Business People: 3M’s Robert Befidi Jr. makes Savoy’s Influential Black Executives list

Pioneer Press

Sun, Aug 21, 2022, 11:42 AM 3 min read

Shinebox, a Minneapolis-based advertising agency, announced the following changes: founder Randy Larson becomes the sole owner; executive producer Jason Cook promoted to CEO; Ross Phernetton was hired as executive creative director and Tiffany Hahnfeldt was named to the newly created role of director of operations.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

WSB, a Golden Valley-based engineering and consulting firm, announced the hiring of Emily Ball as forestry program manager. … LHB Inc., Duluth, announced it has named Michelle Pribyland and Michael Madden to lead its Housing Studio.

DEVELOPMENT

Kraus-Anderson, Minneapolis, announced the following executive hires: Jenna Mead, director of marketing, referendum and project planning; KA Construction: Justin Aeling, project manager; Travis Evenson, facility assessment manager; Scott Curran, financial analyst, and Marcia Laningham, paralegal; KA Realty: Anthony Zizzo, senior building engineer; KA Development: John Dreher, investment analyst.

EDUCATION

Wenchen Wang, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, has been named one of six U.S. Department of Labor fellows for its first Summer Fellowship Program. A former data and policy analyst in the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, Wang also worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and as a local government interpreter in China.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Piper Sandler Cos., a Minneapolis-based investment bank, announced the hiring of managing directors Jake Pettit, Kent Purcell, Joey Vandergrift and David Frazier to its credit union group.

HEALTH CARE

40 Square Cooperative Solutions, a Mankato-based health insurer focused on farmers and their families, announced Amanda Beavens as executive director. Beavens most recently was housing director at Ecumen Pathstone Living. … Starkey, an Eden Prairie-based maker of hearing aids, announced that Denise Steinbring has been named chief marketing officer; Steinbring has 30 years of sales and marketing experience for the medical device and health care industries, including 18 years at Medtronic.

LAW

S Burns Legal, St. Paul, announced that Costa Rican attorney Monica Sanchez has joined the firm in business law and Latin American trade.

MANUFACTURING

Apogee Enterprises, a Bloomington-based maker of architectural glass, announced the resignation of Nisheet Gupta as chief financial officer, and the appointment of Mark Augdahl as interim CFO.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Electromed, a New Prague-based developer of airway clearance technologies, announced the election of independent director Andrew Summers to its board. Summers founded Summers Value Partners LLC in 2018 and serves as general partner for the Summers Value Fund LP. … Predictive Oncology, an Eagan-based developer of artificial intelligence applications for cancer therapies, announced the appointment of Julia Kirshner as chief scientific officer. Kirshner previously was senior vice president at Predictive Oncology and president of the company’s zPREDICTA division, which she founded and which was subsequently acquired by Predictive Oncology.

NONPROFITS

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, a St. Paul-based provider of comprehensive community and individual programs, announced that Tory Merhar has been named associate vice president of Community Based Services and Mark Dubbels has been named associate vice president of Community Residential Services.

OPENINGS

Red Cow, a Twin Cities-based burger restaurant chain, announced the opening of a location at 217 14th Ave. SW, Rochester, its first outside of the Twin Cities. The chain is owned and operated by Luke Shimp and Tracy Bachul.

ORGANIZATIONS

Jeff Anderson, president of ATEK Distribution, a New Hope-based business-to-business wholesaler of electrical products, announced he was named to the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association, a national small-business advocacy group.