2022, Builders: Companies fled core cities for the suburbs amid the pandemic and social unrest. Barry McCarthy is the rare leader who saw things differently. In 2021, Deluxe moved its headquarters from suburban Shoreview to downtown Minneapolis. He sees the move as a match for Deluxe, transforming itself into a business technology company. “By relocating to downtown Minneapolis, we are committed to being a central part of our community’s future,” says McCarthy. “Our new headquarters is an important step in helping revitalize downtown Minneapolis and enhancing our leadership position in payments and business technology.”

2020, Emerging: McCarthy is a new leader for a new era of Deluxe. He stepped in as CEO just over a year ago as the company worked to reposition itself from check printer to provider of small-business solutions. In April, Deluxe gave company stock to all North American employees and announced a company reorganization around its main products—payments, cloud-based services, promotional products, and checks—moving from a previous model organized around customer type. “We think that will give us more focus, allow us to make better investment decisions, and accelerate our organic revenue growth,” McCarthy says.