Tekne Awards for Lifetime Achievement to be Presented to Joy Lindsay and Mike McNamara at November 17th Event
MINNEAPOLIS, October 12, 2021 — The Minnesota Technology Association (MnTech) is pleased to announce it will honor the careers of two outstanding technology leaders with Lifetime Achievement Awards at its 24th annual Tekne Awards celebration on November 17th. The recipients of this special recognition, Joy Lindsay and Mike McNamara, have not only contributed greatly to the success of their respective organizations, their technology leadership has had a profound and enduring impact on our broader community.
Joy Lindsay is CEO and co-founder of StarTec Investments, a private venture capital firm that has been investing in technology companies based in Minnesota since 1998. She also serves as a managing partner of the Sofia Fund, one of the first funds nationally to target investments in women-led business enterprises.
Through StarTec, Joy has made investments in more than 30 early-stage companies in Minnesota, providing strategic guidance and industry connections in addition to growth capital. Successful exits include investments in XIOtech, Gentra Systems, Iconoculture, GovDelivery, Compellent, Field Solutions, Magnet 360, and Flipgrid, among others.
Prior to founding StarTec, Joy was a Senior Vice President in the Westlaw division of West Publishing (now Thomson Reuters). She started her 18-year career at West as a software engineer and held numerous leadership positions in IT, customer support, account management and sales, eventually leading the sales organization for Westlaw.
Joy’s tech community leadership includes board and advisory roles with the Minnesota Technology Association, Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship, Minnesota Venture Capital Association, U of MN Office of Technology Commercialization, Minnesota’s Science and Technology Advisory Commission, and the Twin Cities Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota. Joy has a B.A. in mathematics from Carleton College and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
Mike McNamara is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Target Corporation, where he is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the enterprise technology systems that elevate the shopping experience for Target’s guests and team members. Mike also leads Target’s technology roadmap and enterprise data analytics and business intelligence strategy.
Mike joined Target in 2015, after more than 17 years at European-based retailer Tesco. Upon joining Target, Mike catalyzed a technology transformation rooted in building a great technology platform and strong engineering team culture. This has enabled Target’s in-house tech team members to build experiences and services that make the retailer an easy, safe, and reliable place to shop.
In building an internal technology development team to replace the largely out-sourced work he inherited, Mike did so with an intentional focus on diversity, inclusion, and continuous learning. Initiatives launched include an engineering manager development program for women, software engineering bootcamps focused exclusively on diverse talent, quarterly demo days, hackathons, and an initiative where tech team members are encouraged to spend 50 days each year building skills and exploring new ideas to create better guest experiences and improve Target’s operations.
In addition to recently launching the Tech Inclusion Alliance, a CIO-led initiative to expand the pool of diverse tech talent in the Twin Cities, Mike serves on the board of Genesys Works, a non-profit organization helping high school students from underserved communities succeed on a path to career success through skills training and meaningful internships. Mike has a bachelor of engineering degree from University College Dublin.
The Minnesota Technology Association is proud to honor the remarkable careers of Joy Lindsay and Mike McNamara with special Tekne Awards for Lifetime Achievement. This year’s Tekne Awards will be an online virtual celebration held on November 17th at 4:00 pm. Awards will be presented in 13 industry categories in addition to leaders recognized with Rising Star and Public Service awards. There is no cost to attend with more information at www.mntech.org.
About the Minnesota Technology Association:
The Minnesota Technology Association (MnTech) is a coalition of more than 225 member companies united in building a stronger tech ecosystem and innovation economy in Minnesota. MnTech 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. Learn more at mntech.org.
