General Sessions
Opening Remarks
Kathy Tunheim
Kathy Tunheim is a senior adviser for job creation to Governor Mark Dayton.
As principal and CEO of Tunheim Partners, she leads one of Minnesota’s largest public relations agencies and has extensive experience in corporate, government and nonprofit communications management.
She continues to provide counsel across the agency’s wide range of clients, with particular expertise in assisting and anticipating clients’ needs in media relations, crisis management and navigating the public policy arena.
Tunheim also serves as global president of IPREX, a worldwide network of leading independent public relations firms in major markets throughout the world.
Innovation, Research Jobs: A Call to Action
Dr. Eric Kaler
Eric W. Kaler is the 16th president of the University of Minnesota and only the second ‘U’ alumnus to rise to its presidency.
Kaler is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Chemical Society. He holds 10 U.S. patents.
Before taking office last July, Kaler served for four years as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y. He also was Stony Brook’s vice president for Brookhaven National Laboratory affairs.
He is the former chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Delaware, and dean of Delaware’s College of Engineering. Kaler received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in 1982.
Executive Panel Discussion:
Minnesota Jobs in the Global Economy
Bill George
Bill George is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School. He is the author of four best-selling books ("7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis", "True North", "Finding Your True North", and "Authentic Leadership") and is coauthor of the recently released "True North Groups."
The former chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic, George currently serves as a director of ExxonMobil and Goldman Sachs and is a trustee of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, World Economic Forum USA and the Guthrie Theater.
George has been named one of "Top 25 Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years" by PBS; "Executive of the Year-2001" by the Academy of Management; and "Director of the Year-2001-02" by the National Association of Corporate Directors.
He has made frequent appearances on television and radio, including: The Charlie Rose Show, The Today Show, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, NOW, CNBC, Bloomberg News, and NPR. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, the Harvard Business Review, and numerous other publications.
Judy Poferl
Judy Poferl is president and CEO of Northern States Power Company-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy Company. She is responsible for the company’s electric and natural gas operations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Poferl has more than 25 years of experience in energy and regulation. Prior to joining Xcel Energy, she held leadership positions with the Minnesota Department of Public Service (now the Department of Commerce) and Minnegasco (now CenterPoint Energy).
She has a bachelor's degree in government from the College of St. Benedict and an MA in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.
Neil Crocker
Neil Crocker is the president of Sauk Rapids-based Schaefer Ventilation. Under his leadership, the privately held company has seen dramatic increases in revenues and profits.
Crocker came to Schaefer from Radiant Optics in Washington. Prior to Radiant Optics, he was vice president of marketing and product management at Minnesota-based Datacard Group. He was an executive at the UK-based Pearson plc., and a management consultant with McKinsey Company.
Susan Rani
Susan Rani is a principal of Rani Engineering, a civil engineering company located in Minneapolis.
The company she started in 1993 with two employees has grown to more than 30 employees today. Rani Engineering has worked on such high-profile projects as the I-35 bridge replacement, the Hiawatha Light Rail, the Central Corridor Light Rail, and the Weisman Art Museum expansion.
Rani has been recognized with many business awards. An immigrant from Korea, she recently accompanied Governor Mark Dayton on a trade mission to South Korea to encourage Minnesota exports to that emerging market.
She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota and a master's degree in business from the university's Carlson School of Management.
Luncheon Keynote Speaker
Michael Mandelbaum
Author Michael Mandelbaum is the summit's keynote speaker. He'll discuss his recent book (coauthored with Thomas Friedman) "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back."
Mandelbaum is the Christian A. Herter Professor of American Foreign Policy at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., where he is also the chairman of the Department of American Foreign Policy.
He has taught at Harvard University, Columbia University and at the United States Naval Academy and the Wharton Advanced Management Program in the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mandelbaum is the author of 10 books and the editor of 12 more. Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" of 2010. His appearance at the summit has been sponsored by the University of Minnesota.
General Session:
Minnesota's Strengths, Strategies and Opportunities
Steven Rosenstone
As chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges & Universities, Steven Rosenstone is responsible for leading the seven state universities and 24 community and technical colleges that serve more than 400,000 students in 47 communities across the state.
Rosenstone is a nationally recognized expert on the issues facing higher education. His writings include: "The Idea of a University," in "The Public Research University: Serving the Public Good in New Times"; and "Challenges Facing Higher Education in America: Lessons and Opportunities," in "Taking Public Universities Seriously".
Rosenstone serves on the state Higher Education Advisory Council; the Governor's Workforce Development Council; the Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership; the Midwestern Higher Education Compact; the Itasca Project; the Board of Directors of the Guthrie Theater; and the Governing Board for Minnesota Compass.
Mark Phillips
Mark Phillips is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
With more than 25 years of leadership in development and finance, Phillips has led community and economic development organizations in government and the private and nonprofit sectors.
Prior to his appointment at DEED, Phillips was director of business development for Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. Phillips also was director of community and economic development at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board under Gov. Rudy Perpich; director of development for Duluth-based Minnesota Power; and vice president of Northeast Ventures Corp. in Duluth. The Economic Development Association of Minnesota has honored him with its Career Achievement Award.
Tina Smith
Tina Smith is chief of staff to Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon.
She has wide-ranging experience in the business and nonprofit sectors. Smith started her career at General Mills; founded a marketing and communications firm that served foundations and businesses in Minnesota and nationally; led regional public affairs, marketing and education programs for Planned Parenthood; and served as chief of staff to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. She is a veteran of dozens of local, state and national political campaigns.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.
Lynn Casey
As chair and CEO of Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc., Lynn Casey works with clients around the country in a variety of industries. Her reputation for creating successful brand-building programs grows from her ability to listen, to strategize and to shoot straight.
Prior to joining a predecessor firm in 1983, Casey was marketing communications manager for Burlington Northern. While there, she coordinated a diverse program to expand awareness of company services following railroad deregulation. She also developed Minnesota’s first public relations campaign for foster care home recruitment.
Casey chairs the boards of Meet Minneapolis and The Minneapolis Foundation. She is an executive committee member of the board of the Greater Twin Cities United Way and the Minneapolis Downtown Council, a board member of the Minneapolis Club, a member of the working group of the Itasca Project, and a member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable.
Rich Kupchella
Rick Kupchella has worked as an investigative reporter and television news anchor in Minneapolis and St. Paul for more than 20 years.
He worked eight years before that – in New York, Washington, D.C., Michigan and Kentucky. Winner of more than a dozen Emmys, he’s also been recognized repeatedly by the New York International Film Festival, the “Best of Gannett,” the Edward R. Murrow Awards and the Eric Sevareid Awards (presented by the Minnesota Broadcasters Association). Rick has also served as president of the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and worked on campaigns to advance journalism at the state Capitol and the Minnesota Supreme Court.
At BringMeTheNews, he continues to produce news stories of his own and works to advance journalism by helping the public find the best news stories in the state every day.