Mr. Baker is Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ecolab, the global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety and infection prevention products and services. Prior to joining Ecolab in 1989, Mr. Baker was employed by The Procter & Gamble Company in various marketing and management positions. He is also a Director of U.S. Bancorp and Target Corporation.
Ms. Birk is the Founder and CEO of Interim Solutions, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm that works with foundations, non-profit organizations and associations undergoing management and organizational changes. Ms. Birk is an attorney by background and was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Federated Insurance; City Attorney for the City of St. Paul; General Counsel for AIG’s US insurance business and Senior Corporate Counsel for the St. Paul Companies.
Mr. Curler is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Bemis Company, Inc., the largest manufacturer of flexible packaging and pressure sensitive materials in the Americas. During his forty year career at Bemis and affiliated companies, Mr. Curler also held several positions in research, product development and engineering. Mr. Curler is currently a Director of Valspar Corporation.
Mr. Emery is Owner and CEO of Supply Chain Services, a provider of barcode data collection solutions located in Oakdale, Minnesota. He is the former Chairman and CEO of MTS Systems Corporation (NASDAQ-MTSC), a world leading supplier of mechanical testing and simulation equipment.
Ms. Gilligan provides management services, executive coaching and governance, and risk and compliance assessments with The Gilligan Group LLC. Prior to forming The Gilligan Group LLC, Ms. Gilligan was the Senior Vice President and General Auditor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. She currently serves on the Twin Cities Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the St. Cloud State University’s Internal Audit Advisory Committee –Accounting Program, and the ServeMinnesota Board.
Mr. Larson is the Vice Chairman and former President of Digi Key Corporation, one of the fastest growing electronic distributors in the world, which is located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Over his 39 year career at Digi Key, he has succeeded in growing the company to almost $2 billion in revenue, and was recently inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame.
Mr. Lumpkins is the former Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Cargill Inc., one of the world’s largest private companies. He is currently Chairman of The Mosaic Company, a Director of Ecolab, an Advisory Board member at Metalmark Capital, and Senior Advisor to Värde Partners.
Mr. McGlynn is Co-Chairman & Former Owner/Founder of DecoPac, Inc., one of the world’s largest suppliers of cake decorations to professional cake decorators and bakeries in the world, headquartered in Anoka, Minnesota. Prior to DecoPac, Mr. McGlynn was heavily involved in his family’s business, McGlynn Bakeries, and assisted with the sale of the frozen dough business to Pillsbury in the 1990’s. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Wenger Corporation in Owatonna, Minnesota.
Mr. Murphy is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Red Wing Shoe Company, Inc. located in Red Wing, Minnesota. Since 1905, Red Wing Shoe has manufactured high quality working boots and shoes worn around the world. Mr. Murphy was formerly a senior executive with General Mills, Inc.
Ms. Nassif is the Founder and former CEO of the Caldrea Company, which sells its luxury household cleaners through the brands Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. Since selling the Caldrea Company to S.C. Johnson & Son in 2008, Ms. Nassif serves on numerous boards and has worked as a business consultant to multiple consumer brands and start-up organizations.
Mr. Parker is the Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, and former Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the MBA Program, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.
Mr. Pepin practiced law in Minneapolis for 43 years, retiring as a partner at Stinson Leonard Street. He had extensive experience in providing outside general counsel services to manufacturing, wholesale auto parts, electronic parts distribution, outdoor advertising, consumer products and sports and entertainment businesses. He served as Chair of the firm’s corporate practice and is a Past President of the Corporate Counsel Association of Minnesota.
Mr. Smith is a Board Chairman and former President/Chief Executive Officer of Norwesco, Inc., the largest manufacturer of polyethylene tanks in North America. Mr. Smith has been with Norwesco for over 30 years and has been a key advisor to Stone Arch Capital since the origin of the firm.
Mr. Spalj is Founder and Chairman of Rice Lake Construction Group, a heavy/industrial contractor specializing in water and wastewater treatment plants located in Deerwood, Minnesota. He is also an owner and director of Deerwood Bank Corp, serves on the board of Highwater Ethanol, and is a member of WPO (World Presidents’ Organization). Mr. Spalj was formerly the President of the Telecommunications and Cable TV Division at Quanta Services.
Mr. Walker is the President and Founder of Hana Road Partners, a money management firm in Seattle, Washington. He was formerly the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Supersonics basketball franchise located in Seattle, Washington. Mr. Walker serves on several Boards of Directors and serves as a National Trustee for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Ware is the President of Foodsby, Inc. a fast growing on-line platform providing lunch ordering primarily for suburban office employees. He was formerly the Interim President, EVP & CFO for Buffalo Wild Wings. Prior to that, Mr. Ware was the Executive Vice President of Strategic Development at the Pohlad Companies in Minneapolis, MN. Prior to joining the Pohlad Companies, Mr. Ware served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiAmericas, a $5B public bottler with operations in the central U.S., Central and Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.