Matt Varilek to Lead Minnesota’s Economic Development Agency
Minnesota’s economic development agency has a new boss.
On Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz announced that he has appointed Matt Varilek commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
Varilek currently serves as president of the Initiative Foundation, a Little Falls-based community development financial institution focused on Central Minnesota. Before that, he served as chief operating officer of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
He was also a one-time congressional candidate for South Dakota.
In a news release, Walz praised Varilek for “strengthening the economy and communities of Greater Minnesota.”
Varilek, who’s slated to start the new gig June 20, will replace temporary commissioner Kevin McKinnon, who’s been serving on an ad-hoc basis since March.
The appointment appears to represent a change in direction for the Walz administration’s DEED. Prior commissioner Steve Grove was a former Google executive who spent years in the private industry and later went on to become publisher of the Star Tribune. Varilek, on the other hand, has spent much of his career in politics. Before his time at the SBA, Varilek was a legislative assistant for Democratic U.S. Sens Tom Dashle and Tim Johnson, who both represented South Dakota.
Varilek did also spend five years as director of policy and research for Natsource LLC, an advisory firm working in the energy industry.
