Ben Axelrod

Managing Director
Borgman Capital

Ben Axelrod leads Borgman Capital’s office in the Twin Cities and brings more than 20 years of business sale, merger, and acquisition experience. He has completed over 70 M&A transactions, primarily working with small and medium-sized businesses. He has previously worked in the Minneapolis offices of CLA, Lazard, and RBC Capital Markets. Ben began his career in mergers and acquisitions in Frankfurt, Germany at BHF Bank. Ben received a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in economics with a minor in international relations from Stanford University.

Ryan Beckman

COO
LX Medical

Ryan Beckman is COO of LX Medical, a uniquely innovative lifestyle medicine practice where house calls meet AI-powered clinical intelligence, regenerative medicine, and longevity science. He's also Founding Partner of Aurelius, a growth strategy firm embedded with founder-led businesses scaling from $1M to $30M. Previously he led market expansion at Bright Health across 17 states.

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.

Celina Berglund

SHE-E-O
BROGAV Solutions

Celina Berglund is the founder and CEO of BROGAV Solutions, a women-owned company providing sourcing, infrastructure, and installation solutions for data centers. Known for her resourceful, solution-driven approach, she helps customers navigate complex projects with flexibility and speed while also inspiring the next generation through technology education and entrepreneurial leadership.

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.

Michael Britten

Attorney
Messerli Kramer

Michael Britten is an attorney with Messerli Kramer who advises private equity sponsors, founders, and closely held businesses on the tax and structuring aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and other business transactions. His practice focuses on transaction structuring, tax due diligence, Section 1202 planning, and helping clients maximize value in acquisition and exit transactions.

Elizabeth Morrissey Brown

Senior Vice President & Chief Growth Officer
Morrissey Hospitality

As Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at Morrissey Hospitality, Elizabeth leads the company’s growth strategy with a focus on business development, strategic partnerships, and brand expansion. With nearly a decade of internal leadership experience and deep roots in hospitality, she drives new revenue opportunities, cultivates client relationships, and strengthens the company’s presence in new and existing markets.

Elizabeth began her career at The Saint Paul Hotel before taking on leadership roles at the Waldorf Astoria New York, Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, and Moet Hennessy. She returned to Morrissey Hospitality to help shape the company’s next chapter, progressing quickly from operations into business development. Her background spans hospitality operations, marketing, human resources, and sales strategy — making her uniquely positioned to scale the organization’s impact while preserving our guest-first, people-focused culture.

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.

Ingrid Christensen

President
INGCO International

Ingrid Christensen is an international speaker, author of The Language of Trust, and the visionary founder of INGCO International and Modus Access. Her life’s work is absolute access. While INGCO is dedicated to giving a voice to the voiceless globally through translation and interpreting services in over 200 languages, Modus Access ensures that digital accessibility is an organizational standard rather than an afterthought. As a proud Minnesotan, she seamlessly bridges the gap between human equity and corporate risk, dedicating her career to eliminating systemic linguistic and digital barriers worldwide.

Kris Chucko

Commercial Banking Regional Director, SVP
Old National Bank

Kris is the Commercial Banking Regional Director for Old National Bank. With $74 billion in assets, Old National is a regional Midwest bank dedicated to helping businesses, individuals, and communities thrive through personalized financial solutions, strong local relationships, and nearly 200 years of banking experience.

Todd Collins

Market Leader
Vistage Worldwide

Todd Collins is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based Market Director at Vistage Worldwide, where he supports and coaches CEOs, business owners, and executives in the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana regions. He is focused on helping leaders drive business success and develop their teams through peer advisory groups.

David Dalvey

Founder & Managing General Partner
Brightstone Venture Capital

25 years of venture capital fund management experience with 2 venture capital firms and 2 national investment banks completing over 200 investments with over $2 billion in total transaction value.

10 years of fund-of-fund portfolio oversight experience as director/advisor to 2 large fund-of-funds. 35 collective years of corporate board experience and investment advisory with many public and private growth-oriented technology and life-science businesses.

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.

Kristen Denzer

Founder, President & CEO
Tierra Encantada

Kristen started Tierra Encantada with the sole purpose of creating a place she would send her own children - which she proudly did. Kristen had experienced childcare at other centers - and knew families wanted more. A place where diversity and inclusion weren't buzz words, but were embedded in the classroom environment ensuring all families felt welcomed and appreciated. A place where children learned a second language during the most critical time for language development, leaving them fluent in Spanish by age 5. A place where screens weren't used by children, and meals weren't chicken nuggets and pizza. And most importantly, a place where the hard-working educators were paid a living wage and provided a career with benefits.

Since founding Tierra Encantada in 2013, Kristen has led the company through those values. Today, Tierra Encantada is the leader in Spanish immersion early education® and its unique approach to childcare includes an elevated culinary program providing children with fresh-cooked organic meals designed to expand young palates. Tierra Encantada has grown exponentially, first through corporate growth and then in 2019 launched franchising. Tierra Encantada has corporate and franchise locations across the country, and has aggressive growth plans to continue its national expansion.

Kristen is a serial entrepreneur and experienced speaker. Her entrepreneurial journey began with consulting, where she provided evaluation assistance to over twenty nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and tribal nations, such as designing Twin Cities Pride’s evaluation for its annual festival and parade. Kristen's real estate development company currently has a portfolio of over 100,000 square feet of commercial space, and she also co-founded two other companies that she later sold - a dog daycare and an event rental company.

Brian Eder

Managing Partner & Private Wealth Advisor
OnePoint BFG Minneapolis

Brian Eder got his start in the financial services industry in 2003 as a college intern with a large investment and insurance company. Two decades later, he serves as a Managing Partner with OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, a top 50 nationally ranked RIA by Barrons, and has become known as an expert in wealth management and M&A strategy for business owners & entrepreneurs.

Drawing on his hands-on experience buying, selling, and advising on numerous business transactions, Brian developed the Owners Suite ®,OnePoint BFG's planning framework designed exclusively for owners and entrepreneurs navigating wealth creation, business transitions, and post-exit strategy. This specialization has positioned him and his team of 15 professionals as go-to advisors in the owner and founder market, earning recognition as a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor, a Notable Wealth Manager by Twin Cities Business and as a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Best Place to Work.

A resident of Lake Elmo, MN, Brian loves spending his free time golfing, cooking, and being with his wife and two daughters.

Leif Eikevik

CEO
Prevista

Leif Eikevik is co-founder and CEO of Prevista, an AI and data intelligence company that helps businesses grow by finding motivated buyers, sellers and customers before they enter the market. It solves the timing problem every business faces in sales. Prevista detects live intent signals from owners and decision-makers actively researching a sale, acquisition or purchase. Clients use these insights to reach in-market customers nationwide and surface M&A targets, building hyper-efficient pipelines that focus teams on the prospects most ready to act. The company also delivers large-scale data analysis and custom AI dashboards for pipeline modeling and KPI tracking. Leif brings more than 20 years of leadership in design, technology and real estate, including innovation work with the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He co-leads the ULI Minnesota Leadership Council and was selected for the 2024 class of Leadership Minnesota.

Lou Frillman

President
Marquette Advisors

Louis W Frillman is a executive experienced in conceptualization, leadership, and execution of strategies to build value across varied enterprises and disciplines. He is also a nationally recognized political strategist.

Mr. Frillman is a leader of real estate service businesses, investment funds, and political and charitable enterprises.

Mr. Frillman is President of Marquette Advisors, and Chair of Marquette Capital Advisors.Marquette specializes in solving complex financial and operating real property issues

He was formerly EVP of Marquette Partners, overseeing asset management of 50 m sf of commercial retail space and a $250m institutional investment portfolio. He is the long serving financial advisor to the owner of the 3 largest malls in North America.

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.

Ashley Hawks

Founder
SOAR Leadership Groups

Ashley Hawks is the Founder of SOAR Leadership Groups, an executive peer community dedicated to empowering Founders and CEOs to "reach new heights" both personally and professionally.

In 2023, Ashley was honored as Dealmaker of the Year for the successful acquisition her business, Forever Bride, to David’s Bridal.

Justin Hess

Vice President
Vermilion Group

Justin is a vice president with the Vermilion Group, the private investment office of the Mortenson family, which is the sole owner of M.A. Mortenson Company, a 70-year old diversified construction and real estate organization in Minneapolis.  As a family-backed investment firm, Vermilion operates without traditional fund constraints, allowing us to partner with businesses for the long term.

He 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.

Vermilion Group is the private investment office of the Mortenson family, which is the sole owner of M.A. Mortenson Company, a 70-year old diversified construction and real estate organization in Minneapolis.

Vermilion invests in founder-owned and privately held businesses, providing flexible capital for growth initiatives, recapitalizations, buyouts, and select co-investments. We pursue both control and minority ownership positions and have experience across manufacturing, distribution, and business services.

As a family-backed investment firm, Vermilion operates without traditional fund constraints, allowing us to partner with businesses for the long term. We are committed to preserving a company's legacy while supporting its employees, customers, and communities for future generations.

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

Joe Johnson is Chief Executive Officer of Shamrock Group and KBI Commercial Services, where he leads strategy, operations, and growth across beverage, ice, chemical, gas, and service businesses. He has overseen Shamrock’s national expansion and led the acquisition of KBI from Pentair. He is now driving the integration of KBI into Shamrock Group, a transformational initiative that is expanding the company’s footprint and strengthening its service capabilities nationwide.

Previously, Joe served as Shamrock’s Chief Financial Officer and minority owner before partnering with Duco Capital to acquire the company. Earlier in his career, he developed expertise in investment banking, corporate strategy, and mergers and acquisitions through roles at William Blair, Canadian National Railway, Aqua Capital Management, and Merrill Lynch. These experiences equipped him with deep capability in complex transactions, large-scale investments, and strategic leadership, which he now applies to advancing Shamrock’s growth and long-term vision.

Isaac Kamsin

CEO
Abe Technology, Inc.

Previous: Co-Founder Timelapse+ (acquired).
Now: Founder Abe--The platform for home™

As a serial entrepreneur, I've founded award-winning and category-defining products in the digital imaging space, the latest one bootstrapping to over $2.5 Million. I have demonstrable expertise in business development and product development.

Sean Kelley

Managing Director, Business Development
Gridiron Capital

At Gridiron Capital, Sean focuses on developing new business partnerships, marketing, communicating with business owners, and managing investment sourcing and exit planning. Prior to joining Gridiron Capital, Sean served as vice president at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia. His responsibilities at BB&T included executing mergers and acquisitions advisory for middle-market businesses, as well as establishing and strengthening business development relationships with middle-market investors. Earlier in his career, Sean worked at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

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 Director
Smart Business Network LLC

Lee is managing director of Smart Business Network LLC, a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Dealmakers Conferences 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 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

Marcus has represented numerous clients in M&A transactions across a wide array of industries. This representation has included public and private companies, private equity funds and family offices, emerging companies and venture-funded start-ups. He frequently assists clients with transactions including mergers, acquisitions and dispositions of stock and assets, reorganizations and spin-offs, and joint ventures and equity investments.

Marcus has experience representing technology companies and consumers of technology products and services. He regularly counsels clients in connection with drafting and negotiating software licenses, SaaS agreements, development agreements, joint ventures, and reseller and distribution agreements, as well as internet and ecommerce matters.

Marcus advises clients in a variety of financing transactions, including in connection with private placements of equity and debt. He also counsels investors making investments into private companies.

Marcus advises professional sports franchises on a myriad of matters, including stadium construction and operation, league issues, sponsorship opportunities and general day-to-day business matters.

Nate Lilleodden

Office Managing Partner - Minneapolis
Frazier & Deeter Advisory, LLC

Nate Lilleodden is a Partner at Frazier & Deeter Advisory, LLC. In his role as Office Managing Partner, he ensures local execution and alignment of the firm's strategy. In addition to his leadership role, he manages a diverse client base of privately-held business and business owners. As a CPA, he helps his client navigate complex tax and accounting issues in addition to providing strategic business advice and solutions to achieve their business goals.

Tyler Lorenzen

President & CEO
PURIS Proteins

I lead a rapidly growing plant-based food ingredient company, PURIS. The team is focused fanatically on a USA system of non-GMO and organic seeds & plant proteins by working with an end to end network of growers, makers, and eaters of plant-powered nutrition. We are shaping the way we enjoy food in the years to come through the creation of plant-based foods, new ways of manufacturing and regenerative and sustainable practices for growers across the USA.

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.

Kevin McArdle

CEO
McArdle Companies

Kevin leads acquisitions at McArdle Companies, sourcing and evaluating lower-middle-market businesses across the Midwest's industrial and service sectors. With deep experience in valuation, deal structuring, and diligence, he partners with founders seeking liquidity and continuity. Kevin focuses on durable, well-run companies, bringing disciplined capital and operator-aligned terms to every transaction he pursues and the relationships he builds.

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.

Ali McNutt

Vice President, Investments
Manna Tree Partners

As a Vice President on Manna Tree’s investment team, Ali McNutt brings valuable expertise in strategic planning, diligence, and value creation. Ali is actively involved across the full investment lifecycle, including business development, deal execution, and post-investment value creation, partnering closely with founders and management teams to help scale purpose-driven health and wellness brands.

Prior to joining Manna Tree, Ali served as a Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a strategic management consulting firm, where she partnered closely with private equity sponsors and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies on a wide range of strategic and operational initiatives. During her time at BCG, Ali led a diverse range of projects including buy- and sell-side diligences, M&A and value creation support, net revenue management diagnostics (including pricing and promotional strategy), consumer demand generation research, and holistic strategic planning efforts.

Ali is passionate about partnering with founders and management teams who are building businesses that make a meaningful impact on human health and overall wellness. She is especially energized by working alongside founders / management teams as a collaborative thought partner – helping them pressure-test ideas, unlock new growth opportunities, and build enduring businesses.

Ali lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband, Andrew. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, taking full advantage of Minnesota summers on the lake, traveling, and staying active through walking, hiking, weight training, and Pilates. Ali holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Brent McVay

Executive Director
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

John "Ozzie" Nelson, Jr.

CEO
NELSON Worldwide

In 1987, Ozzie entered his father’s 15-person interior design firm. Over the following years, he expanded the firm’s core design business with emerging technologies and consulting capabilities to create a compelling service delivery platform for large corporate clients. Under his direction, the firm expanded from a single discipline to its current 10 fully integrated service lines. Since becoming CEO in 2003, the firm has executed more than 40 mergers/acquisitions, taking NELSON from #37 in the industry to “Top 10” with growth of more than 500 percent.

Alicia Phillips

CEO
New Impact Fund

Alicia Phillips is the Founder and CEO of the New Impact Fund, where she brings together financial, social, and advising capital to help BIPOC businesses scale. A seasoned leadership developer, super-connector, and bridge builder, Alicia has spent her career equipping entrepreneurs and organizations to expand their vision and translate it into transformative results.

Known for mobilizing high-net-worth individuals to share their power and networks, Alicia has pioneered a model that pairs capital with connection—creating the conditions for scalable growth and generational prosperity. She believes the real measure of leadership is creating the conditions for others to rise—and she has built her career on making that possible.

Neal Rasmussen

Partner
Ballard Spahr

Neal K. Rasmussen is a transactional attorney with a diverse corporate practice. Neal advises private and public companies and private equity funds on mergers and acquisitions, entity formation, corporate governance, divestitures, and general contract matters. He assists clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, food and beverage, health care, and technology.

Tina Rexing

Founder & CEO
T Rex Cookie Company

Set and drive the strategic vision for T-Rex Cookie, ensuring alignment with company goals and values.

Develop and implement growth strategies, expanding the brand's presence in grocery stores, the bakery location, and at high-profile events. Identify and capitalize on new market opportunities.

Drive revenue growth through the development of strategic partnerships, sales channels, and promotional campaigns. Maintain and build relationships with retailers, vendors, and key stakeholders to ensure product placement and brand visibility.

Oversee day-to-day operations, including product development, inventory management, and customer service. Streamline processes to maximize efficiency and profitability.

Micah Ricke

President & CEO
TEAM Industries

I am a passionate and driven leader with over 25 years of experience in the engineering and manufacturing industry. I'm blessed to work for a diverse and talented team of over 1300 people dedicated to delivering innovative solutions and building strong customer relationships. As the President and CEO of TEAM Industries, a leading provider of precision gears and drivetrain systems, I oversee the strategic direction, operations, and growth of the company. I am committed to fostering a unified culture that values collaboration, creativity, and delivering "wow" to our customers.

Before becoming President and CEO in 2023, I served as the Director of Product Development for more than 17 years, leading a 100+ person team responsible for developing proprietary products and generating over $300M in annual revenue. Together, we launched more than 50 new products during the last decade and a half and implemented millions of dollars in annual savings for customers.

Will Roach

Director, Business Development
Baker Tilly

Will has been with Baker Tilly since 2005 and leads the business development efforts for the Minneapolis office. His main focus is growing and developing new accounting and consulting business opportunities for the local industry and service line practices. Areas of concentration include middle market, Fortune 500 companies and not-for-profit organizations.

He is actively engaged in the Twin Cities business community, including Association for Corporate Growth and several Chambers of Commerce. Prior, Will spent five years at an international accounting firm in their management consulting practice.

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

Associate
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

Attorney
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.

Steve Snyder

CEO
Nutracom & Nutrition Innovation, Inc.

Recently raised money with fantastic investment group of private investors to purchase the assets of Nutracom and now grow it to the next level in the nutrition space.

Results oriented CEO with expertise in strategy creation and execution, business development, mergers and acquisitions, ingredient and branded marketing, sales and team development. Proven track record of success in the growth of dairy products, cheese, functional foods, biotechnology, pharma and specialty renewable specialty chemicals, "clean tech", food ingredients, food safety testing, diagnostics segments in middle market, startup and corporate environments. Public and private company experience.

Sharon Stein

Vistage Chair & Executive Coach
Vistage Worldwide International

Sharon Stein is a Vistage Chair and executive coach who helps CEOs and business owners become better leaders, make better decisions and grow their organizations. A former CEO with more than 30 years of leadership experience, Sharon brings a growth-minded perspective, listens without judgment, asks the questions others may not, and helps leaders uncover blind spots, gain clarity and achieve stronger results.

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.

Mike Traeger

Director, Advisory
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.

Pamela York

Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Capita3

Pamela York is an investor, serial entrepreneur, and inventor with extensive success from launch to exit in technology-based companies. Currently she is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Capita3, a venture capital group investing in early startups innovating in health.

Over her career Pam’s been involved in 100+ deals with over 15 startup company exits to date, and served on numerous boards, including EmpowerU, NAMUH, and Collider. She’s been a mentor or advisor for United Healthcare Techstars, Revolution, and Medical Alley and is currently a venture fellow for MATTER Health.

Previously Pam pioneered three technology platforms that went on to successful commercialization and co-founded two VC-backed startups that each had exits, one with a highly successful IPO. She also led the University of Iowa’s technology commercialization foundation, where she oversaw a portfolio of 1000 technologies concentrated in life sciences, built a startup pipeline from scratch, and oversaw the launch of 30+ companies that attracted hundreds of millions in venture capital financing and numerous exits to date. 

Additionally, Pam has 20 years of experience in transformational leadership development. She’s featured on TED talks for a novel leadership accelerator for founders and innovators, known as Capita3 Leader Launch. To date Pam has led 38 cohorts through Leader Launch with 400+ participants. The US SBA, Mayo Clinic Office of Entrepreneurship, MN-SBIR and others are sponsors of this work. Previously, Pam was adjunct faculty teaching the National Science Foundation I-Corps^TM lean startup programs to faculty and graduate students and taught lean startup principles to Saudi Arabian women leaders. She has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University of Illinois and completed a private equity financing program at Wharton.