This month, Michael Berman, James Dolan, David Frauenshuh, Richard Knowlton, and John Lindahl—the subjects of this issue’s cover story—will be inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame, joining an honor roll of 56 of Minnesota’s most accomplished business leaders of all time.
Each member of the Hall of Fame has led at least one competitively superior business organization while making substantial contributions to communities outside of business. Each has discerned opportunities unnoticed by others; pursued those opportunities with imagination and persistence; done so with integrity; and enjoyed a lifetime of achievement and service.
In addition to honoring them in this issue, we will honor them at an induction dinner at the Minneapolis Hilton on July 29. Details about that event appear on page 35.
This year’s inductees also will be enshrined, along with all of the Hall of Famers inducted in the past 11 years, in a permanent Minnesota Business Hall of Fame exhibit at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. To visit it, look near the skyway that connects the school’s two buildings. The accomplishments of each Hall of Fame member have been encapsulated on a plaque and in an electronic display. We also summarize those achievements for you here.
2009
Michael Fiterman In 1983, he became CEO of a $20 million box and burlap bag making company started by his grandfather. In the next 26 years, he transformed the company into a $500 million producer of corrugated cartons, plastic extrusion products, health care equipment, office products, and high-tech machine tools, and took Liberty Diversified Industries into global markets.
Dennis Frandsen Banker, manufacturer, real-estate developer, and self-described “entrepreneur and opportunist,” his post–high school business cutting lumber led to the acquisition and eventual development of forested land. In his 59-year career, his Frandsen Corporation went on to purchase 38 community banks totaling $1.5 billion in assets, and to acquire several plastic-molding and manufacturing operations.
