MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 15, 2020 — The Minnesota Technology Association (MnTech) is pleased to announce its 2021 officers and board of directors. We welcome and congratulate the six new directors elected at the December 2020 board meeting.

Officers
Chair:  Patrick Joyce, Vice President – Global IT & Chief Information Security Officer at Medtronic
Vice Chair:  Cy Morton, Partner, Robins Kaplan LLP
Secretary:  Doug Carnival, Partner, McGrann Shea Carnival Straughn & Lamb
Treasurer:  Ed Foppe, Principal, PricewaterhouseCoopers

New Directors

Dan Abdul, Chief Technology Officer, Medica
At Medica, Dan is responsible for advancing the organization’s use of technology, establishing a robust enterprise architecture model, and overseeing all IT-related infrastructure, security, development and delivery. Before joining Medica, Dan served as CTO, Data and Analytics, at Optum.  He previously served as the CIO at UCare and the Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs. Dan holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in software engineering from the University of St. Thomas, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Minnesota.

Ritu Sharma, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Securian Financial
Ritu joined Securian Financial in November 2020 after spending four years at TCF Bank, where she served as Senior Vice President responsible for data management, analytics, and business intelligence. Prior to TCF Bank, Ritu was Manager, Enterprise Business Intelligence & Analytics at Sleep Number, a Senior Consultant at Oracle Corporation. Ritu is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with degrees in management information systems, and finance and accounting.

Rebecca Martin, Chief Marketing Officer, Calabrio
In her role as CMO at Calabrio, Rebecca is responsible for lead generation & pipeline marketing, content strategy, customer marketing, and corporate communications. A 20-year veteran of Minnesota’s emerging technology industry, Rebecca has led a number of initiatives related to differentiating and positioning entrepreneurial brands. Most recently, Rebecca was Director of Integrated Marketing for Code42, a data protection and security company, where she fueled a content-driven lead-generation strategy and led customer engagement and communications initiatives. Rebecca holds a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Mike Mathews, Chief Information Officer, Deluxe
Mike joined Deluxe in May 2013 and serves as Senior Vice President and CIO. Before joining Deluxe, Michael was SVP of Strategy & Enterprise Programs at UnitedHealth Group. His prior experience includes Merrill Lynch, where he was the Global Head of Strategy & Delivery for Operations Services & Technology in the Private Wealth business unit. Earlier in his career, Michael held leadership positions with Unilever, A. T. Kearney and Claremont Technology Group. He also founded and served as CEO of The Infology Group, a boutique management consulting company. Mike is a member of the board of directors of Alerus Financial Corporation.

Stephanie Hammes-Betti, Senior Vice President – Innovation, U.S. Bank
Stephanie has spent the past 18 years at U.S. Bank in a variety of roles, with the last six years leading a team focused on innovation design and implementation across the organization.  Most of her career has been dedicated to elevating user experience, including UX/UI design, usability testing, and leveraging technology solutions to achieve business goals. Stephanie’s passion for building future tech talent led her to become a board member at Minneapolis Community & Technical College (MCTC).

Anudeep Parhar, Chief Information Officer, Entrust
As the CIO at Entrust, Anudeep is leading efforts to strengthen its technology operations, cloud platform development, and digital security leadership.  Prior to Entrust, he served as CTO of Bloom Health, where he led a large team on a multi-year technology transformation roadmap, was SVP of Global Engineering & Development at Digital River, and VP of IT at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.  Additionally, Anudeep spent 15 years at Thomson Reuters in various technology roles.  He has a master’s in computer science from the University of Minnesota, Moorhead, and a bachelor’s in computer science and engineering from Gulbarga University, India.

“Despite the challenges of 2020, MnTech achieved, and in fact, exceeded its goals for 2020,” said Jeff Tollefson, CEO of the Minnesota Technology Association. “Working with our exceptional board members and others in the community, we rolled out a new name and identity, found exciting new ways to connect with members, and produced more than 40 virtual events attended by more than 4,200 individuals.”

“As we head into 2021, we will continue to focus on Advocacy, Talent, and Community as the foundational pillars of our organization. It was with this in mind that we invited six talented Minnesota technologists to join the Board,” Tollefson added.

Re-elected MnTech Board members include:

  • Sameer Badlani, CIO, Fairview Health Systems
  • Matt Bailey, Senior Executive, IBM
  • Teddy Bekele, CTO, Land O’Lakes
  • Tawanna Black, CEO, Center for Economic Inclusion
  • Kevin Boeckenstadt, Sr. Director – Technology Transformation, Best Buy
  • Doug Carnival, Partner, McGrann Shea Carnival Law Firm
  • Trent Clausen, Vice President of Engineering, Comcast
  • Jacquelyn Crowhurst, Group Program Manager, Microsoft
  • Sarah Engstrom, CISO, CHS, Inc.
  • Amy Fisher, Vice President of the Technology Sector, Padilla
  • Ed Foppe, Principal, PwC
  • Todd Hauschildt, CIO – OmniChannel, Optum
  • Karen Hudson, Chief Sales Officer, Grant Thornton
  • Matt Johnson, Vice President – Development & Operations, Seagate Technology
  • Tammylynne Jonas, CIO, Self‐Esteem Brands
  • Pat Joyce, CISO, Medtronic
  • Sri Koneru, CIO, Winnebago Industries
  • Jake Krings, Vice President – Marketing Technology, Target
  • Michael Lacey, CEO, Digineer
  • Chuck Lefebvre, Executive Director Twin Cities Technology Center, Unisys
  • Paul Mattia, Vice President ‐ Research & Development, Ecolab
  • Cy Morton, Partner, Robins Kaplan
  • Rakhi Purohit, Director of Technology, Thomson Reuters
  • Matt Reck, CFO, HelpSystems
  • Chris Rence, CEO, Rimage
  • Vinny Silva, Managing Director, Accenture
  • Scott Singer, CEO, CyberNINES
  • Jamie Thingelstad, CTO, SPS Commerce
  • Jeff Tollefson, CEO, Minnesota Technology Association
  • Paul Weirtz, State President, AT&T

About the Minnesota Technology Association:
The Minnesota Technology Association is a coalition of more than 250 member companies united in building a stronger tech ecosystem and innovation economy in Minnesota. Formerly known as the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA), the organization works to ensure that Minnesota’s technology-driven companies have access to exceptional talent, dedicated public policy advocates, and are part of an innovative, inclusive technology community. For more than 30 years, MnTech has been a unifying voice and trusted convener for technology-fueled businesses and the technologists that drive their success. Its member companies work the spectrum of technology, including IT, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, fintech, agtech, cleantech, and edutech, and range from long-established corporations to small and growing startups. To join or learn more, go to mntech.org.