After five fiscal years in which Minneapolis-based Valspar returned an annualized 28.7 percent to shareholders, the firm lost business from Lowe’s in 2015 to competitor Sherwin-Williams. But CEO Gary Hendrickson…

Elise Hernandez just made it big. Her company, Minnetonka-based Ideal Systems Solutions, was one of 65 firms recently awarded a stake in a $20 billion, 10-year federal contract for information…

In mid-2013, members of the 111-year-old fraternal benefit society voted to extend membership to all Christians, not just Lutherans. This move Hewitt had been pushing for at his company, which…

JoAnna Hicks knows urban real estate. Prior to joining Minneapolis-based Ackerberg in 2010, Hicks worked with Minneapolis-based Neighborhood Development Center and later Ryan Cos. In her current role, Hicks leads…

Few have done more to ensure that downtown Minneapolis remains a compelling cultural mecca than Tom Hoch has. As the new chair of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement…

After Hogan became Pentair's CEO in 2001, he helped chart a major tranformation, selling off its long-held tools business and building a global water-solutions company. His efforts culminated in 2012…

With Shelly Ibach leading Select Comfort, investors probably won’t be losing any sleep. In September, the Plymouth-based company purchased BAM Labs, the developer of Sleep IQ, a system that Select…

Dean Johnson has served as majority and minority leader of the Minnesota Senate and as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army National Guard, and is a longtime Lutheran pastor…

Barb Johnson isn’t worried about being popular. The Fourth Ward rep and president of the Minneapolis City Council is perhaps the last of its old-school DFLers, holding a seat that…

Eric Kaler has broken new ground in working with corporate partners to land funding for the U of M, such as September’s announcement that Land O’Lakes Inc. would donate $25…

Barely in his 30s, Khan is the wunderkind behind Field Nation, a networking website that connects employers with individual contractors around the world.Field Nation filled a growing need as a…

There are new owners at Restaurant Technologies Inc., but CEO Jeff Kiesel remains at the helm after guiding the cooking-oil system maker through solid growth under the previous owner, EQT…

To assume Nate Kranz’s involvement in the Minnesota music scene is exclusive to First Avenue isn’t just a misconception, it’s an understatement. This year, he and his First Ave. crew…

Chuck Kummeth spent more than two decades working for Maplewood-based 3M Corp., serving as vice president of the company’s medical division from 2006 to 2008. In 2013 he took the…

Perhaps it’s only fitting that the last act of Greg Kurowski’s legendary 16-year career as the president and CEO of Periscope was naming his own replacement (Elizabeth Ross, previously global…

With the perfect surname for a Minnesota leader (though he’s actually a native South Dakotan), Doug Loon was named the Minnesota Chamber’s president in September, succeeding the late David Olson,…

As a longtime technology development manager for defense contractor BAE Systems and later as a senior program manager with RTI Remmele Engineering, Mark McNitt gained deep experience in R&D. Now…

Daughter of founder Bob Menne, Lori Melbostad is giving the firm’s pontoon business a hip makeover. Under her guidance, Wyoming-based, family-owned Premier Marine continues to introduce innovations, including self-retracting ladders,…