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This is the 13th year in which outstanding directors of Minnesota corporations have been honored in Twin Cities Business, and the achievements of the honorees again exemplify the strength of expertise that they have contributed to the building of businesses. All of them are leaders who have changed for the better the companies they serve and the way those companies serve their stakeholders. All of them are achievers. All possess and extend to others strong measures of entrepreneurial vitality. All have been involved successfully in the expansion of enterprises.

The 2008 Outstanding Directors were selected by a panel of judges that included Allen Bettis, president, National Association of Corporate Directors, Minnesota chapter, and founder, Legacy Associates; Jay Novak, editor and publisher, Twin Cities Business; Richard W. Perkins, president, Perkins Capital Management; and Kate Rubin, president, Minnesota High Tech Association.

Executive managers, and especially CEOs, get most of the public credit for most of their companies’ successes. Nevertheless, when executives at Minnesota companies were first invited in 1996 to share that credit with their “Outstanding Directors,” they did so generously, and they have continued to do so. The profiles that follow will demonstrate why.

Charles Denny

Charles Denny

Lifetime Achievement Award

Mark Banks

Mark Banks

Director, Prime Therapeutics, LLC

Duane Carlson

Duane Carlson

Director, Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc.

Dave Smith

Dave Smith

Director, Capella Education Company

John Voorhees

John Voorhees

Director, Adolfson & Peterson Construction

2008 Outstanding Directors

2008 Outstanding Directors Awards Dinner

2008 Outstanding Directors Awards Dinner