Class Notes: Fall 2023

1960s

Tom Teresi, ’64 BSB, started a new role as treasurer of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Twin Cities. Tom’s son Mike Teresi, ’80 BSB, and grandson Jeffrey Teresi, ’05 BSB, are also Carlson School graduates.

Tom Watson, ’68 BSB, is a long-serving city council member and former mayor of North Oaks, Minn.
 

1980s

Lisa Erickson, ’85 BSB, is now chief financial officer at Medica.

Gary Moheban, ’85 BSB, started a new role as senior implementation consultant-climate initiatives at Wells Fargo.

Gregg Prest, ’85 BSB, recently relocated to Morris, Minn. to become the CEO/CFO of Joe Riley Construction.

Rick Nelson, ’86 MBA, retired from the Star Tribune last year after a 24-year career as the newspaper’s restaurant critic and food writer. He is co-author of The Great Minnesota Cookie Book, a James Beard Award winner, and actively shares his foodie finds on social media.

Larry Morgan, ’87 MHRIR, received the Friend of the Profession award from the Minnesota Society of CPA  for his work in assisting members with human resources issues over the past 10 years. He was awarded the Lifetime Recognition Award from the Twin Cities Compensation Network earlier for his contributions to the compensation profession. Morgan has also served on the Carlson School’s HRIR Alumni Board.

Jeff Shelstad, ’87 BSB, was appointed as vice president and general manager of the higher education business unit at XanEdu.

Jamie Katz, ’88 BSB, ’92 MBT, started a new position as director of tax at Creative Planning.

Michael Zechmeister, ’89 MBA, chief financial officer of C.H. Robinson, was appointed to the Board of Directors at Hormel Foods. Zechmeister is a member of the Carlson School Board of Advisors.
 

1990s

Asif Rizvi, ’90 MBA, is the CEO and director of Lucky Motor Corporation Limited. He was recently selected as one of the Top 100 Performing CEOs in Pakistan.

Brett Reynolds, ’91 BSB, ’99 MBA, was appointed chief financial officer at EndoGastric Solutions Incorporated.

Joel Becker, ’94 MBA, was appointed as president & CEO of NeuroPace, Inc.

Sholom Blake, ’94 BSB, was appointed trustee at Blandin Foundation.

Reva Chamblis, ’94 BSB, was reappointed as a member of the Metropolitan Council. Chamblis is also the founder and president of Northwest Community Building, which aims to educate voters and increase civic engagement.

Laura Newinski, ’94 MBT, deputy chair and chief operating officer at KPMG, recently appeared on Golf Central on NBC Sports while at the Women’s PGA Championships at Baltusrol Golf Club. After playing in the ProAm that morning, she spoke with the commentator about KPMG’s performance analytics program and advances that it has facilitated recently for players in the LPGA, utilizing data analytics insights to improve their games. Newinski is a member of the Carlson School Board of Advisors.

Bill Gould, ’96 BSB, ’06 MBA, was appointed president and chief operating officer at Trustmark.

Michael Happe, ’96 MBA, president and CEO of Winnebago Industries, was named Executive of the Year by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Happe is a member of the Carlson School Board of Advisors.

Niki Montgomery, ’96 BSB, ’05 MBA, is now chief growth officer at The Butterfly Network, Inc.

Joy Lindsay, ’99 MBA, was named the University of Minnesota 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year. Lindsay, a co-founder of two of the country’s first women-founded venture capital firms, is being recognized for her outstanding contributions to entrepreneurship. The award was presented at the Founders Day event hosted by the Carlson School. Lindsay’s current role as a managing partner at Sofia Fund, a Minneapolis–based angel firm, showcases her ongoing commitment to supporting innovative ventures.
 

2000s

Rita Groneberg, ’00 BSB, started a new role as a realtor at RE/MAX Results.

Lenny Krol, ’00 BSB, started a new role as head of professional services, Americas for Check Point Software Technologies.

Dirk De Clerq, ’02 PhD, earned a Goodman School of Business Award for Excellence in Teaching from Brock University.

Kevin Gish, ’02 MBA, is the administrator of the Bemidji Veterans Home in Minnesota. Gish will lead the home, opening this fall, and team of over 160 employees to provide excellent care for veterans.

Zachary McGillis, ’02 BSB, ’09 MBA, started a new role as a business broker at Sunbelt Business Advisors of Minnesota.

Sue Sun-La Sovage, ’02 MHRIR, started a new role as chief human resources officer at Hyzon Motors.

Kevin Ballinger, ’03 MBA, was appointed to the board of directors at Shockwave.

Chad Roberg, ’03 BSB, started a new role as strategic planner of key accounts at Surest.

Sung (Jong) Lee, ’04 MBA, is now director of the program management office in research and development at Tennant Company.

Rachael McKinney, ’04 MBA/ MHA, is now president of greater Sacramento at Sutter Health.

Noel Nix, ’04 BSB, director of community initiatives at the City of Saint Paul, was selected as a 2023 Bush Fellow. Bush Fellowships support accomplished community leaders to take their leadership to the next level. Nix plans to address supporting public service workers with mental health resources.

Jason Campana, ’05 BSB, was appointed chief operating officer at Lifespeak, Inc.

Stacey Churchwell, ’05 MBA, started a new role as vice president and general manager of cardiovascular diagnostics and services at Medtronic.

Jed Gorlin, ’05 MBA, is now chief medical officer at America’s Blood Centers.

Scott Grawe, ’05 MBA, was appointed dean of the College of Business at Mississippi State University.

Myles Mjolsnes, ’05 BSB, ’19 MBA, started a new role as senior digital marketing manager at Ameriprise Financial Services.

Ryan Arnholt, ’06 MBA, started a new role as director of sales at TopRank Marketing.

Roy Bodayla, ’06 MBA, is now currency converter director at Amazon.

Jennifer Frisch, ’06 MHRIR, started a new role as chief people officer at Vuori.

Gaurav Gaur, ’06 MBA, joined the Board of Directors of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. Gaur is the CTO and co-founder of ProcessBolt.

Levi Kary, ’06 BSB, is now executive director at the Huron Regional Medical Center.

Kathryn Montbriand, ’06 BSB, founded two businesses: Montbriand Services, which offers fractional chief of staff support, and Lived and Loved, which helps people tap into their personal stories for both career and personal use.

Brad Pogalz, ’06 MBA, is now vice president of finance at Donaldson, a promotion from finance director.

Raj Purmessur, ’06 BSB, is now managing director and global head of alternative fund services product development at J.P. Morgan.

Katelyn Sandfort, ’06 BSB, was appointed to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ Judicial Advisory Committee.

Branden Chen, ’07 MBA, started a new role as chief financial officer at Sharp.

Kirsten Lindell, ’07 BSB, is now a digital business operations manager at Southern Glazer’s.

Nathan Smith, ’07 MHRIR, started a new role as manager of talent management at the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities.

Arianne Wotzka, ’07 BSB, started a new role as a senior project manager in the Digital Experience Design (DXD) group at the architectural firm Gensler.

Bruce Henderson, ’08 MHRIR, started a new role as vice president of HR global supply chain at Nike.

Maureen Arbogast, ’08 MBA, started a new role as director of data & analytics at Second Harvest Heartland.

J. Michael Edwards-Toepel, ’08 BSB, started a new role as an account executive at Emergent Software.

Frederik Eliason, ’08 MBA, is now director of strategic accounts at Neogen Corporation following their merger with 3M Food Safety in September.

Matthew Frauenshuh, ’08 MBA, CEO of Fourteen Foods, successfully acquired the Dairy Queen located in Lafayette, Tennessee. Fourteen Foods now owns and operates more than 240 Dairy Queen Grill & Chill restaurants in 13 states, employing more than 9,000 employees.

Adam Morgan, ’08 MBA, was appointed chairman of the board at Heron Therapeutics.

Dr. Janine Sanders Jones, ’08 PhD, was appointed associate dean for faculty scholarship, teaching, and service excellence at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.

Anna (Kinard) Picchetti, ’09 MBA, was recently announced as the new vice president of marketing & strategy for Uponor North America. She is also a member of the company’s senior management committee. 

Amaza Reitmeier, ’09 MBA, is now vice president and general manager of brain modulation at Medtronic.

Andrew Rose, ’09 MBA, is now an information technology supervisor at Hennepin County, a promotion from senior project manager.

Toni (Toborg) Tornell, ’09 BSB, is now vice president of corporate finance & controller at United Language Group, a promotion from controller.
  

2010s

Yashodhan Dhore, ’10 MBA, started a new role as business and innovations director at Kaiser Permanente.

Matthew Hanzlik, ’10 BSB, started a new role as director, global people strategy and HR chief of staff at Converse, which is owned by Nike.

John Rozanski, ’10 BSB, started a new role as chief growth officer at Mission Driven Meat and Seafood.

Jill Haspert, ’11 MBA, CEO of Foxtrot Media Group, purchased the company from investors Mille Lacs Corp Ventures in March 2023. Foxtrot Media is a provider of online company stores and branded merchandise.

Amina Kanwar, ’11 BSB, is now the accounting manager at Northern Tool + Equipment.

Jesse Ng, ’11 BSB, started a new role as an actuarial consultant with Optum.

Jenny Wade, ’11 MBA, started a new role as senior vice president of investment banking at HJ Sims.

Erik Carlsen, ’12 MBA, started a new role as senior vice president of sales at Meriplex.

Noah Gilbertson, ’12 BSB, started a new role as head of solution strategy, payers at Qualtrics.

Jennifer Hawkins, ’12 MBA, was appointed vice president of strategic initiatives at Minnesota State College Southeast and executive director at Minnesota State College Southeast Foundation.

David Ly, ’12 BSB, ’21 MBA, started a new role as business initiatives senior manager at ReFED.

Michael Orlando, ’12 BSB, started a new role as chief strategy officer at American Health Network, Optum.

Christina Sanfelippo, ’12 BSB, was recently elected chair of the Chicago Network of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and U.S. programs committee co-director of the IWIRC international board. Sanfelippo an associate in Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Practice.

Jennifer Sargent, ’12 MBA, was appointed to the board of directors at Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies.

Chris Van Schooneveld, ’12 BSB, was appointed director at Eisner Advisory Group LLC.

Qurat-UI-Aen Tariq, ’12 MBA, started a new role as a senior associate at BDO.

Samuel Kemp, ’13 BSB, started a new role as a startup mentor at Minnesota Emerging Software Advisory.

Joshua Sletten, ’13 BSB, is now vice president of corporate development and strategy at Lakeland Industries.

Erik Greene, ’14 MBA, started a new role as co-founder at G-Works, an internal venture studio within General Mills, where teams work as start-ups to identify new market opportunities.

Jacquelyn Grimes, ’14 BSB, is now the principal product manager at Donaldson.

Thomas Seeba, ’14 BSB, started a new role as director of strategy at Capital One.

Erin Dady, ’15 MBA, chief marketing officer at Bremer Bank, was appointed to the board of directors at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

Whitney Heber, ’15 MBA, started a new role as senior marketing manager at Schwan’s Company.

Keith Lawrence, ’15 MBA, started a new role as tax lead at Under Armour.

Justin Schlitz, ’15 BSB, started a new role as general manager at Otter.

Gurvinder Singh Kahlon, ’15 MBA, was appointed vice president and general manager at Stratasys.

Meghan Stiling, ’15 MBA, was honored as a 2023 Notable Woman in STEM by Twin Cities Business and recognized with a 2023 Women in Business award from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Stiling has been a leader on technology solutions and strategy at multiple companies in the Twin Cities, where her expertise has made a significant impact on the technology industry and business community.

Logan Falck, ’16 BSB, is now finance manager at Pentair.

Emily Hennig, ’16 MBA, started a new role as a product owner at AiRCare Health.

Shelby Banks, ’17 BSB, started a new role as brand manager for EGO POWER at Chevron North America Inc.

Zach Brauer, ’17 BSB, was appointed finance partner in the life science division at Google Ventures.

Marcel Chinen, ’17 MBA, started a new role as a senior product manager at Blue Diamond Growers.

Juhyun Kwon, ’17 BSB, is now senior manager of commercial model development at Albertsons Media Collective.

Kristen Resman, ’17 BSB, started a new role as a product manager at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Matthew Burandt, ’18 BSB, ’23 MSF, started a new role as an investment research quantitative analyst at Ameriprise Financial.

Hanna Okhrimchuk, ’18 BSB, is now the project manager at Dragons Lake.

Billie Pritzker, ’18 MBA, started a new role as senior manager of owned brand innovation engine at Target.

Harpeet Sandhawalia, ’18 MBA, is now vice president of digital products at the Star Tribune.

Katherine Spicuzza, ’18 BSB, started a new role as an internal audit manager at UnitedHealth Group.

Holly Williams, ’18 BSB, started a new role as a functional engineer at Kimberly-Clark.

Tricia Wright, ’18 MBA, started a new role as the executive director of Onward Eden Prairie.

Steven Kibaya, ’19 MBA, started a new role as vice president of integrated risk management at Wings Financial Credit Union.

Alex Lumsden, ’19 BSB, started a new position as a master scheduler at GE HealthCare.

Dana Steinman, ’19 MSBA, started a new role as a data advisor at Cargill.
 

2020s

Kyle Burkhardt, ’20 MBA, started a new role as senior vice president of strategy of the Dallas Mavericks. Burkhardt also recently won a Tony award as a co-producer of the show Parade.

Aanik Lohani, ’20 BSB, is an exceptional talent in the world of pickleball. This past spring, he finished 7th at the Professional Pickleball Association Indoor National Championships and is ranked in the top 50 nationally. Lohani credits his ability to balance his professional and personal pursuits to the education and experience he gained during his time at the Carlson School. He maintains a full-time job as a data engineer for U.S. Bank while pursuing his passion for pickleball, and his rise in the pro scene is demonstrated in his talent and hard work.

Taylor Fay, ’21 MBA, was appointed as chief operating officer at FOXO technologies.

Han Zhou, ’21 MBA, is now a business development advisor at Cargill.

Jeremy Geenen, ’21 MSSCM, and business partners, launched a board game company in 2020. His game, The Stifling Dark, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter, is currently in the manufacturing and supply chain planning phase, thanks to Geenen’s Carlson School degree. The Stifling Dark is a one-vs- many horror board game where an adversary takes on investigators to prevent them from escaping. The game is expected to be released in early 2024.

Jason Bateman, ’22 MBA, was named among the Poets & Quants 2023 Best & Brightest  Online MBA honorees.

Kristin Greyson, ’22 MBA, started a new role as senior vice president of digital at Magnifi Financial.

Stefan Michno, ’22 MBA, was appointed director of development at Kraus-Anderson Realty and Development Company.

Haley Nordstrom, ’22 BSB, started a new role in the rotational assignment program at Medline Industries.

Corey (Ramsden) Scott, ’23 MBA, started a new position as vice president of sales and marketing at Athian.

In Memoriam

William Alan “Bill” Hodder, founding member of the Carlson School’s Board of Overseers and respected Twin Cities business leader, died in July 2023. He chaired the board for six years, and helped to strengthen the ties between the school and the regional business community. “What a giant of a man and a gem he was!” noted Sri Zaheer, professor and former dean. For his commitment and service to the Carlson School and the University of Minnesota, in 1996 he was awarded the Regents Award, one of the highest honors the University bestows.

1950s

Robert Wolter, ’50 BSB, died in November 2022.

1960s

Lawrence Michelini, ’64 BSB, died in August 2022.

Duane Steuart, ’66 BSB, died in June 2023.

Dale Jaffrey, ’67 BSB, died in February 2023.

Thomas Bracher, ’69 BSB, died in February 2023.

1970s

Dr. Clyde Neu, ’73, died in April 2023.

1980s

Scott Duncanson, ’81 BSB, died in February 2023.

Roger Baertsch, ’83 BSB, died in May 2023.

Robert Fors, ’84 BSB, died in February 2023.

Choonja Lee, ’87 MBA, died in February 2023.

1990s

Michael Fitchett, ’90 BSB, died in December 2022.

2010s

Sherry (Peschel) Poss, ’10 MBA, died in May 2023.

Michael Mensinga, ’16 MBA, died in April 2023.

Michael Suyak, ’17 MSSCM, died in April 2023.

2020s

Yonghua (Owen) Chen, ’21 MBA, died in June 2023. Just on campus in May 2023 for a pandemic-delayed China Executive MBA (CHEMBA) residential session, he was noted as a sincere and warm classmate and friend with an optimistic outlook and passion for life. A loving family man, he leaves behind a wife and son, and will be missed by his CHEMBA and Carlson School alumni community.