Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship Alumni
Leading While The World Waits
Five savvy alumni are building business models and products that can help their businesses—and their customers—thrive, even during a global pandemic.
University of Minnesota – Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award
| Year | Recipient(s) & Organization |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Gary Holmes – CSM Corporation |
| 2007 | Robert Stephens – Geek Squad |
| 2008 | Tim & Valerie Doherty – Doherty Employment |
| 2009 | Joel Ronning – Digital River |
| 2010 | Steve Flagg – Quality Bicycle Products |
| 2011 | Monica Nassif – Caldrea |
| 2012 | Bob Coughlin – Cross Telecom |
| 2013 | Greg Frankenfield – Magenic |
| 2014 | Steve Eilertson – Grain Millers |
| 2015 | Joel Schleicher – Presidio |
| 2016 | Nazie Eftekhari – HealthEZ |
| 2017 | Marcia Page – Varde Partners |
| 2018 | David Meyer – Titan Machinery |
| 2019 | Larry & Caryl Abdo – Abdo Market House |
| 2020‑21 | Lee Jones – Rebiotix & Inlet Medical |
| 2022 | David Kristal – Augeo |
| 2023 | Joy Lindsay – StarTec Investments |
| 2024 | Michael Ramlet – Morning Consult |
| 2025 | Charlie Youakim – Sezzle |
University of Minnesota – Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award
| Year | Recipient(s) & Venture |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Luke Burns – Entre Club & Endle |
| 2015 | Tyler Ebert – Adrenacard |
| 2016 | Elise Maxwell – OvaWoman |
| 2017 | Jamie Glover – Asiya |
| 2018 | Kate Kuehl – Mobineo |
| 2019 | Peter Schultze – Plyo |
| 2020 | Erik Muckey – Lost & Found |
| 2021 | Morgan Kerfeld – ShaqoSearch & Telo |
| 2022 | Anna Pedrick (Lovelace), Annagrace Vargo (Grapefruit Apparel) & Kelli McCarthy (Theodora) |
| 2023 | Efraín Torres – Adialante |
| 2024 | Aditya Prabhu – Alure |
| 2025 | Gurasis Singh – Echo Learn |
University of Minnesota – Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year Award
| Year | Recipient(s) & School/College |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Steve Spruth – Carlson School of Management |
| 2015 | Barry Kudrowitz – School of Design |
| 2016 | Jaio Luo – Carlson School of Management |
| 2017 | Art Erdman & Will Durfee – College of Science & Engineering |
| 2018 | Carla Pavone – Carlson School of Management |
| 2019 | Fred Rose – Acara |
| 2021 | Terri Barreiro – Carlson School & Humphrey School |
| 2022 | Anne Cohen – Carlson School of Management |
| 2023 | Toby Nord – Carlson School of Management |
| 2024 | Jeffrey Stamp – College of Food, Agriculture & Natural Sciences |
| 2025 | Carlye Lauff – College of Design |