Leadership
Our Leadership
Toby Nord
Toby Nord is the Professional Director of Carlson Ventures Enterprise, a unique year-long program for full-time MBA students designed to teach entrepreneurial skill through experiential learning. He is also an MBA faculty member teaching Corporate Venturing, New Product Design and Business Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Design for Sustainable Development, START-UP, and Business Anthropology.
Prior to joining the University in 2006, Toby spent 20 years with various Minneapolis based companies including Best Buy, where he worked in Strategic Marketing, Business Development, Strategy and Innovation. Some of this work is highlighted in the Harvard Business Case Best Buy: An Innovator’s Journey. Toby also consults nationally, focusing on growth, innovation, business creativity and strategy. He received his MBA from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota and his BA from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Daniel Forbes
Daniel Forbes is an Associate Professor in the Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship department at the Carlson School. Since joining the Carlson School in 2000, Dan has taught courses on strategy and entrepreneurship to students in the MBA, undergraduate and executive education programs.
He also does research that sheds light on how people can build and manage organizations more effectively. He is especially interested in how people exchange knowledge and make decisions while creating new ventures. He has worked closely with several initiatives that help the U. of M. connect with businesses and communities throughout Minnesota, including the Food Industry Center and the Center for Integrative Leadership.
Prior to his academic career, Dan worked in banking and as a program manager for a non-profit organization. He holds a Ph.D. from New York University, and his undergraduate degree is from the University of Chicago.
Board of Directors
Gregg Forsberg (2004)
Vice President, Best Buy
Diana Flotten (2007)
Director, American Public Media Group
Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas (2010)
Corporate Strategy Consultant
Ryan Petz (2014)
Co-Founder & CEO, Fulton Beer
James Craig (2005)
Marketing Manager, Mettler-Toledo International
Adrienne Peirce (2008)
Product Manager, Leadpages
Thompson Aderinkomi (2011)
Co-Founder & CEO, Nice Healthcare
Tim O'Neil (2015)
Executive Director, Bunker Labs Minneapolis
Chris Goralski (2006)
Vice President, 3M
Alex Haley (2009)
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality & Healing
Mike Robinson (2014)
Field Marketing Manager, Boston Scientific
Elise Maxwell (2016
Founder, Ova Woman
Support Student Entrepreneurs
Carlson Ventures Enterprise (CVE) students are often planning on starting their own business after they complete their MBA. Our business model only allows us to support these student entrepreneurs when we have surplus capacity, but we'd like to offer more consistent and complete assistance. For that reason, we are appealing to our alumni and friends to help support one team per year for a student entrepreneur. The entrepreneur will be a member of CVE and will submit a short proposal on how they would utilize a team to help the launch of his or her business.
It's an excellent opportunity to show your support for the Ventures Enterprise and to build the entrepreneurial community at Carlson. Not only does a student entrepreneur get a boost, but the team members get the opportunity to work on the ground floor of a new business.
Ways to contribute
Submit a short proposal on how you’d utilize a team of student entrepreneurs to help you launch your business.
Contact Toby Nord, CVE's professional director, for more details:
Phone: 612-308-7033
Email: [email protected]