Jason Baab

VP
The Toro Company

Jason Baab is vice president of strategy, corporate development and sustainability at The Toro Company. In his role, Jason is responsible for enterprise strategy and business development to enhance the company’s focus on strategic growth enablers across all businesses, exploring opportunities for both organic growth and future acquisitions.

Jason joined The Toro Company in July 2023 from Oshkosh Corporation, a global manufacturer of specialty vehicles and equipment, where he most recently served as senior vice president of corporate development, strategy and venture capital with responsibility for all mergers and acquisitions, capital allocation and growth initiatives at the enterprise level. He also played a key role in establishing the company’s first venture capital fund focused on sustainable technology investments in the electrification, autonomy/active safety and intelligent products sectors.

He received a Bachelor of Science in financial management from Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., and an MBA in international business from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Stacey Bartelson

Financial Advisor
Edward Jones

As a financial advisor, I'm passionate about making a difference in clients' lives by helping them find their purpose and feel financially secure throughout their lifetime. I value my personal relationships with my clients and focus on what is most important to them and their unique financial needs. My approach is to understand and listen to your unique needs and situations while using a cohesive and comprehensive approach to achieving your goals. Whether it's a comfortable retirement, helping your kids with education, growing or passing on your business, I'm here every step of the way. A well-thought-out financial plan considers tax planning, estate considerations, generational wealth planning and especially your well-being. When you collaborate with us, you join our family.

I'm an avid learner. Since starting my career with Edward Jones 17 years ago, I've earned the CFP®, ChFC® and CEPA® certifications with more pursuits ahead. With the support from my team and clients, I was named to the 2024 and 2025 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors in Minnesota and the 2025 Forbes America's Top Women Wealth Advisors in Minnesota (ranked #23). I've been invited to the Women's Barron's Conference, Edward Jones Women's Conference and the Impact Conference. Within Edward Jones, I served as the Minnesota Grassroots Task Force Chair, where I advocated for the individual investor on Capitol Hill to help pass SECURE Act 1.0 and 2.0.

Rob Bauer

Founder & Managing Member
Bassett Creek Capital

Founder and Managing Member of Bassett Creek Capital. We make equity investments in lower middle market companies, typically at a critical inflection point in the business.

Leah Berend

Managing Partner
Marrin Investment Partners, LLC

Leah Berend is the founder and managing partner of Marrin Investment, a private markets investment firm. With a background in accounting and private equity, she is driven by a mission to "Leave Businesses Better than You've Found Them." A certified public accountant with advanced degrees in accountancy and organizational leadership, she delivers Private Equity As a Service™ to drive lasting growth for portfolio companies. Leah is also the host of ‘The Future of Private Equity’ podcast, exploring the future of private equity investing.

Jenn Bonine

Founder and CEO
Vahalla Capital

Jennifer Bonine is the CEO of Valhalla Capital, Inc., and the family office. She was the first female Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) platform testing tech CEO. She has been a co-founder of 4 different startup’s including an exit to a top tech company, venture backed funding, and acceptance to a top 10 Acceleator/Incubator experience. She has worked with companies such as Microsoft, Google, Dell, HBO, Disney, Riot Games, and Epic Games. Valhalla Capital was formed to give more equitable access to underfunded founders and allow women to create generational wealth in their families through business ownership and growth. The accessible capital allows founders to maintain control of their companies while scaling them to have impact on the planet. The company is leveraging a groundbreaking business model, empowering diversity of thought, that is fully engaged in the sustainable development goals (“SDGs”) cultivated by the United Nations and a member of the 100 Women at Davos.

Jack Brady

Partner
Cadence Private Capital

Jack has a strong M&A background gained through his experience in private equity at Stone Arch Capital and investment banking at Harris Williams. He possesses a skillset for sourcing and analyzing new investment opportunities, leading due diligence efforts on prospective investments, and working with portfolio companies on strategic initiatives and add-on acquisitions. A St. Paul, Minnesota native, Jack now lives in the North Loop of Minneapolis. Jack graduated from the University of Minnesota (B.S.B. in Finance).

Craig Bunker

Director of Business Development
Tonka Bay Equity Partners

Craig joined Tonka Bay in 2020. He was previously an associate at HCI Equity Partners, a lower-middle-market private equity firm with offices in Minneapolis and Washington D.C. He began his career at Brown Brothers Harriman in the Treasury and Investor Services divisions, serving the Boston and New York offices. Craig earned his undergraduate degree from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Tim Butler

Managing Partner
GrowthFire, LLC

Prior to founding GrowthFire, Tim served as Board Member, CEO and senior Sales and Marketing executive for multiple companies across the technology industry. He’s passionate about transforming emerging stage companies into more successful companies. Tim earned his Finance undergraduate from The University of Missouri and MBA in Marketing from the Carlson School of Management. He’s earned industry credentials in Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing, and other industries.

Kris Chucko

Corporate Banking Executive
Old National Bank

Allen Debes

CEO
Koniag Capital

Allen combines his passion for learning and leading with his extensive background in IT consulting to expand Koniag Capital’s portfolio of technology companies. Allen and his wife, Kammi, have four grown children, and enjoy hiking and exploring the outdoors near their home in Scottsdale, AZ.

Allen holds a BS in in Business Administration and Management from Saint John’s University and a MBA in Operations and Finance from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.

Elizabeth Grussing

Business Performance Advisor
Insperity

Insperity provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. We provide a wide range of business performance solutions, enabling business owners to be more systematic and strategic about the role people play in the success of a company.

Ryan Heck

Partner
Ballard Spahr LLP

Ryan Heck is a corporate attorney who focuses his practice on advising public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, investments, buy-and-build strategies, and other transformative transactions. Ryan regularly counsels private equity and corporate clients across a number of industries, including manufacturing, technology, professional services, and the life sciences.

Ryan serves as outside counsel to corporate clients and private equity portfolio companies by providing practical, solution-oriented advice in commercial transactions and general business matters. He also is the Hiring Partner for the firm's Minneapolis office.

Justin Hess

Vice President
Vermilion Group

Justin is responsible for evaluating, executing, and managing investments across a range of industries, and working alongside management teams to drive long-term value. Previously, Justin worked at Cartess Investment Partners, an operationally-oriented private investment firm, as a vice president, and at the Lone Star Funds as a senior analyst. Justin began his career at Deloitte.

Jordan Iverson

Partner
Baker Tilly US, LLP

Jordan Iverson is an audit partner at Baker Tilly who also leads the Minneapolis private equity practice. He works closely with privately held and publicly traded clients to provide a variety of accounting, assurance and consulting services. He specializes in working with commercial, manufacturing and distribution companies, including SEC reporting entities and private equity owned companies.

Colin Johnson

Managing Director
Wipfli Corporate Finance Advisors, LLC

Colin brings over 15 years of investment banking and consulting experience to his clients and focuses on advising private middle market companies and their shareholders on mergers and acquisitions, valuation, transition, and strategic planning matters. He has successfully led transactions for across a multitude of industries, some of which include construction services, manufacturing and distribution, consumer goods, engineering and design, software as a service (SaaS), environmental waste remediation and professional service industries.

Joe Johnson

CEO
Shamrock Group

Dennis Knoer

Partner
Taft

Dennis is a partner and the Chair of the Minneapolis Business Law Practice at Taft. He delivers sophisticated legal counsel on complex transactions, placing a premium on client service and efficiency. Dennis represents public and private companies, as well as private equity funds, with their M&A needs, assembling transactional teams to leverage deep practice and industry knowledge and provide effective results.

Lee M. Koury

Managing Partner
Smart Business Network Inc.

Lee is managing partner of Smart Business Network Inc., a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Aspire deal-making conference throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

Steve Kozachok

Partner, Chair of Private Equity Practice Group
Taft

Steve is a partner and the Chair of the Private Equity Practice Group at Taft. He has over 25 years of corporate law experience, having handled hundreds of M&A and financing transactions representing billions of dollars in transaction value. He was previously a partner in the corporate group of another leading law firm, then associate general counsel for St. Jude Medical, then General Counsel of Secure Computing, a publicly held software company, through its sale to McAfee, and has been with Taft since 2009.

Marcus Laman

Partner
Taft

Dan Mallin

CEO
Magnetive

Dan is a serial Entrepreneur, having started, funded, grown, and exited five times. Dan sits on the board of the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship in the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, where he received his MBA. He has received a number of honors & awards, including E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year, Business Journal Titan of Technology, University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement, Smart Business Dealmakers Hall of Fame, Twin Cities Business 100 People to Know, and Minnesota Business The (Real) Power 50. Additionally, along with Scott Litman, his business partner of 30 years, he founded the Minnesota Cup, the largest statewide business plan competition in the US.

Jeff Marone

CEO
Klesk Metal Stamping Co

Jeff Marone is CEO of Klesk Metal Stamping Co, a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of built-to-order precision metal parts that enable safe air and space flight. He is a people & culture-first leader focused on serving others with a professional career spanning food, floral and waste industries plus service in the US Army.

Scott McBride

Shareholder
McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.

Scott McBride’s practice focuses primarily on the litigation and trial of patent and complex technology cases in federal courts and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and reexamination proceedings before the Patent Office. Scott has a proven ability to help clients procure or acquire valuable intellectual property to protect their business, reach advantageous arrangements for solving intellectual property disputes where appropriate, and aggressively litigate patents when necessary.

Scott has worked with a wide array of businesses and technologies, and has been particularly successful representing medical device and pharmaceutical companies, both with and without jury trials. Some of the specific technologies with which he has experience include drug-eluting stents, angioplasty, diagnostics, surgical tools, pharmaceuticals, imaging tools, hard and soft-tissue implants, welding, unmanned aerial vehicles, gaming, electronics, satellites, telecommunications, foods, semiconductor chips, hard drives, surgical irrigation devices, electronic automation tools, operating room automation, and surgical robotics.

Bonnie Speer McGrath

Chair, TIGER 21 Minneapolis
TIGER 21

Bonnie Speer McGrath is former Founder/CEO who currently leads the Minneapolis chapter of TIGER 21, a group of high-net worth entrepreneurs, investors and executives. She pioneered technology training for bankers and lawyers and eventually sold her business to Kaplan and the Washington Post. She is passionate about education as a way to help more people onto a path of prosperity and currently serves as a trustee of Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis.

Dan McIntosh

Director, M&A
BMO Capital Markets

Dan has been focusing on healthcare middle market M&A since starting at BMO in 2017. He previosly worked at Alvarez and Marsal, where he started in 2014 and was involved in a number of merger integration, due diligence and performance improvement engagements. Prior to joining A&M, Dan worked as an Equity Research Associate at Robert W. Baird, where he covered small- & mid-cap technology stocks. Dan also held several management roles at GE Healthcare while working in the company’s diagnostic imaging and life sciences businesses. In his early career, Dan worked in operational and financial roles at GE Plastics, General Mills, and Cargill.

Brent McVay

Senior Banker
JPMorgan Chase

Brent is a senior commercial banker serving middle market companies throughout Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Western Wisconsin. Brent joined JPMorgan Chase in 2015 and has been executing transactions in the middle market since 1999 that includes six years at investment banks Goldsmith Agio Helms (now Lazard Middle Market) and Cherry Tree.

Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Brent was a Principal / Portfolio Investment Manager for Northstar Capital, a junior capital lender specializing in senior and mezzanine debt transactions (with equity co-investments) in middle market companies. Brent began his career in 1991 at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Paul Meyering

Partner
Duco Capital, LLC

Paul has over 30 years of experience in private equity, mezzanine, and investment banking. Prior to joining Duco Capital, Paul spent 10 years at Spell Capital, a private equity firm, and was responsible for all aspects of acquiring, managing, and divesting private company investments. Paul was the President of Medallion Capital, a mezzanine finance company, for 13 years, was Vice President of Corporate Finance for Dougherty Summit Securities, and also has experience in venture capital, asset-based lending, and asset securitization. He has served on the Board of Directors of numerous private companies and as President of the Minnesota chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. He holds degree in finance and economics from Northwest Missouri State University and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota

Rick Nordvold

Co-Founder & CEO
Growth Operators

Rick Nordvold is a seasoned executive and the Co-Founder of Growth Operators, bringing decades of experience in corporate finance and business growth strategies. He has led financial transformations, driven strategic planning initiatives, and played a key role in successful M&A transactions. As CEO, he focuses on guiding businesses through complex financial landscapes and helping clients achieve sustainable success. Rick enjoys mentoring emerging leaders and supporting businesses in reaching their full potential.

David Rudolph

Managing Director & Region Manager
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

David Rudolph is an Executive Director and Region Manager for Chase’s Commercial banking business in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

David began his career in 1999 with American National Bank of Chicago (a predecessor bank of JPMorgan Chase) as a member of the bank’s credit analyst training program. In David’s 19 years of banking experience, he has been responsible for managing and growing client relationships in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, distribution, service and retail. He is dedicated to serving mid-size companies as a relationship manager, meeting the domestic and international needs of the bank’s clients by providing comprehensive lending, investment banking, treasury and asset management solutions.

David holds a Master of Business Administration from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Iowa.

Steve Ryan

Partner
Taft

A partner in Taft's Minneapolis office, Steve was the president and managing partner of Briggs and Morgan, P.A. until its combination with Taft on Jan. 1, 2020, and partner-in-charge through January of 2021. He currently serves as a member of Taft's Executive Committee. Throughout his nearly 30 years with the firm, Steve has served in a number of other leadership roles including firm chair, practice group leader and as a member of the board of directors and executive committee. A noted practitioner in the areas of banking and finance, capital markets and real estate, Steve’s strong business acumen informs his approach to building a sustainable firm that responds nimbly and meets the needs of clients today and long into the future.

David Sartorio

Partner
Saul Ewing

David Sartorio focuses his practice on corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, control and non-control investments, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. David has experience advising companies ranging from private start-up and growth companies to large public companies across diverse industry sectors, including energy and renewable energy, agricultural technology, video gaming and life sciences, as well as private equity and venture capital firms. David also handles general corporate and start-up legal issues.

Beyond his legal practice, David has been a lecturer on "Life Cycle of an M&A Deal" at the University of North Carolina School of Law and a lecturing fellow on "Early-Stage Financing: The Emergence of Crowdfunding" at Duke University School of Law. 

Tyler Schaefer

Senior Analyst
Lake Country Capital

Tyler is a Senior Analyst at Lake Country Capital (LC2), where he is involved in portfolio management, due diligence, and deal execution. Prior to joining LC2, Tyler was a Business Development Research Analyst at Forest City Trading Group (FCTG), the largest wholesale building products distributor in North America. There, Tyler provided market research, financial analysis, and operational support to help grow FCTG’s operating companies.

Tyler received a B.S.B. in Finance from The Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Alec Sherod

Partner
Hellmuth & Johnson

Alec Sherod has extensive experience successfully representing both public and privately held companies across many industries. In his practice, Alec assists buyers, sellers, and financial advisors in a wide variety of domestic and international M&A transactions. He also represents clients in financing transactions, including advising issuers and investors in securities law compliance, handling acquisition financing for lenders, borrowers and investors and representing clients in private placements of equity and debt.

Josh Susser

Founding Partner
Cascadily Partners

Josh Susser founded Cascadily Partners and leads its sector focused private equity investments in education and training businesses. Prior to Cascadily, Josh led education investments at ECMC Group, an education finance agency. Josh began his career serving consumer middle market M&A clients at Piper Jaffray, an investment bank.

Nick Tietz

Founder & CEO
ILT Academy

I help founders, entrepreneurs, and enterprise companies drive business and move their companies forward.

I'm an Innovator, collaborator, rule-breaker and changemaker. I love my family. I love my kids. I'm very passionate about helping others become the best version of themselves.

As a catalyst and champion for results driven solutions, I have spent the last 20+ years designing and developing embedded omni-channel experiences that connect businesses to their customers leveraging various technology platforms to deliver the maximum value to their customers. Using empathy, creativity and behavior design to craft customer experiences that delight and align to customer needs and drive business results.

Aurora Toth

Area Managing Partner & CMO
Chief Outsiders

Aurora is an energetic, global brand leader, strategist and marketing expert known for quickly identifying business growth opportunity areas and developing pragmatic solutions. Her disciplined, metrics-based approach to strategy is grounded in best practices, driving customer demand while building loyalty. Aurora’s deep channel experience working with professional services, independent dealers, distributors/wholesalers, manufacturers, eCommerce, retail and franchise organizations enables her to connect-the-dots across distribution channels and create value. A seasoned operating executive, Aurora also matches Chief Outsiders CROs and CMO to client needs, advises CEOs and coaches marketing teams.

Mike Traeger

Director, Consulting Practice Lead
Redpath and Company

Mike Traeger, Director, leads the Consulting Practice Team at Redpath and Company. He helps organizations make more informed and strategic decisions in the areas of transaction advisory, business transformation, and accounting advisory.

Mike has over 20 years of market leadership working with privately held and public companies, private equity firms, and lenders and has advised companies across a variety of industries including healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, technology, construction, and consumer products. He helps clients prepare for change by guiding them during times of high growth, distress, integrations, and separations.