Board of Advisors

The Board of Advisors works closely with Minnesota Carlson’s leadership to ensure a highly engaged relationship with local and national businesses and provides valued assistance in seeking both monetary and non-monetary support from individuals and the corporate community.

* Indicates Minnesota Carlson Alumni

+Other U of M degree

# Executive Committee Member 

Current as of July 2026

Mike Zechmeister

Mike Zechmeister*# | Board Chair

Former Chief Financial Officer

C.H. Robinson

Alexander Whit

Whit Alexander*

Chief Customer Officer

Tailored Brands

Professional headshot of Ryan Aytay

Ryan Aytay

President & CEO

Tableau

Heather Anfang

Heather Anfang*

Senior Vice President - U.S. Dairy Foods

Land O'Lakes Inc.

Thumbnail

Mary Pat Blake*#

Founder & President

Blake Strategic Consulting

Smriti Canakapalli, enterprise strategy and transformation leader, Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health

Smriti Canakapalli

Head of Strategy and Transformation

Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health

Bob Duffy smiling for a professional headshot photo

Robert L. Duffy*#

Partner Emeritus

A. T. Kearney, Inc.

Nicole Graves

Nicole Graves*

Global People Leader, Office of the CFO

Apple

Headshot of Ben Irby

Ben Irby*

President, Snacks

General Mills

Thumbnail

Eric Jing*

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

ANT Group

Headshot of Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson+

CEO and Co-Owner

Johnson Brothers

Headshot of Sherri Johnson

Sherri Johnson*

Ex-officio Member, Alumni Board President, and Senior Director, Strategic Client Partnerships

Ovative Group

Chris Koch

Chris Koch*

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Carlisle Companies Inc.

Suresh Krishna

Suresh Krishna

Chief Executive Officer and President

Protolabs

Tim LaLonde

Tim LaLonde*

CFO and Senior Managing Director

Evercore

Headshot of Beth Kieffer Leonard CPA, CGMA, managing partner of Lurie, LLP

Beth Kieffer Leonard*#

CPA, Partner in Charge – Minnesota

EisnerAmper Advisory Group LLC

Headshot of Kathryn V. Marinello Chief Executive Officer of PODS

Kathryn Marinello

President & CEO

PODS

Headshot of Celeste Mastin

Celeste Mastin

President and Chief Executive Officer

H.B. Fuller

Catherine Mathis

Catherine Mathis*#

Former Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

McGraw Hill

Taylor Moore

Taylor Moore

Partner

Carlson Capitol

Thumbnail

Bennett Morgan*

Former President & Chief Operating Officer

Polaris Industries Inc.

Wendy Nelson

Wendy Nelson

CEO & President

Nelson United, LLC

Laura Newinski

Laura M. Newinski*

Deputy Chair and Chief Operating Officer

KPMG in the U.S.

Thumbnail

Judd Nystrom*

Chief Financial Officer

Caliber Collision

Thumbnail

Rick Olson*

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer

The Toro Company

Headshot of Linh Peters

Linh Peters*

Chief Marketing Officer

SEEN Haircare

Trevor Putrah

Trevor Putrah*

CEO

KGPCo & Circet USA

Nii Quaye smiling in a professional headshot photo.

Nii Quaye*#

Principal

Vermilion Group

Pete Rainey

Peter Rainey*

Chief Financial Officer

UnitedHealthcare

Thumbnail

Peter Rottier*

Managing Director

Summit Partners

Craig Schmidt

Craig Schmidt*

Head of Enterprise & Oversight

Wells Fargo

Dave Seidel

Dave Seidel*

Senior Vice President of Affinity Solutions – U.S.

Securian Financial

Christy Sovereign

Christy Sovereign*

Senior Managing Director

Accenture

Headshot of John Stern

John Stern*

Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer

U.S. Bank

Jim Weber smiling in a professional headshot photo

Jim Weber*

Former Chairman CEO

Brooks Running Company

Renae Welder

Renae Welder*

Tax Principal

Deloitte