Katie Wahlquist leads the family-owned Star Bank, an independent community bank in Eden Prairie, and has focused over the past couple years on attracting and retaining talent. She joined the bank in 2010; by the end of 2025, the bank had five times the number of women leaders. Today, there are 20 women leaders managing branches or back-office departments, and women make up 75% of the bank’s employee base. Wahlquist has meanwhile led mentoring efforts, bringing educational programming into the bank, and, in 2025, rebranding and relaunching its mentorship program to help identify future leaders while aiding new learning and development programs for staff retention.