Board of Directors
Officers
Chairman and CEO
Charles E. Spevacek
Meagher & Geer, P.L.L.P.
Charles E. Spevacek has over 25 years of experience litigating complex commercial disputes, much of it in the trial and appeal of insurance coverage disputes. A partner at Meagher & Geer, he currently serves on the firm's management committee. Chuck has been involved with several noteworthy cases that have produced landmark verdicts. Chuck is widely recognized, having been named a "Top 100 Super Lawyer" and a "Top 10 Appellate Law Super Lawyer." He was named by Minnesota Lawyer as one of its 15 "Attorneys of the Year" for 2006. Chuck has served on the board of directors of the Purdue Alumni Association.
President
Mitchell B. Pearlstein
Mitchell B. Pearlstein, Ph.D. is president of Center of the American Experiment, which he founded in 1990. Before his 1990 return to the Twin Cities, Dr. Pearlstein served for two years in the U.S. Department of Education, during the Reagan and (first) Bush administrations, where he held three positions, including Director of Outreach for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Just prior to his federal service in Washington, Dr. Pearlstein spent four years as an editorial writer and columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where he focused on foreign and national affairs. He also has been special assistant for policy and communications to Gov. Albert H. Quie of Minnesota; a research fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota; assistant to University of Minnesota President C. Peter Magrath (pronounced Ma-grah); director of public information at Binghamton University; a reporter for The Sun-Bulletin, again in Binghamton; and a columnist for CityBusiness and Twin Cities Business Monthly.
Vice Chairman
John F. Gibbs
Comcast
John F. Gibbs has more than 20 years of legal and telecommunications experience. He is currently vice president of state government and regulatory affairs for Comcast Corporation, in which role he oversees state-level government affairs activities across Comcast's 39 state service area. Over the past several years, he provided counsel to the franchise transfer activities associated with Comcast's acquisition of AT&T Broadband and other major industry transactions, including the mergers of AT&T and MediaOne, AT&T and TCI, and AOL and Time Warner. John is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and of William Mitchell College of Law.
Secretary and Treasurer
Mark S. Larson
Messerli & Kramer
Mark S. Larson is a shareholder with Messerli & Kramer P.A., where he chairs the firm's general business and banking department. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the Hennepin County Bar Association, and the Business Law, Tax, and Health Law Sections of the Minnesota State Bar Association. Mark has a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Minnesota.
Board Members
Edward C. Anderson
National Arbitration Forum
Edward C. Anderson is widely published in the areas of litigation, litigation reform, and alternative dispute resolution. He is the managing director and chief executive officer of the National Arbitration Forum, a nationally acclaimed alternative dispute resolution organization. Before joining the Forum, Edward taught and practiced law in Minneapolis and Washington DC. His community involvement has included service on the boards of the Minnesota Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Federalist Society. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.
Mitchell Davis
Davisco Foods
Ronald E. Eibensteiner
Wyncrest Capital
Harrison T. Grodnick
Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group
Harrison T. Grodnick established Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group, LLC, in 2004. Prior to that, he served as senior portfolio manager for the Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group at Wachovia Securities and as an assistant account manager in the institutional trust department of Firstar Bank of Minnesota. Harrison holds a bachelor's degree in international relations/global economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin.
John Hedberg
John W. Hedberg is a retired business executive. He serves on the board of directors of the Hedberg Family Foundation. Previously he served as CEO of Hedberg & Sons Co., a building materials and real estate development company. John holds a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Minnesota.
Lowell Hellervik
Personnel Decisions International
Lowell W. Hellervik is chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of Personnel Decisions International. He is an expert in helping executives clarify and achieve objectives for organizational change. Under his direction, Personnel Decisions International has grown from a small, local consulting firm to a premier, international consulting firm with 27 operating offices around the world. Lowell completed his doctorate at the University of Minnesota, where he is currently on the adjunct staff as a clinical associate professor.
Robin Norgaard Kelleher
Seaton, Beck & Peters, P.A.
Robin N. Kelleher is an attorney with the firm of Seaton, Beck & Peters and practices exclusively in the areas of labor and employment law. She first joined the firm in 1996, and after serving for a time as the deputy commissioner and acting commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, she recently returned to the firm. Previously, Robin taught music at the elementary school level, and she worked as a realtor and residential real estate developer. She is active in fundraising for the American Cancer Society and for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She is a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law.
Tom Kelly
Dorsey & Whitney
Keith Kostuch
Keith Kostuch is an independent consultant. Previously he was Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning at Alltel Corporation and a partner in the Chicago and Amsterdam offices of The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. Mr. Kostuch is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Harvard Business School.
Jack J. Lanners
F.T.L. Corporation
Jack Lanners is chairman of the Metropolitan Airports Commission. He is president and chief executive officer of F.T.L. Corporation, which owns MGM Liquor Warehouse stores; president of R.P. Royalties, Inc.; and officer/partner with LannCo LLC, which specializes in commercial real estate development. Jack serves on the boards of directors of the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association. He attended Marquette University.
Rick D. Leggott
Arbor Capital Management
Eduard Michel
Co-founder, Virtual Radiologic
Richard G. Morgan
Bowman & Brooke, LLP
Kenneth W. Morris
The Apercu Group
Ken Morris is an author and speaker on topics related to leadership development, human resources, business development, diversity, and emerging market opportunities. He is currently the vice president of diversity and inclusion at Boston Scientific. Ken is a graduate of the Hamline University School of Law.
Scott C. Rile
Bernstein Global Wealth Management
Scott C. Rile is a principal at Bernstein Global Wealth Management. Previously, Scott worked in account management at Comdisco, Inc., and in marketing at Eastman Kodak. He has a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Wisconsin and a master's in finance from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
Tom Rosen
Rosen's Diversified, Inc.
Thomas J. Rosen is the president and CEO of Rosen’s Diversified, Inc., which operates principally in food and agricultural industries. Tom is on the executive committees of the Minnesota Business Partnership, the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. He is also on the leadership circle for the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and is a member of the Fairmont Rotary. He was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame July 2006. Tom holds a degree in business administration from Morningside College.
Ronald J. Schutz
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.
Ronald J. Schutz is chairman of the Intellectual Property Litigation Group at the national law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P and a member of the firm's Executive Board. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has received many other rewards and recognitions for his legal skills including being named as one of 15 Attorneys of the Year in 2004 by Minnesota Lawyer and being included in the Best Lawyers in America (Eleventh Edition to the present). Mr. Schutz is very active in civic affairs. He served as President of the University of Minnesota Law Alumni Association and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Metropolitan Minneapolis and the Alumni Advisory Board of the University of Minnesota Law Review. Mr. Schutz also serves as an at-large member of the Governor's Judicial Selection Commission. Mr. Schutz received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University, which he attended on a fully paid ROTC Scholarship, and his law degree from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Schutz served four years on active duty in the United States Army JAG Corps.
Bruce Taher
Taher, Inc.
