Laura Mullen is a driving force behind Bent Paddle Brewing’s significant growth. Since opening in Duluth in 2013, the company has grown from five to 45 employees and continues to be in the top 15 craft breweries out of over 200 in Minnesota. Bent Paddle’s opening was also a big economic contributor to the Lincoln Park Craft District, which has now become one of the premier tourist destination neighborhoods in Duluth. Mullen oversees the brewery’s Paddle It Forward initiative, which to date has donated more than $650,000 to more than 1,200 nonprofits. She also oversees the company’s new cannabis arm, leading the search to co-manufacture hemp cannabis beverages for other companies to diversify Bent Paddle’s offerings. She is the first woman president of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.