2024 MBP Annual Dinner
Dave Bozeman – Dave Bozeman is President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of C.H. Robinson. Dave is an accomplished executive, bringing over 30 years of experience at industry-leading companies and iconic brands across supply chains, middle-mile transportation, manufacturing, digital and customer service to C.H. Robinson. Dave previously served as Vice President, Ford Customer Service Division, and Vice President, Enthusiast Vehicles, for Ford Blue of Ford Motor Company. Prior to joining Ford, Dave served as Vice President, Amazon Transportation Services of Amazon.com, Inc. from 2017 to 2022. Before that, Dave held roles of increasing seniority at Caterpillar, Inc. from 2008 to 2016, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President Enterprise Systems. Earlier in his career, Dave spent 16 years at Harley-Davidson, Inc. from 1992 to 2008. Dave received an MS in Engineering Management from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a BS in Manufacturing Design from Bradley University. Dave is a member of the Board of Directors of The Brookings Institution, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of The Conservation Fund, a U.S. nonprofit organization with a dual charter to pursue environmental preservation and economic development. Dave is also a member of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC), an independent non-profit organization opening opportunities for the development of Black executives to positively impact business and our communities.
Christophe Beck – Christophe Beck is chairman and chief executive officer of Ecolab, the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and the resources vital to life. He guides Ecolab’s 47,000 associates as they provide unique expertise and innovative solutions to help make the world cleaner, safer and healthier. Christophe was named Ecolab’s president and chief executive officer in January 2021, and chairman in May 2022. Since joining Ecolab in 2007, he has held several senior leadership roles, including president and chief operating officer; executive vice president and president, Global Industrial Group; executive vice president and president of Nalco Water, an Ecolab company; and executive vice president and president, International Regions. A native of Switzerland, Christophe holds dual Swiss and U.S. citizenship. He has a master’s degree in Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and serves on the institution’s strategic advisory board. He also serves on the board of directors of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. Early in his career, Christophe worked on a space shuttle project for the European Space Agency. He and his wife have two children and live near the Twin Cities.
Rick Olson – Rick Olson is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at The Toro Company, a leading global provider of solutions for the outdoor environment. In his role, Rick leads the $4.5 billion company and its more than 11,000 employees in developing innovative products, technologies and solutions to help customers enrich the beauty, productivity and sustainability of the land. Rick became The Toro Company’s president and chief operating officer in September 2015, chief executive officer in November 2016, and chairman of the board in November 2017. Since joining The Toro Company in 1986 as a manufacturing process engineer, Rick has held several senior leadership roles including vice president of International, and vice president of Exmark. He received a Bachelor of Science in industrial technology from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management. He serves on the Board of Overseers of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
Nancy Lazar (moderator) – Nancy R. Lazar is the Chief Global Economist at Piper Sandler and leads the economics research team. Nancy’s work is known for its unbiased, comprehensive, highly-detailed approach. Before joining Piper Sandler, she co-founded Cornerstone Macro, Wall Street’s premier macro boutique. Prior to Cornerstone, she was Co-Founder, and Vice Chairman of ISI Group for more than 20 years. Nancy has been an Institutional Investor-ranked economist since 2001, placing in the top two the past 10 years, ranking #1 in 2015. Nancy was named to Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Prior to co-founding ISI in 1991, Nancy was a Senior Vice President at C.J. Lawrence. She is a 1979 graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan. Nancy is a member of The Economic Club of New York, New York Forecasters, Money Marketeers, NYABE, NABE, and Women in Finance & Housing.
Bridge2Read – Bridge2Read is an exceptional program with a mission to improve literacy for students in schools across the state of Minnesota. This free program trains teachers with the science of how children learn to read. The classroom instructional tools deliver clear, daily instruction in phonological awareness and word study. Bridge2Read is designed to give students additional practice on carefully sequenced literacy skills, and teachers are trained and supported on this instruction by literacy experts.
The program was bolstered by the passage of the landmark READ Act in 2023, which requires districts to integrate the science of reading into their curriculum. Bridge2Read has helped hundreds of teachers and thousands of students reverse troubling declines in reading scores. For example, at Monroe Elementary School in Brooklyn Park – a previous Minnesota’s Future Award recipient – reading scores jumped between 18% and 25% following implementation of Bridge2Read.