Committee

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 is the Managing Partner at Frazier Deeter, where he plays a pivotal role in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm. He works closely with Market Leaders, Partners, and the Chief Administrative Officer to ensure the firm’s strategic goals are achieved and operations run smoothly. In addition to his leadership responsibilities, Nate manages a diverse client base, with a focus on relationship management and the oversight of client services to ensure the highest level of service and satisfaction.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

After 35 years in the Healthcare, I'm now helping CEO's, Business Owners, and Executives grow their organizations through confidential peer advisory groups.

As a business leader and strategist, I help leaders unlock their full potential while tackling the challenges that come with growth, setting the stage for CEOS and business owners to make critical decisions that accelerate their momentum.

I bring my years of experience leading complex change, strategy, market growth and business development across healthcare organizations to help CEOs stay focused on what matters most.

As a the Vistage Market Leader I help our Vistage Chairs build confidential peer advisory groups designed for bold conversations, smarter decisions, and sustainable growth. The Vistage Chairs then coach leaders one-on-one to help them scale professionally and personally.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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, 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 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.