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There are decisions to be made and deals to be struck in the year to come. These Minneapolis/St. Paul business leaders will be among the big players, according to picks by the Business Journal’s editorial staff.
Expectations were high for the Minnesota Vikings following the team’s 13-win season in 2022. Instead, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will have to make some tough decisions in 2024.
Luck didn’t break the Vikings’ way this year: Quarterback Kirk Cousins and wide receiver Justin Jefferson lost multiple games to injuries, and now tight end T.J. Hockenson is out for remainder of the season. Through 16 games, the Vikings have seven wins and face long odds to make the playoffs.
Adofo-Mensah joined the Vikings as a first-time general manager in 2022 after serving as vice president of football operations for the Cleveland Browns. He now will have to decide whether to bring back Cousins, who is set to be a free agent this year after six seasons with the Vikings. Cousins is a 35-year-old NFL veteran who tore his Achilles tendon this year.
Jefferson will be another top priority for Adofo-Mensah. Jefferson and the Vikings discussed a contract extension during the 2023 NFL offseason but could not finalize a deal before the start of the regular season.
The standout receiver is in the fourth and final year of his base deal; the Vikings should be able to keep him on the team through 2025. However, if the two parties cannot agree to a contract extension soon, Jefferson could end up on a new team.
Are consumers ready to spend on electronics again? Almost, says Best Buy Co. Inc. CEO Corie Barry.
“After two years of declines, we believe the consumer electronics industry should see more stabilization next year, and possibly growth in the back half of the year,” Barry told analysts in a November conference call. “While our existing product categories have slightly different timing nuances, we believe they are poised for growth in the coming years.”
That’d be good news for Best Buy. The Richfield-based retailer enjoyed a surge of consumer demand during the pandemic as consumers spent heavily on home offices and entertainment systems. However, the rush didn’t last, and since mid-2022, consumers have shown little interest in upgrading.
Best Buy has adjusted by cutting expenses — it recently put a chunk of its headquarters up for lease — and shifting focus to other areas, like furniture and health technology. But clearly it wants those TV shoppers back.
Barry also said that Best Buy plans to step up store “refreshing” projects with an emphasis on new consumer habits — among other changes, the retailer has moved more items to the back rooms instead of on its shelves.
“We need less selling square footage and more fulfillment and inventory holding space,” Barry said.
Yia Vang is a Hmong-American chef who’s been making waves. He’s had a couple James Beard Award nominations; a standout appearance on “Iron Chef;” and years of media coverage from the likes of CNN, Bon Appetit and National Geographic.
After locking in a space in Minneapolis’ Lyn-Lake neighborhood at the end of 2022, he spent months cycling through various Hmong restaurant pop-ups. Union Hmong Kitchen, which started as a series of pop-ups itself, has since moved into that space, while the Slurp noodle shop moved into Graze food hall in Minneapolis’ trendy North Loop neighborhood.
All the while, Vang has been traveling the world for “Feral,” a TV show on Outdoor Channel where Vang hunts and cooks mostly invasive animal species from wild hog to silver carp.
Stepping into 2024, Vang will have to balance everything that’s already on his plate as he opens the long-awaited Vinai, a restaurant that aims to honor Hmong cuisine. The restaurant has been in the works for years and has been repeatedly plagued by financial challenges. Vinai is slated to open in the former Dangerous Man Brewing Co. space at 1300 NE Second St. in Northeast Minneapolis sometime in the spring.
YWCA Minneapolis is poised to make some major real estate moves in the near future.
Founded in 1891, the nonprofit announced in August that it was shutting down operations at two of its notable Minneapolis locations as part of a broader effort to focus priorities on higher-impact programming.
The nonprofit has since closed its fitness, gym and pool operations in the Uptown neighborhood, at 2808 S. Hennepin Ave., and downtown, at 1130 Nicollet Mall. It’s now focused on its early childhood education centers, racial justice programs, and making the Midtown location a community hub. It will be selling off the unused buildings.
Behind the nonprofit’s latest effort is its leader, President and CEO Shelley Carthen Watson, who has been leading the organization since 2021.
At the time of the announcement, Carthen Watson said the Covid pandemic had made it harder to run certain programs, such as the swim clubs.
YWCA also is searching for a new location in or near downtown Minneapolis to establish its Downtown Early Childhood Education Center. More information will be available on this search once the sale of the downtown building occurs, Kristen Spargo, a spokesperson for YWCA Minneapolis, said in an email.
John McCarthy, of Colliers, is marketing the two YWCA properties. A buyer has not been identified yet for either location, but each property has received multiple offers, Spargo said.
With Lisa Goodman’s retirement, the area of downtown that includes Minneapolis’ central business district will have a new City Council representative for the first time in 25 years.
Political newcomer Katie Cashman won the Ward 7 election in November over Scott Graham and Kenneth Foxworth.
One of Cashman’s tasks will be helping to revive a downtown struggling to fully recover from Covid-19. Office vacancy rates remain high, causing property values to fall; overall foot traffic downtown is among the worst of any big city in the country.
On her candidate website, Cashman lists revitalizing downtown and the Uptown neighborhood as one of her top priorities, writing, “Our commercial corridors are failing, and we are developing in Minneapolis without adequate input from residents. I will lead alongside Ward 7 residents and businesses to bring life back to Minneapolis, especially to Nicollet Mall and Hennepin Avenue.”
Public safety, affordable housing, investing in climate solutions, supporting workers and improving public transit are also listed as priorities for Cashman on her website.
Prior to being elected to the Minneapolis City Council, Cashman worked as a project manager for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, as well as at the United Nations for three years.
She studied geography, architecture and urban planning at McGill University, Columbia University and the Technical University of Berlin.
Adam Duininck recently took over as president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District following the retirement of Steve Cramer, who had served in the role since 2013.
Duininck joined the council at one of the most pivotal times for the organization, which is tasked with promoting the vibrancy of downtown Minneapolis. The area’s central business district, however, has struggled to return in full force since the Covid-19 pandemic and unrest following George Floyd’s murder.
Overall foot traffic downtown is the third-worst in the country, vacancy rates in office buildings are still high, office building property values are falling, and an outsized perception remains that downtown is riddled with crime. All of these are issues that Duininck will have to work with other stakeholders to overcome.
In an October interview with the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Duininck said enhancing public safety and combating the negative perceptions around it will be his top priority. To do that, he said he plans to partner with more organizations beyond the confines of downtown to further spread positive messages about downtown.
Some of those positives include ongoing decreases in reported crime and increases in metrics like transit ridership and event attendance.
When Eden Prairie-based Hempel Real Estate purchased LaSalle Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, it was a big deal.
The real estate firm acquired the then-lender-owned 30-story office building for just $46 million, significantly below its previous sale and the building’s taxable market value. And Hempel wasn’t done yet.
Later that month, Hempel acquired an 850-stall parking ramp at a neighboring property, intended to boost the availability of parking for its LaSalle Plaza tenants. That ramp is situated above another building owned by Hempel, 811 LaSalle.
Then, in October, Hempel purchased the Pence Building, an historic, 89,656-square-foot office building that had went up for auction over the summer. That property, which Hempel bought for $3.6 million, is located across the street from LaSalle Plaza.
Behind these acquisitions is Hempel CEO Josh Krsnak, who has indicated a desire for Hempel to be able to transform the immediate area surrounding LaSalle Plaza.
“When you can control enough real estate in one area, you can start changing the narrative for that area,” he previously told the Business Journal. “… We really want to do the best we can to add value to the city.”
Hempel is continuing to seek more buildings to acquire in the neighborhood, Krsnak has said.
As chair of the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents, Janie Mayeron will be spearheading several big moves in 2024 — starting with choosing the U’s next president.
The U of M has been running with an interim leader since last summer, when Joan Gabel left to become president of the University of Pittsburgh. Jeffrey Ettinger, former CEO of Hormel Foods Corp., has been filling in, but his role is expected to last only one year.
The school has contracted with executive search firm WittKieffer to help find a permanent replacement; a list of finalists is expected in February. In the meantime, regents are also discussing whether to adopt new conflict-of-interest rules for university presidents, after drawing criticism for allowing Gabel to serve on the board of directors for Securian Financial Group Inc., a company that did business with the U. (Gabel eventually resigned from the Securian board.)
The university is also talking with state officials and legislators about a $500 million funding request to repair old buildings across its several campuses. And it will have to hash out a new relationship with Fairview Health Services, which currently operates the school’s teaching hospital. The current deal doesn’t expire until 2026, however, so that could be a job for the new president.
Dan Stoltz and Dave Boden will take over as leaders of Blaze Credit Union, the new entity formed by the merger of Stoltz’s Falcon Heights-based Spire Credit Union and Boden’s St. Paul Hiway Credit Union.
The combined entity will have around $4 billion in assets, 26 branches, 620 employees and 249,000 members, making it Minnesota’s fourth-largest credit union.
Stoltz will serve as Blaze’s CEO and Boden as its president. The two said they have plans to expand under the new entity to neighboring states and hope to reach $10 billion in assets within the decade.
The time to merge aligned with an increasing amount of Minnesotan’s choosing to bank with credit unions with membership in Minnesota credit unions growing from 30% of the population to 35.5% over the past 10 years, according to the Minnesota Credit Union Network.
As leaders of Blaze, Boden and Stoltz will be battling uncertainty in the economy as inflation remains an issue and the chance of a recession looms, despite some experts predicting a soft landing.
However, with recent well-publicized bank failures driving some people away from banks, coupled with increasing membership at credit unions across the board, Stoltz and Boden should be well-positioned to carry out their expansion plans.
Melodie Rose is the first woman to lead Fredrikson & Byron in the firm’s 75-year history. She was appointed to the role in September, taking over for John Koneck, who served as firm president for the past 19 years.
Rose has been with the firm for 33 years, with past leadership experience on the firm’s board of directors, as chair of the firm’s business division and on the firm’s elected compensation committee. She also co-chairs Fredrikson’s public companies and corporate governance groups, according to the firm’s website.
Fredrikson is the Twin Cities’ largest law firm, with 305 attorneys and 105 partners. Rose is charged with overseeing all aspects of the firm, including future growth.
“I am honored to be selected by my colleagues to serve as president,” Rose said in a statement. “I look forward to building on the strong legacy of John Koneck. … I firmly believe that staying ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving legal landscape is key to delivering exceptional results to the firm’s diverse workforce and clientele.”
Summit Brewing Co. started in 1986, long before the craft beer boom of the past couple decades, and has since grown to be the largest brewery in the state and among the biggest in the country. Its founder, Mark Stutrud, has held fast throughout that time as the leader of the St. Paul-based company — but he’s passing the torch in 2024.
Brandon Bland, the company’s chief strategy officer, is taking the helm. The transition will take effect in the spring. Bland has been with Summit since 2017 and was named chief strategy officer in 2021. He’s held sales and leadership roles with companies like Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Red Bull.
He’s taking the lead during a tumultuous time for breweries and taprooms around the metro. Many have closed after Covid lockdowns barred people from gathering at such places, while rising costs and plateaued demand for craft beer could mean more challenges in the year to come.
Bryan Hanson is the new leader of 3M Co.’s health care unit and will become CEO of the $8 billion business when it splits off into a new, standalone company called Solventum. But what happens after that?
3M’s Health Care Business Group recorded more than $8 billion in sales last year, roughly a quarter of 3M’s total sales. It employs more than 20,000 people creating products like wound dressings and bandages, dental products, health information systems and medical device components.
The spinoff is expected to occur in the first half of 2024. It’s not yet known where the new company will be headquartered, though 3M — which describes the move as a “soft spin” — has said it will stay in Minnesota for at least a transitional period after the split.
A big chunk of 3M ‘s health business is already located in San Antonio, the former home of Acelity Inc., which 3M bought in 2019 for $6.7 billion — its biggest-ever acquisition deal. However, last year, 3M said the health care business is investing up to $468 million over the next three years to expand its health care manufacturing facility in Brookings, S.D., which means Solventum will have a big regional presence in the Upper Midwest, as well.
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