrison Keiller | Radio host and author |
| 165 | Harvey Mackay | Founder and Chairman, MackayMitchell Envelope |
| 166 | Kristina Halcorson | Founder and CEO, Brain Traffic |
| 167 | Lorna Landvik | Bestselling author |
| 168 | Michele Backmann | Republican Presidential Candidate, U.S. Congresswoman, Minnesota |
| 169 | Michele Tafoya | NBC's Sunday Night Football |
| 170 | Mitch Pearlstein | Founder and President, Center of the American Experiment |
| 171 | Steven Leuthold | Founder, The Leuthold Group |
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Executive Recruiters |
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| 172 | Gary Nygaard | CEO, Northland Employment Services |
| 173 | Jim Johnson | Founder, Specialized Recruiting |
| 174 | John Nymark | President, Nycor Search |
| 175 | Ty Anderson | Managing Principal, Andcor |
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Sources of Financing – Early Stage |
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| 176 | Andrew Pulkrabek | CEO and Managing Partnet, Coordinate Capital |
| 177 | Darren Acheson | Managing Director, Mill City Capital |
| 178 | Gary Smaby | Principal, Square One Ventures |
| 179 | Glen D. Nelson | Chairman, GDN Holdings |
| 180 | John Larson | Managing Director, Clique Capital |
| 181 | Joy Lindsay | Co-Founder and President, StarTec Investments |
| 182 | Paul Knapp | CEO and President, Space Center Ventures |
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Sources of Financing – Later Stage |
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| 183 | B. Kristine Johnson | President, Affinity Capital Management |
| 184 | Buzz Benson | Managing Director, SightLine Partners |
| 185 | Christopher Smith | Managing Director, Coral Group |
| 186 | Edson Spencer, Jr. | Chairman, Addinity Capital Management |
| 187 | Peter McNerney | Partner, Thomas, McNerney & Partners |
| 188 | Steve Mercil | Principal, InvestAmerica |
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Wealthiest Minnesotans |
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| 189 | Barbara Carlson Gage | Co-Owner and Director, Carlson Companies Co-Owner, Vice Chair, and Director, Gage Marketing Group |
| 190 | Glen Taylor | Owner, Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx Chairman and interim CEO, Taylor Corporation |
| 191 | Marilyn Carlson Nelson | Co-Owner and Chair, Carlson |
| 192 | Richard Schulze | Founder and Chairman, Best Buy |
| 193 | Whitney Macmillan | CEO and Chairman Emeritus, Gargill |
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Theater and the Arts |
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| 194 | Eric Jolly | President, Science Museum of Minnesota |
| 195 | Joe Dowling | Artistic Director, Guthrie Theater |
| 196 | Kaywin Feldman | Director and President, Minneapolis Institure of Arts |
| 197 | Lou Bellamy | Artistic Director, Penumbra Theater |
| 198 | Olga Viso | Executive Director, Walker Art Center |
| 199 | Patricia Mitchell | CEO, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts |
| 200 | Thomas Hoch | President and CEO, Hennepin Theatre Trust |
