Last Saturday in Palm Springs, California, Winnebago Industries president and CEO Michael Happe was recognized as the National Overall Entrepreneur of the Year–the top award in Ernst & Young’s (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year Awards program.

He’s the first Minnesotan to take home the honor since Best Buy founder Richard Schulze won it back in 1999.

On the stage after accepting the award, Happe remarked that the honor was actually the second-best thing to have happened to him that day — the first being his youngest son’s win at a state football tournament that afternoon. “This is awesome, that was better,” he said to the chuckling crowd.

In his speech, Happe gave a nod to the difficulty that Winnebago Industries, a manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products, faced at the onset of the pandemic when everyone was told to shelter in place. The company, which was founded in Iowa decades ago but reincorporated in Minnesota in 2022, had to shutter every one of its plants and shut down, with zero revenue for more than 60 days.

“Then a magical thing happened,” said Happe, “people found control and safety and freedom and time with family and friends in the great outdoors.”

The Eden Prairie company witnessed an explosion of individuals spending more time outdoors – a phenomenon set in motion by the pandemic. “Our company makes memories–that’s what our employees do.” He finished off his speech with a request to the crowd to embody Winnebago Industries’ tagline, “Be great, outdoors.”

Happe was chosen out of 224 Entrepreneur of the Year regional winners, 10 of whom were also from Minnesota companies.

“[Michael Happe] has transformed Winnebago from a single-brand motorhome company to a leading North American manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products. He has solidified Winnebago’s future by building trust with employees, creating a culture of ownership, and making investments to support the company’s longevity,” according to a press release from EY.

But Happe wasn’t the only one to represent the state at EY. Cheri Beranek, the president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Clearfield and TCB Hall of Famer, was recognized as a National winner. Patrick Hawkins, the president and CEO of Roseville-based Hawkins Inc., was a National finalist.

“The Twin Cities had a strong representation at EY’s Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs this year,” said Dominic Iannazzo, EY Minneapolis office managing partner and Heartland Entrepreneur of the Year co-director. “It is a true testament to the incredible strength of our Twin Cities business environment.”

In a conversation with TCB in early June, Happe said that the company needed a shift in perspective when he joined in 2016. Although Winnebago Industries is well-known for pioneering the RV and, particularly, the motorized RV industry, it lacked competitive and financial momentum, said Happe. It wasn’t in the best position to grow profitably in the future.

“I think that’s really what drove them to consider a leadership change and look for a catalyst for change in the right direction in the future,” said Happe, who was an executive at The Toro Co. before joining Winnebago.

Happe, who already had experience with premium brands and durable goods, was given three priorities by the board to implement into his leadership. One was to restore leadership to the company’s flagship business, Winnebago; the second was to create competitiveness in the towable RV segment; and lastly, pursue growth and diversification of the company.

These initiatives were grown out of the “near death” experience that Winnebago Industries faced in 2008, maneuvering in a cyclical industry in economically challenging times, Happe said. “The board did not want to go through a near-death experience again.”

For the last seven years, Happe got to work. Through several acquisitions, including Grand Design and Newmar RV companies, Winnebago Industries extended into three lines of business: towable RVs, motorhome RVs, and the marine segment.

Today, the company has nearly 7,000 employees and has had a 500% revenue growth since 2016.

“We can’t control the macroeconomic market conditions or some of the challenges that we may run into in cyclical industries, but we can keep progressing forward,” said Happe. “We’re adding and growing businesses, we’re carefully adding great talent, and we’re linking together to continue to move forward over time.”

Happe will go on to represent the U.S. at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year competition in Monaco next June.