DISCUSSION LEADERS

Aaron Fisk

Aaron is a Discussion Leader for the Supervisors Forum and Leading Negotiations Forum. Aaron is a seasoned multi-disciplined Executive with over 20 years of leading multi-state and global operations at the corporate level. A licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota with an MBA from a nationally accredited University.  Some areas of expertise include full P&L accountability, business and strategic planning of multi-site locations and proven track record of developing and empowering other leaders.  Aaron serves as the President & CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, the largest human services non-profit in central Minnesota, serving 16 counties with 300 employees.

Amy Fredin

Amy is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum, the Finance Forum, the Strategy Forum and the Management Forum. She finds the case discussion format incredibly rewarding as she learns more about each individual and organization represented while helping the participants build their own skills. Amy is a Professor of Accounting at St. Cloud State University. A graduate of the College of St. Benedict, she also earned an MBA from St. Cloud State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska.

Angie Krtnick Complin

Angie serves as a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum. She is the Talent Director at Granite Partners. In that role, Angie recruits top talent into key leadership positions at the Granite Companies and leads a next-generation talent strategy focused on internship programming. She joined the firm in 2016, bringing a range of experience from roles at Salo, Best Buy, and Grant Thornton. She is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict, and she earned her MBA from the Carlson School of Management.

Bob Mahowald

Bob is the Forum Leader for the Executive Forum. He opens each of the three weeks of the forum with a case study on leadership. Bob enjoys learning about the participants’ organizations and talking through the tools presented during the forum. He is currently the Great Lakes Region Area President at Gallagher (formerly Mahowald) and was previously partner at Mahowald in St. Cloud, a fourth-generation family business. Bob received his undergraduate degree from West Point and served as an Infantry Officer with the US Army for seven years. He also received his MBA from the University of St. Thomas before joining Mahowald.

Brad Pieper

Brad serves as a Discussion Leader for the Marketing Forum and the Executive Forum. He values the learning and fun that comes from the case discussion format which draws out different perspectives from a group’s diverse set of experiences. Brad has had a variety of professional experiences having been a field artillery officer in the US Army, a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Microbiologics and most previously as Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Lexington Manufacturing, Inc. He was recently appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of American Peat Technology, LLC.  He graduated from the United States Military Academy and holds an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Brandon Bubak

Brandon Bubak has 20 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, Product Management, and Executive Leadership roles for companies that range from family owned to global conglomerate.  He has created market strategies to match customer need with organizational capability across widely varying B2B end-markets including automotive, utility, consumer, industrial, and healthcare.  Brandon is currently the Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at GEOTEK in Southeast Minnesota, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Michigan State University. Brandon is a Discussion Leader for the Management Forum and Leading Negotiations Forum. 

Brian Myres

Brian is a Discussion Leader for the Governance Forum, Executive Forum, and Strategy Forum. As Owner and Advisor at Dayta, Brian believes that out of the box thinking is integral to success in today’s challenging business world. Teaching real world problem solving and critical thinking are essential to navigating change and adapting to the challenges of today and in the future. Brian retired in 2014 from a 36-year banking career, most recently as Managing Vice President of Sales for Capital One. Additionally, he was President of Citizens Savings Bank and ReliaStar Bank prior to joining ING DIRECT/Capital One. Brian is currently chair of the board of the St Cloud Airport Authority and the JA Wedum Foundation and also serves on the Greater St Cloud Public Safety Foundation, Dayta, Greater St Cloud Development Corporation and the Central Minnesota Boy Scout Council boards. His past board experience includes: Citizens Savings Bank, ReliaStar Bank, ING National Trust, St. Cloud Downtown Council, Central MN United Way, and the SCSU – Herberger College of Business Advisory Board.

Bryan Burns

Bryan is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum and is a strong believer in participant-centered learning and the case method. When asked to elaborate, Bryan said, “My richest learning experiences have been via case studies. They combine the chance to tackle a real-world problem with the opportunity to see how a diverse group of professionals approaches the same challenge.” Bryan is currently the President/CEO for DeZURIK. Prior to DeZURIK, Bryan was employed by the Brunswick Corporation, where he was President of the Crestliner Division. Bryan is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and he earned his MBA from Duke University.

Cori Power

Cori Power is a facilitator for Anderson Center’s Inclusive Leadership Forum. With 14 years of experience in Human Resources, Cori’s passion is focused on training, career planning and leadership development. Cori is currently the Education Director for BDO Alliance USA and is responsible for leading strategy, design and delivery of broad-based learning and development programs to drive career paths and professional growth, and connect team members to the resources that will propel them forward. Cori earned a degree in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa and is a Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) certified professional and holds a Professional in Human Resources® certification from the HR Certification Institute®.

Dean Casad

Dean is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum and Management Forum. When asked about his interest in being a Discussion Leader, he shared, “I find meeting the participants, exploring their ideas, and learning about their organizations inspiring. I also like the challenge of guiding the participants to look at situations from fresh perspectives.” Dean is currently the Director of Customer Experience at Winnebago Industries in Eden Prairie. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of Product Marketing for GEOTEK in Stewartville and has a wealth of marketing management experiences from such companies as Toro, General Mills, and General Electric. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Earl Edeburn

Earl puts his experience in leadership and marketing to use as a Forum Leader for the Leading Change Forum and Management Forum, and as a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum, Leading Negotiations Forum, and Marketing Forum. When speaking of his role as a Discussion Leader, Earl shared, “Many participants come into the forums believing that their circumstances are unique. They leave with valuable connections with industry peers and others in their community.”  Earl has served in an executive leadership and partner role at BerganKDV, now with Creative Planning, for over 18 years. Prior to that, he was with Tarantella Software and Amdahl. He holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management.

Eric Nicholson

Eric is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum, the Management Forum, and the Leading Negotiations Forum. In Eric’s role as an investment banker, he works closely with owners and management teams and negotiations related to ownership and management succession planning. Eric is currently the Managing Director at Northborne Partners and an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. A graduate of Carleton College, he earned a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Greg Flint

Greg is the Forum Leader for the Strategy Forum, and he enjoys helping organizations align their efforts to a common objective with a clear strategy – and then identifying the activities necessary to execute on that strategy. He is currently the President/Chief Operating Officer at Coldspring. As a CPA, Greg’s background also includes finance, and he serves as a board member for a variety of non-profit and for-profit organizations. He holds an AMP degree from Harvard.

Greg Schumacher

Greg enjoys being a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum because he feels “the participants are experienced and motivated to learn, making it a rich experience for all involved.” Greg is a Partner with Granite Partners, and was formerly the Principal and founder of Schumacher Executive Search in Minneapolis. He received an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University.

Hudda Ibrahim

Hudda Ibrahim is a FranklinCovey-certified facilitator and an inclusion strategist and cultural change catalyst at Filsan Talent Partners. Hudda has extensive expertise in training, teaching, and curriculum development. Hudda graduated from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University majoring in conflict resolution and English literature. She went on to earn a Master’s in conflict resolution from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Now she is pursuing Doctor of Education and Leadership at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Joan Schatz

Joan is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum. She has over 25 years of leadership experience in businesses ranging from manufacturing to financial services to web-based software as a service. Currently, Joan is CEO of Park Industries, an award-winning manufacturer of capital equipment recognized for its innovation and community philanthropy. Joan is passionate about turning obstacles into opportunities, enabling individuals and teams to emerge from such experiences stronger, wiser, and more capable than ever before. In addition to her work at Park, she sits on the U.S. Bank Mid-Minnesota Advisory Board, the Board of Governors of Steffes LLC, the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation Board, the St. Cloud Technical & Community College Foundation Board, and the Board of the Central Minnesota Boy Scouts.

Joanne Kudrna

Joanne is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum, Management Forum, and Strategy Forum. As a Granite Partners Operating Partner, and in her prior role as Director of Strategy Services, Joanne has been exposed to organizations undergoing significant change. She enjoys working with groups who are refining their strategies, and she is particularly interested in giving people the tools to implement change well. Prior to her consulting work and her roles at Granite Partners, Joanne spent eight years working in the manufacturing industry, six of them with Honeywell, a large global technology and manufacturing leader. Joanne has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Jolene Nelson-Helm

Jolene puts her experience in “consultative facilitation” to use as a Discussion Leader for the Marketing Forum. Alternating between consulting and client side assignments, Jolene has worked with a variety of businesses across a number of industries. She is currently a principal with Astrion Partners, a business and brand strategy consulting group. Previously she was CMO for Bellisio Foods and has held a variety of assignments during her tenures with The Pillsbury Company and Best Buy. She holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management.

John Bryant

John Bryant is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors at GeoComm, Inc., based in St. Cloud, MN after serving as the CEO of GeoComm for 10 years. With over 40 years of experience in sales, product management, marketing, and general management, John has held various roles, from being an early hire at an Internet startup to managing large field organizations. John has held senior executive positions at companies including Lifetouch National School Studios, Wolters Kluwer, Bankers Systems, and Deluxe Corporation, focusing on driving change and profitable growth. His notable achievements include restructuring sales organizations, leading mergers and acquisitions, introducing new products and services, entering new markets, and managing business closures and workforce reductions.

John holds a BSS degree in Economics & Business and Philosophy from Cornell College and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota. He has been actively involved in community activities, including serving on the boards of the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce and Terebinth Refuge. John enjoys spending time with his family, sports, and outdoor activities like hiking and canoeing.

Josh Reitmeier

Josh is a Discussion Leader for the Operations Forum and facilitates a case on Lean Initiatives. He is currently the Director of Stone Operations at Coldspring. Josh began his career at Coldspring as an intern and has held positions in Production Management, Continuous Improvement, and Corporate Purchasing. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University in Operations Management.

June Roos

June is FranklinCovey®-certified and a facilitator for the Leadership Forum and the 7 Habits for Managers Forum as well as the Supervisors Forum. She is currently a consultant with Granite Partners. Prior to joining Granite, she served as Leadership Development Manager for a large corporation serving a family of companies. She holds many certifications focused on leadership and coaching, including The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, and she is an Achieve Global master trainer. June graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a degree in English and she earned a Master’s degree in Education from St. Cloud State University.

Kathy Spanier

Kathy serves as a Discussion Leader for the Marketing Forum, Executive Forum, and Management Forum. She enjoys meeting and interacting with the participants and discussing marketing concepts. Kathy was Marketing Director at Coldspring for over 14 years.  She is a strategic planning consultant for Advancing Organizational Excellence (AOE), a marketing services firm out of Michigan. Throughout her career, Kathy has served on several industry committees, boards, and initiatives and held leadership roles in many of them. Before joining Coldspring, Kathy was employed by Wolters Kluwer (aka Bankers Systems) and Webber Advertising. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. Cloud State University.

Kevin Ennis

Kevin Ennis is a FranklinCovey®-certified facilitator, was a full-time consultant for FranklinCovey for three years, and serves as a Discussion Leader for the Leadership Forum, 7 Habits for Managers Forum, Supervisors Forum, and Speed of Trust Forum. Today, Kevin is an independent HRD/OE Consultant with over 30 years of US-based and international experience as a leader and consultant. Throughout his career, Kevin has served in a variety of positions including the Director of Strategic Learning & Development at UnitedHealth Group, Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, and Director of People Development for Radisson Edwardian Hotels, London UK. Kevin is a retired US Navy officer with 20 years of service. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Political Science and History and went on to study International HR and Management at the University of St. Thomas.

Mardi Noyes

Mardi Noyes is a Discussion Leader for the Supervisors Forum. Currently the Vice President of Human Resources for Microbiologics, Mardi has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources. She shares HR knowledge with several St. Cloud-area boards and advisory groups, is a former adjunct instructor at St. Cloud State University, and is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois, and she is professionally certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and as a Society for Human Resources Management-Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Meg Hickey McGuire

Meg serves as a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum where she enjoys exploring strategy and strategic planning with participants. Meg has experience working with management teams on developing new strategies, facilitating strategic planning, and pursuing new investments or partnerships.  Meg is the Investment Director at Granite Partners, and she held roles in both private investing and strategy consulting prior to joining Granite. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she and earned her MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Melissa Kron

Melissa serves as a Discussion Leader for the Anderson Center’s Leading Change Forum. She enjoys being a Discussion Leader as it provides an opportunity for her to impact participants’ professional growth and development as well as her own. Melissa has a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota and over 10 years of experience in Human Resources. Today she is a business consultant as well as a family and marriage counselor. She was previously the Director of Human Resources at NativeX, where she partnered with business leaders to align human resources with the strategic goals of the organization.

Mike Ardito

Mike is Vice President and General Manager at Massman Companies.  Mike has broad experience in manufacturing of consumer, industrial and commercial products.  He has a passion for marrying systems, tools, and process with organizational structure and employee talent to generate exceptional results.  An engineer at heart, Mike loves using data-based models to help solve complex business problems.  He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. in Sustainable Business. Mike is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum.

Pam Bishop

Pam serves as a Discussion Leader for the 7 Habits for Mangers Forum and Leading Change Forum. Pam is currently a consultant with Creating Community Consulting, where she continues to live her passion in guiding business efforts and community collaborations to foster economic vitality. With over 30 years of economic development experience, Pam has assisted communities to elevate their entrepreneurial-led economic development strategies and built partnerships to grow capital investments. Pam has facilitated organization and community visioning efforts resulting in innovative thinking and new pathways to growth as demonstrated most recently as Vice President of Entrepreneurship at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Pam’s passion to guide conversations often result in creative processes, collaborative partnerships, and pioneering results. This same passion is a key reason she chose to serve as a Discussion Leader.

Pat Edeburn

Pat is a Discussion Leader for the Executive Forum. In prior Anderson Center forum roles he served as a Discussion Leader for the Governance Forum and a Forum Leader for the Succession Strategies Forum. Pat believes that the case method is one of the most powerful learning tools he’s ever experienced, saying, “It allows us to engage with real-world, practical solutions analogous to those we face in business every day.” As Granite Partners Operating Partner & Co-Founder, he serves on the boards of Microbiologics and AltimateMedical. His work at Granite Partners with many company leaders has given him insight into strategic planning, market development, mergers and acquisitions, and management succession. Prior to Granite Partners’ founding, Pat worked in several positions at Medtronic. Pat serves on the board and executive committee of the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation and on the Summertime by George board and has previously served on the United Way of Central Minnesota and Anderson Center boards. He earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and his BA at Carleton College.

Rick Bauerly

Rick led in developing the Governance Forum, and he serves as its Forum Leader. Rick’s experience with governance includes developing advisory boards and full boards of directors, from scratch to reorganization. He brings valuable experience to the forum, having served on multiple for-profit and non-profit boards over the past 20 years, including the boards of Granite Partners, DeZURIK, GeoComm, Massman Companies, Minnesota Chamber Foundation, CentraCare Health System, Initiative Foundation, and Anderson Center. Rick has been involved with boards during times of both calm and crisis.

Regarding his volunteer work with Anderson Center and the Governance Forum, Rick said, “Anderson Center, and its non-profit educational mission, is a passion of mine. The Governance Forum is an ongoing learning and sharing process which I enjoy a great deal. And, beyond enjoyment, the forum is useful to our work at Granite Partners as we look to improve boards and governance effectiveness following equity investments in companies where owners are retiring and there is high growth potential.”

Rick is a graduate of Saint John’s University, and he went on to earn an MBA  from Harvard Business School where he studied under Dr. Jay Lorsch, whose teaching and scholarship significantly shaped modern corporate governance over the past five decades. Rick also earned a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he focused on education and training policy and programs.

Shelly Bauerly Kopel

Shelly serves as a Discussion Leader for the Governance Forum and as a board member for Anderson Center. When asked about the role of Anderson Center, Shelly said, “I believe in human capital and that people can make all the difference. I am particularly interested in the role of leadership development and management education in shaping and growing organizations.” Shelly is a Partner with Granite Partners, where she leads several firm initiatives, especially those connected to team member empowerment. She brings significant board governance experience to this forum, including current and past service on the boards of Vector, Rotochopper, St. Cloud Technical and Community College Foundation, Women’s Fund, College of Saint Benedict, Central Minnesota Community Foundation, and more. Prior to joining Granite Partners, Shelly served as Managing Partner for Venture Allies, LLC, and Program Director in a leadership development program for educators at the University of Minnesota. Shelly holds a Masters in Education from Harvard, an MBA from the Carlson School of Management, and a PhD in Educational Administration from the University of Minnesota.

Steve Konop

Steve is the Forum Leader for the Operations Forum, and will be facilitating a case study on operations culture, and a discussion on supply chain. He is currently the Director of Quarries & Outlying Operations at Coldspring, responsible for the thirty quarries Coldspring operates in North America as well as the slabbing and fabrication operations in the regions outside of Minnesota. Steve has held prior positions with Coldspring in the areas of Continuous Improvement Memorial Operations, Purchasing and Logistics.  Prior to joining Coldspring, he was a Quality and Productivity Consultant for Brian P. Little and Associates. Steve holds degrees in Business Management from Mankato State University, and Industrial Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Steve Windfeldt

Steve is the Executive Vice President of Preferred Credit, Inc. and serves as a Discussion Leader for Strategy Development. Steve has a passion for leadership, culture, and strategy. He serves on several committees and boards in the local community, including the Boys and Girls Club and United Way of Central Minnesota. He graduated from Colgate University in New York and went on to earn his MBA with a focus on strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Thomas Hodgdon

Thomas is a Discussion Leader for the Data Analytics Foundations Forum. As Strategy and Analytics Director at Granite Partners, Thomas focuses on the integration of new platform and add-on acquisitions as well as developing strategic partnerships with Granite’s key suppliers and advisors. Prior to Granite, Thomas spent several years at McKinsey & Company, where he had the opportunity to lead teams leveraging data to solve problems, generate insights, make better decisions, and create value for many Fortune 500 clients. Early in his career, Thomas spent time at Target in a mix of Merchandising and Operations roles. Thomas currently serves on the board of All Flex Solutions. Thomas holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and BA in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Tim Nebosis

Tim is a Discussion Leader for the Operations Forum, where he facilitates a case on Quality Control and Process Flow. Tim is currently the Executive Vice President of Municipal for DeZURIK. Prior to joining DeZURIK, Tim was the President of a small contract manufacturing firm in Central Minnesota and spent 10 years in the appliance industry with Electrolux. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University and an MBA from St. Cloud State University.

Tracy Schulte

Tracy is a Discussion Leader for the Management Forum, where she enjoys working with the participants and sharing her experiences with systems improvements. Tracy is currently the Technology Director for Granite Partners. She has experience working with clients on business system improvement with a focus on sales force automation, marketing, and channel management. She holds an MBA from St. Cloud State University.