2019 Speakers

Philip Kaufman is Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare of Minnesota, North
Dakota and South Dakota. From its headquarters in Minnetonka, UnitedHealthcare
provides people and employers with health care coverage choices that deliver better
access, better health and better support. Over the last 15 years, Philip has held several
leadership positions within UnitedHealth Group, including President of UnitedHealthcare
Specialty Benefits and Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare Vision.
Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, Philip worked in mergers and acquisitions for the
Rothschild Group and Deutsche Bank AG.
Philip holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master
of Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth, and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from
Harvard University. Philip sits on the Board of Directors for the Minneapolis St. Paul
Economic Development Partnership, as well as the Board of Directors for the Minnesota
Chamber of Commerce.

Bill Chapman, partner with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, has been with the firm since 2007 and leads Baker Tilly’s transaction advisory services team for the central region. Bill has led numerous due diligence engagements for buyers, sellers and lenders focused on quality of earnings, tax compliance and structure, information technology, human resources and operational issues. Bill has provided due diligence services to clients operating in a broad range of industries including, but not limited to, software development, logistics, metal fabrication, heavy equipment manufacturing, chemical rubber and plastic fabrication, healthcare services, food and beverage, consumer products, government contractors, electronic components, SaaS and life sciences.

Jack Helms began his career as a lawyer and member of Fredrikson & Byron from 1978 to 1986, focusing in partnerships, tax, syndications and mergers and acquisitions. In 1987, he joined a boutique, sell-side M&A advisory firm; Helms served as President, Managing Partner and CEO of Goldsmith Agio Helms (GAH) from 1991 into 2007. GAH was acquired by Lazard in 2007 and renamed Lazard Middle Market (LMM). Helms served as Chairman of LMM until early 2012, when he transitioned to the role of Senior Advisor. Subsequently, Helms joined several former LMM colleagues and formed Pathfinder Companies, LLC, a private merchant bank, investing in control and non-control positions in private companies. Helms is a former member of the National Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Board of Directors and served as Chair of ACG Intergrowth 2011. Investment Dealers’ Digest (IDD) named Helms its “2007 Middle-Market Banker of the Year.”

Brian Holcomb has specialized in M&A transactions since 1981. During his career, he has been active in valuing, structuring and negotiating transactions for numerous entrepreneurs, private and public companies and private equity groups. Brian joined BMO Capital Markets in 2016 through its acquisition of Greene Holcomb Fisher which he co-founded in 1995. Earlier in his career, he was a managing director at Goldsmith Agio Helms (now Lazard Middle Market) and a managing director for Piper Jaffray, where he co-directed M&A activities. Brian is a past president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and a former member of Young President’s Organization (YPO). Brian is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management (MBA).

Sean Kearney has served as lead counsel on hundreds of merger and acquisition transactions in a wide variety of industries. His practice primarily focuses on representing private equity funds, sellers, and strategic buyers on M&A transactions. He currently serves as co-chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group and Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Sean is consistently recognized as a top M&A lawyer in Minnesota by Super Lawyers, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Best Lawyers in America.

Charlie Lannin has over 30 years of experience in private equity investing, structuring and transaction execution in the upper Midwest. Since forming Stone Arch Capital in 2003, Charlie has overseen and participated in all firm activities. Prior to Stone Arch Capital, he served as a general partner at Norwest Equity Partners, formed his own Merger and Acquisition boutique, Greene Holcomb & Lannin, co-directed the Merger & Acquisition department at Piper Jaffray, Inc., and served as a corporate acquisitions attorney for The Quaker Oats Company. Charlie is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A.), the University of Minnesota Graduate School Of Law (J.D.), and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (M.B.A.).

Mike McHugh is a Founder and Managing Partner of GMB Mezzanine Capital, which has closed four separate mezzanine funds totaling nearly $1 billion in capital and investments. All four funds are SBIC mezzanine funds that invest $5 to $25 million in middle-market private companies throughout the U.S. in the form of subordinated debt or minority equity. GMB Mezzanine has closed over 100 transactions to date. Prior to GMB Mezzanine, Mike worked at Churchill Capital, Inc., as a Managing Principal leading their mezzanine fund business while working on four separate mezzanine funds. Mike started his career as a commercial banker working 12 years for US Bank and Wells Fargo. Mike did his Bachelor and MBA work at the University of Nebraska. (No, the “N” on the helmets does not stand for knowledge).

Julie Owen is Chief Operating Officer for Innovative Office Solutions, a progressive, women-owned provider of office productivity solutions. Through a full portfolio including office products, furniture & design services, facility & breakroom supplies, print & graphic design, promotional products and technology solutions, Innovative is more than just a name…it’s the culture. Since 2001, Innovative has delivered consistent double-digit growth making it the largest independent provider of office and school supplies in Minnesota.
Previously, Julie was the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience Transformation at Best Buy, a Fortune 100 company, responsible for cross-functional leadership to dramatically improve customer experience for stores, online and mobile. During her 19 year career with Best Buy she held leadership roles in Strategic Planning, Global Merchandising, Digital Strategy and Operations, Entertainment, Consumer Relations, Marketing & Advertising. Julie led multiple company transformational initiatives in the areas of advertising effectiveness, enterprise shared services for acquisitions, expense efficiency, customer centricity and operating model effectiveness.
She resides in Minnetonka with her partner Diane and enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors and being active with philanthropy and political organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Dunwoody College of Technology, the Insports Foundation and the Carlson School of Management Consulting Enterprise. She has previous served as the Board Chair for the YWCA of Minneapolis and for Cornerstone Advocacy Service.

As Managing Director and Market Leader for the Minneapolis office, Scott is
responsible for client relationship development and staff mentoring/coaching in
the Twin Cities. Scott has over 25 years of experience as a valued advisor to C-level
executives and corporate Boards on matters of accounting, finance,
strategic planning, process improvement and transactions. His clients have been
both public and private companies across a variety of industries including
manufacturing, distribution, construction, real estate, technology and life
sciences. Scott also has industry experience as a Chief Financial Officer.
Scott is active in the community as a volunteer coach for the East Ridge Athletic
Association. He is a native of Iowa and has spent his professional career serving
the Twin Cities and Chicago marketplaces.

Struan Robertson is Vice President of Human Resources, Integration and Transformation at Bio-Techne. Bio-Techne, a 40 years old Biotech has made 15 acquisitions in the past 5 years. With revenues of $700mm, 2100 employees worldwide and 500,000 products, Struan’s role is to navigate the complexity and diversity that come with massive geographic and market expansion and ensure that Bio-Techne operates and feels as one organization.
Struan was born in New Zealand, studied in Australia, founded 2 performance coaching businesses in the United Kingdom and for better or worse is now based in Minneapolis. He spent much of his career studying the impact of change on individuals and has authored 2 books ‘BE-a-TEN at Change’ and ‘Lower your life handicap’.
Prior to moving to the US to take up his current role, Struan earned a living speaking to audiences across the world about strategies for easily dealing with change personally and navigating change from an organizational perspective.
Struan has 2 children Poppy 14 and Woody 12, he is light hearted, he loves motor racing and has enjoyed a love affair with riding motorcycles since he was 15, that’s more than 40 years. Where did the time go!

Mr. Schramm is the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for Waitr Holdings Inc., (Nasdaq: WTRH), a publicly trade technology company that operates an online, mobile and app-based food ordering and delivery platform that facilitates the ordering and delivery of food from restaurants.  Waitr has over 20,000 employees and operates in over 300 cities across 27 states.  Mr. Schramm oversees the Legal and Human Resources departments, and provides strategic and legal advice to the executives and Board of Directors in the areas of corporate governance, finance, securities, mergers & acquisitions, and complex transactions.  Mr. Schramm is also a key team member in the integration of the employees and operations that were acquired as a result of Waitr’s merger with BiteSquad.  Prior to his position at Waitr, Mr. Schramm was the Chief Legal and Administrative Officer for BiteSquad, a company operating similarly to Waitr, where he oversaw all legal, human resources, and investor relations functions of the company.  His responsibilities include providing legal advice in the areas of corporate governance, complex transactions, media/advertising, finance, real estate, labor/employment, and mergers and acquisitions.  Prior to his position at BiteSquad, Mr. Schramm was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Evine Live Inc. (formerly ShopNBC), a publicly traded multi-platform video and television commerce company that markets, sells and distributes products to consumers through 24 hour live broadcast television to 88 million homes on EVINE Live channel (the third largest home shopping channel in the United States), online via www.evine.com website, and on mobile devices.  Prior to his position at Evine Live, Mr. Schramm served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Lakes Entertainment, a publicly traded casino gaming company, and before that, he was a partner at Gray Plant Mooty where his practice focused on business law with an emphasis in finance, mergers & acquisitions and corporate transactions.  Mr. Schramm has served as an adjunct professor in the area of business law, lectured and wrote on business law topics, and has served on several charitable boards.   He holds a BA from the University of Minnesota – Duluth and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law.

Steven Brown is the co-founder and CEO of Minnesota-based Nothing But Hemp. The retail stores exclusively sell hemp-derived CBD and other hemp-based products. Nothing But Hemp prides itself on educating the public about CBD while setting rigorous standards for products to ensure customers get real, high-quality CBD. There are a total of six Nothing But Hemp locations across the country and more are on the way. 

Edward R. Culhane a deal lawyer with hands-on experience running and managing businesses. 
Ed’s clients are venture capital funds, private equity funds, family offices and angel investors. Ed helps his clients raise and deploy capital in early-stage and emerging growth companies. Ed also represent entrepreneurs raising capital, and help them structure and position their business for funding, growth and a successful exit.  
While experienced in many different industries, Ed primarily focuses on the state-legal marijuana, cannabis, industrial hemp, CBD, specialty food, software and high-tech industries. Ed is licensed to practice law in California, Colorado and Minnesota. 

Adam advises companies and individuals, nationally and internationally in a number of areas including mergers and acquisitions, employment, compliance, litigation, financing, and other related matters to day-to-day corporate activities. Adam assists national cannabis companies with corporate legal matters involving formation, investment and financing necessary to launch or operate their businesses, as well as regulatory compliance from their inception through their daily operation.  Lastly, Adam has been involved in many Canadian go-public transactions involving United States’ multi-state operators.

Michael Norton is Houlihan Capital's Director of Business Development responsible for building and maintaining firm relationships throughout the Country.  Among his many duties in that role, Mr. Norton leads Houlihan Capital’s coverage of the legal, accounting, financial sponsor and cannabis communities.  His strong leadership experience allows him to quickly understand a client's situation and provide recommendations to achieve their strategic goals.   
Prior to joining Houlihan Capital, Mr. Norton was an Associate at Jackson Lewis, P.C. He is a licensed attorney and has represented corporations throughout the country on a variety of matters ranging from corporate governance issues to labor and employment. 

Zach Robins is a business attorney at Messerli Kramer. He works with companies across the business lifecycle from startup to growth to exit. Zach co-drafted Minnesota’s investment crowdfunding law, MNvest. He is very active in the cannabis industry, co-founding the MN Hemp Association, MN Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Zach assists growers, processors brands and retailers with real estate, regulatory and capital needs in this exciting area. Zach proudly sits on the board of Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation.

Dave has spent the past 30 years working across strategic sales, product and business development, and operational roles. His appreciation for high-performance leadership and value creation mindedness stems from his 25-year background with Cargill Inc. It was early on that he recognized the power of employee engagement, accountability, and managing to strong business metrics. He has an appreciation for effective communication, creativity, and is recognized for building winning team cultures. He is most proud when he can see young entrepreneurs reach their full potential. 

Dr. Thompson is co-founder and CEO of Nemadji Management, the largest hemp processor in the country.  With a strong background in separations science and start-up experience,  Dr. Thompson has been at the vanguard of advancing the state of the art of hemp processing. 
Dr. Thompson has a track  record of winning cannabis licenses and has implemented hundreds of start up operations in Canada, Europe and throughout the US for various clients.
He received a Bachelor of Science  degree in Biochemistry, Chemistry and a Doctor  of Chemistry degree from the  University of Minnesota.

Mr. Welch currently holds a P&L role with Nemadji Management and runs business operations.  Mel is responsible for manufacturing and commercial operations.  Under his leadership, Nemadji has successfully started up operations and is launching over 6 different product lines targeted.
Mel previously worked for the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, and the Welch Law Office. He has managed hundreds of complex legal matters for a variety of clients on many legal issues affecting business formation and operations, contract and civil disputes.
Mel has a bachelor of Arts degrees in History, Russian Language & Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park and  a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

Jim has over 40 years of broad-based marketing and advertising experience across a wide range of industries. Prior to starting The Zimmerman Group, Jim was Director of New Products and Business Development at Pillsbury and prior to that, a New Products Development Manager at General Foods. His experience includes developing and launching over 250 new products on both the client and agency side. Jim has delivered keynote speeches on New Product Development at both the National Pasta and National Potato Conventions. He also developed and taught a three day new product seminar for The American Association of Cereal Chemists, which was also taught at both General Mills and Pillsbury. Jim has also lectured on new product development at The University of Minnesota’s Carlson Business School and Graduate School of Food Science.