EOF 2022 Mar Midwest Economic Outlook Summit

Description

Our nation is currently facing supply and workforce shortages, accelerating inflation rates and extreme economic uncertainty. The Midwest Economic Outlook Summit on March 24 will bring together several chambers of commerce, industry leaders, policymakers and economic experts from across the Upper Midwest to take part in a holistic, timely and critical discussion. This is an opportunity to learn more about where our regional and national economies are headed, examine factors that keep our area competitive, discuss the major challenges that might lay ahead, understand how our businesses can stay agile and respond to this evolving environment, and hear from keynote speakers and panels of leaders across various sectors including agriculture, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and technology. Developing and maintaining a vibrant economy is essential to the continued growth and health of the Midwest; we hope you join us for this new, major event series and important discussion.

Keynote Speakers

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Neel Kashkari President and CEO Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis	Dr. Scott Beaulier Dean North Dakota State University College of Business

 

Steve Grove Commissioner MN Department of Employment and Economic Development	James Leiman Commissioner North Dakota Department of Commerce

Panel Discussion Topics/Sectors

Presentations and Panel #1 - Energy | Technology | Agriculture

Kristie Fiegen Public Utilities Commissioner State of South Dakota	Shawn Riley Chief Information Officer State of North Dakota	Robert Sinner Partner, President SB&B Foods, LLC

Presentations and Panel #2 - Healthcare | Manufacturing | Retail

Tiffany Lawrence Interim President & CEO Sanford Fargo	Rachel Lolmasteymaugh Executive Director Midwest Manufacturers Association	Bruce Nustad President Minnesota Retailers Association

 

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see all speaker biographies

Presenting Sponsors

News Media Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

  
  
  
 
   

Media Sponsor

Corporate Sponsors

Alerus | American Crystal Sugar | American Federal Bank 
Bell Bank | Bethany Retirement Living | Beverage Wholesalers, Inc.
Border Bank | Bremer Bank | Choice Bank | Concordia College
Cornerstone Bank | Dale Carnegie Training of ND and NW MN
Dawson Insurance, a Marsh & McLennan Agency | Eide Bailly LLP 
Flint Group | Houston Engineering, Inc. | Kilbourne Group | Midco
MWC Advertising of Fargo Moorhead | North Dakota State University
ROERS | Western State Bank

Midwest Summit Chamber Co-hosts

Speaker Biographies and What to Expect
 

Neel Kashkari
As President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari serves on the Federal Open Market Committee, bringing the Ninth District's perspective to monetary policy discussions in Washington, D.C. In addition to his responsibilities as a monetary policymaker, Kashkari oversees all operations of the Bank, including supervision and regulation, treasury services, and payments services. At the Midwest Economic Outlook Summit, Kashkari will be addressing economic conditions, interest rates, the impact of COVID-19, workforce challenges and more.

Dr. Scott Beaulier
Dr. Beaulier has spent his career actively engaged in understanding and advocating for policies that foster dynamic, vibrant economies that best allow businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive. He will discuss how policies are integral to our economic success, and how people - innovative, creative and dedicated business leaders - are the lifeblood of any economy.

Steve Grove
As commissioner of the state's principal workforce and economic development agency, Commissioner Grove is focused on empowering the growth of the Minnesota economy, for everyone. Under his leadership, the department works on growing the state's workforce, closing the opportunity gap, and providing businesses and startups the support they need to grow and thrive in Minnesota's economy. Commissioner Grove was previously an executive at Google for 12 years, most recently serving as the founding director of Google's News Lab, a global division of the company that partners with media companies and startups to drive innovation in the news industry. He has built teams in over a dozen countries and launched partnerships around the world, including a global technology training effort that trained over 500,000 people every year.

James Leiman
Prior to being appointed commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce in March 2021 by Gov. Doug Burgum, Leiman served as North Dakota Department of Commerce’s director of Economic Development and Finance (ED&F) from March 2018 to February 2021. As ED&F director, Leiman was responsible for statewide economic development and finance initiatives. He’s played crucial roles in efforts to develop North Dakota’s abundant natural gas resources, attract new capital to the state, find new markets for exporters, commercialize intellectual property, grow the tech sector including autonomous technology, increase foreign and domestic investment in North Dakota, and establish the nation’s first statewide network for flying unmanned aerial systems beyond visual line of sight.

Prior to joining Commerce, Leiman served as city administrator in Ada, Minn., from 2015 to 2018 and as chief of integration and synchronization for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from 2011 to 2015. A U.S. Army veteran, Leiman served as an intelligence analyst and interpreter during Operation Enduring Freedom. He later managed several national security programs at the departments of Homeland Security, State and Agriculture, focusing on counterterrorism efforts. After over a decade of fighting terrorism, Leiman sought to use his skills to solve domestic issues.

Kristie Fiegen
Kristie Fiegen currently serves as vice chairperson of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. She was appointed to the PUC by Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Aug. 9, 2011, to fill a vacancy on the commission. Kristie was then elected to the commission in November 2012 and re-elected in November 2018. She previously served as chairperson of the PUC in 2017 and 2018 and vice chairperson in 2012, 2015 and 2016. She is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Committee on Gas and Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety. She is the immediate past president of the Southwest Power Pool's Regional State Committee. Kristie is currently the chairperson of Southwest Power Pool's Regional Allocation Review Task Force. Commissioner Fiegen also provides guidance related to the interests of the public and gas consumers to the Gas Technology Institute as a member of GTI's Public Interest Advisory Committee.

Tiffany Lawrence
Tiffany is the vice president of finance for Sanford Fargo. She is responsible for the financial oversight of the entire Sanford Fargo metro and its network medical centers and clinics across eastern ND and north western Minn which includes 9,500 physicians and employees. She has over 20 years of experience in healthcare finance. Sanford Fargo is the largest employer in the state of ND and the only Level 1 Trauma center between Minneapolis and Seattle. Sanford’s economic impact supported more than 26,200 jobs and $1.7 billion in wages and compensation in North Dakota alone in 2020.  

Rachel Lolmasteymaugh
Rachel is the current executive director for Midwest Manufacturers Association, a nonprofit organization that serves associations and trade groups focused on manufacturing. MMA’s primary service region is the Upper Midwest: rural Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Rachel works in the Midwest to change the image of manufacturing and attract new workforce to the manufacturing field through skilled training. As the Executive Director, Rachel creates strategic partnerships and advocates at the local and state level to further manufacturing in the region. 

Shawn Riley
Shawn is the sitting chief information officer of the State of North Dakota, appointed by Governor Doug Burgum. Shawn previously served in leadership positions for Mayo Clinic and IBM. His career has included massive change and transformation initiatives spanning multi-billion-dollar organizations in roles as Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Information Management Officer. He has a passion for, and is working on, space-age technological developments for his state. Shawn is always looking to connect with others who have a 'we can change the world' attitude as he strives to be a servant leader, improve lives, empower people, and inspire success.  

Robert Sinner
Robert (Bob) Sinner has spent his entire life in North Dakota.  After graduating from North Dakota State University with a degree in Agriculture Economics, Bob joined the family farming operation. Before SB&B actively pursued an expansion into international business, Bob served on the Executive Committee of the United Soybean Board and Chairman of the International Promotion Committee. In 1989, the Company expanded by creating an international business to supply food quality soybeans and later other food grade commodities directly to food manufacturers globally. In 2007, SB&B Foods, Inc. was recognized and awarded North Dakota Exporter of the Year.  In 2009, SB&B Companies were also presented with the North Dakota Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Bob has served as President of both SB&B Foods, LLC the Company marketing entity and Identity Ag Processing, the state-of-the-art processing company with 2 locations. Bob has recently served as Board Chairman and remains Board active with the Specialty Soya & Grains Alliance, a national business association representing the identity-preserved agriculture industry. He has been and remains active in a variety of state, regional and national organizations including the Agriculture Transportation Coalition Advisory Board.  His 3 sons are involved in the Company business.