Less than two years after he was hired to lead the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance, Covid-19 arrived, and Joe Spencer shifted into triage mode. The alliance was created to recruit…
The TCB 100 - 2021
It’s been a year, huh? When we set out in late 2019 to identify the TCB100, we saw a 2020 defined by an election and a booming economy. And for 10 weeks, that’s what we got. Then Covid hit, then George Floyd, then an election week that revealed how polarized we all are.
So when our editorial team met in a driveway just before Labor Day, the question was how to identify 100 people who will shape 2021 when 2020 threw us nothing but curveballs.
So this TCB100 is a little different. The people we’re suggesting you keep an eye on are the usual array of movers and shakers, emerging and vets, but with extra emphasis on those who will blaze our trail out of a pandemic and into a business universe increasingly defined by its commitment to equity in deeds rather than verbiage.
Here’s to a year of healing and prosperity for us all. —Adam Platt
By Tess Allen, Kait Ecker, Liz Fedor, Burl Gilyard, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Allison Kaplan, Sarah Lutman, Stephanie March, Dan Niepow, Adam Platt, Gene Rebeck, and Rajiv Tandon
Two years ago, Danielle Steer launched Lunar Startups in St. Paul with the goal of reducing disparities for minority entrepreneurs. Until November, the startup accelerator had been a project of…
Maybe Bill Stoeri’s fate was cast when he served as a summer associate for Dorsey in 1981. He joined the firm in 1984 and has been there ever since, taking…
A former General Mills sales manager, Jasmine Stringer reinvented herself as a lifestyle contributor on WCCO-TV. Her platform preaches empowerment, but that took on new meaning in the wake of…
Sylvia Strobel started her new job in February, taking over the role held by Jim Pagliarini for 20 years. She was most recently chief operating officer for Ideastream, a public…
YourSix aims to bring physical security into the cloud, and U.S. Army vet Eric Styles is leading the effort. The company’s name is a clock-oriented nod to military and law…
2021, Builder: After marking her seven-year anniversary as president, Julie Sullivan is driving a major growth trajectory. Minnesota’s largest private university is on a path to leap from Division III…
From his office in the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis, Mike Sullivan began 2020 with a strong desire to smoothly integrate Gray Plant Mooty into the larger Lathrop Gage law…
Launched in 1934, Surdyk’s remains a family-run business that grew to become an iconic liquor, wine, and specialty food store in Northeast Minneapolis. Much like the neighborhood changing around it,…
Joe Swanson, a North Shore native, acquired the resort group in July with business partner Pipasu Soni. Covid-19 has devastated large swaths of the hospitality industry, but the three resorts…
Unfailing in his optimism for the future of Minneapolis, even with stadiums shuttered, conventions canceled, and hotels and office buildings emptied, Melvin Tennant’s team at the convention and visitors association…
The official to thank for St. Paul’s new, intuitive website—“centered around the needs of residents, not departments”—is Sharon Kennedy Vickers, an information technology leader known for her people-first approach to…
Space matters more than ever. That’s why Betsy Vohs’ Minneapolis design firm, Studio BV, is heading into 2021 analyzing what to do with clients’ existing spaces during Covid-19 and trying…
David Wellington’s father, Steve, started St. Paul-based Wellington Management in 1985. David joined in 2014. Now he’s all in on the development business. The company has a local property portfolio…
Slated to leave the Twin Cities for a prestigious position at St. John’s University in New York City this past June, Yohuru Williams instead decided to stay at the University…
Yao Yang listens to businesspeople in the Hmong community and helps them access resources, whether they need expertise in legal, financial, or technology services. In 2020 and 2021, she’s helping…
2021, Alumni: Under Ping Yeh’s guidance, stem cell-based research firm and 2016 MN Cup winner StemoniX is currently working out the final details of a major merger with New Jersey-based…
2021, Alumni: After doubling his fin-tech company’s headcount in 2020, Charlie Youakim is looking to bring even more employees on board in the new year. The company, which is based…