Stacy Bee, President/CEO of ESBEE Public Relations & Marketing, LLC

ESBEE is a full-service public relations, marketing and communications firm. Stacy founded ESBEE in 2004 with a simple goal: to get to know her clients’ businesses as well as the clients know themselves. She brings an elaborate network of high profile and high powered executive relationships to every opportunity. Stacy takes a hands on approach to business which forms a unique public relations and marketing experience which creates elegantly strategic solutions with long term results. Her unmatched ability to find and combine resources has put her at the center of many of the Twin Cities most successful projects. Recently, Stacy was nominated for the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal’s 40 under Forty Award. This award is a spotlight for some of the region’s most talented and successful young leaders. Visit www.esbeepr.com to learn more.

Susan Johnson, President & CEO, Magellan Medical Technology Consultants, Inc.

Susan Johnson is the founder and CEO of Magellan Medical Technology, a full-service consulting organization focused exclusively on the medical technology industry. Magellan's national consulting practice is focused on improving medicine and most importantly, patient outcomes through the research, development and commercialization of Magellan’s clients new medical technology.  Magellan’s clients are industry leaders (Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Olympus) as well as emerging privately held companies creating innovative treatments for obesity, cardiovascular, diabetes, spine, wound management to name a few.

Johnson developed Magellan’s unique business model by drawing from her medical device sales and marketing career, her undergraduate degrees in business administration, marketing, and finance, her successful career as a Critical Care Registered Nurse, and her MBA in venture management where Johnson developed the business plan for Magellan Medical Technology Consultants in 1995.

Johnson’s visionary skills have proven successful not only navigating Magellan but also with the senior leadership within medical companies where she continually ties clinician and patient needs and client business strategies with Magellan’s national field teams and experts in regulatory, reimbursement, clinical and market research to reach outstanding results.

In 1995, Johnson was honored with the University of St Thomas Practicing Entrepreneur Award, in 1996 she was awarded first place in Corporate Report’s Business Plan Competition, in 2010 Johnson was honored with the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Alumna of the Year Award.

Johnson has served as a Board Directors with Community Involvement Programs, Camp Fire Boy and Girls and several medical device companies.

Irene M. Kelly, NCC, Founder and President, Prisma, LLC

Irene Kelly is the founder and principal of Prisma, LLC, a coaching and consulting firm. She has a diverse background in sales, business ownership, and organizational leadership. A Newfield Certified Coach, Irene has completed Coaching for Professional & Personal Mastery through the Executive Education Program at Villanova University.

Irene works with leaders and teams who recognize that improved interpersonal interactions positively impact the bottom line. The power of the coaching process offers clients space to explore their perspectives and how assessments impact those they lead. Irene’s mastery of powerful questioning supports clients to choose how they lead, be a different way if they choose and make a difference in their organizations.

Aside from her work, she has served as President of the Minnesota Coaches Association, Chair of Friends of Eden Prairie Schools and is currently President-Elect of the Eden Prairie AM Rotary. Irene serves on the Business Development Committee of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce and has been involved in co-facilitating the mentor program for Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota.

As a parent of two grown sons, Brian and Matthew, Irene views parenting as her most important work. Her parental mantra was “give them wings to fly”; this serves her well in her coaching role as she supports clients to empowerment. Visit www.PrismaLLC.com to learn more.

Monica R. Nassif, Partner / Nassif Partners, LLC (founder, and former CEO and President of The Caldrea Company)

Monica Nassif currently operates a consulting firm, Nassif Partners, that assists companies in building great brands. Nassif most recently served as CEO and President of The Caldrea Company, a company she founded more than 10 years ago.

Nassif launched Caldrea to create and market earth friendly and beautifully fragranced household cleansers and home fragrance products. During her tenure, Nassif and her team expanded with three major brands into 12,000 stores across the US: Caldrea – an upscale cleaning and home fragrance collection sold in specialty and Target stores; Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day – a practical brand for the grocery, hardware and mass markets, such as Whole Foods, Kroger and Target; and a private-label program for Williams-Sonoma.

Prior to Caldrea, Nassif started and operated a large marketing design firm for 10 years, serving leading retailers and consumer product companies. Monica started her career with Target Corporation.

Nassif was named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and Good Housekeeping magazine in 2003. In addition, she serves as the Chair of the University of Minnesota Undergraduate Carlson School Of Business Advisory Board, the Minnesota Advisory Board of M&I Bank, the Board of Advisors for Liberty Diversified Industries, the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable, and the Walker Art Center Board of Trustees.

Nassif holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Iowa.

Betsy Buckley, CEO & Chief Rainmaker of What Matters

Founder of three companies (two of which she’s successfully sold), Betsy had four rather distinct careers before becoming her own boss. For the past thirteen years, Betsy has owned and run What Matters, a professional services firm that helps business owners and professionals grow their revenues and their reputations. Her business strengths are focused on growth, both top line and bottom line. A nationally acclaimed professional speaker and winner of the prestigious National Speakers Association President’s award, Betsy is well known as a creative, practical business executive who moves leaders--- and their businesses--- forward. Visit www.what-matters.com to learn more.

Nancy Carter, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, Catalyst & Visiting Scholar, INSEAD

Nancy M. Carter, Ph.D., leads Catalyst in developing groundbreaking research on issues related to women’s advancement in business and the professions and is Visiting Scholar at INSEAD in France. Prior to joining Catalyst, she was Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the London Business School and held the Richard M. Schulze Chair in Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis. She has worked professionally in advertising and marketing research and works closely with government and private sector initiatives promoting women’s advancement. She has published widely on gender, organizations, strategy, and entrepreneurship. Her book, Clearing the Hurdles, documents women’s challenges in accessing resources for building their businesses. In 2007 she was honored with the prestigious International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research for her work on the Diana Project, a research initiative on women entrepreneurs and the venture capital industry. Her research on women and minority entrepreneurs has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the National Business Women’s Council, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Dr. Carter received her Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska, an M.A. in Mass Communications from California State University, and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Nebraska. She is married and the mother of two adult sons. Visit www.catalyst.org to learn more.