MN Tech Mag | Fall/Winter 2020

MN Tech Mag is a Concord publication devoted to improving the relationship between business and technology, starting our home state of Minnesota.

A C O N C O R D P U B L I C AT I O N

FINDING THE SILVER LINING

Chris Cronin CEO | MOBE

Bind: Disrupting Health Insurance Pg. 24

Identifying Future-Fit Leaders Pg. 28

FALL/WINTER 2020 | ISSUE 2

PUBLISHER Stu Nutting

EDITOR IN CHIEF Natalie Sheffield

DESIGN Brea Marsh Steve Bubb

PHOTOGRAPHY Joe Lemke

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chris Cronin Cris Ross Florin Ibrani Hunter Saklad Jim Laughlin Kevin Ward

Natalie Sheffield Nicole Atchison Rachel Lockett Rick King Sandra Davis Scott Robertson Tarek Tomes Tony Miller

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COVER STORY Finding the Silver Lining

MEDIA INQUIRIES communications@concordusa.com

As the pandemic continues to take its toll, MOBE’s CEO Chris Cronin is helping people live happier, healthier lives.

MOBE’s Andrea Patten, Chief People Officer, and Chris Cronin, Chief Executive Officer, catch up in their new office space.

What’s Inside

ISSUE 2 Fall |Winter 2020

5 UPCOMING EVENTS Our favorite conferences have gone virtual. Check out these can’t-miss events! 9 BY THE NUMBERS Life is one big transition. We sourced some surprising stats behind transition in business and the C-suite. 16 TWIN CITIES CIO OF THE YEAR WINNERS Meet the innovative technology leaders changing the game in Minnesota. 20 MAINTAINING THE MOMENTUM After an initial spike in productivity during the move to remote work, Concord’s CEO Florin Ibrani looks to keep up the momentum. 24 THE INNOVATORS Bind: Disrupting Health Insurance Tony Miller, Bind founder and CEO, is redesigning - and personalizing - health insurance to match consumer need. 27 THE TOP 12 A round-up of our favorite gifts for the tech-lover in your life. 28 IDENTIFYING FUTURE-FIT LEADERS With four out of ten tech leaders failing, it’s time to distinguish between high performance and high potential.

6 TRENDING TECHNOLOGY

How a Minneapolis-based, family-owned business utilized technology, new and old, to become the nation’s largest pea protein manufacturer. Pea Protein Packs A Punch

32 RELEVANT HEALTH ROUNDTABLE Q+A: Scott Robertson As HealthPartner’s VP of Web & Mobile, Scott is recreating the digital presence for one of the top health systems in the country. 34 RELEVANT HEALTH ROUNDTABLE Solving the Cost of Care Dilemma Insights from the latest panel featuring panelists from Twin Cities Orthopedics, HealthPartners, and MOBE. 38 PHILANTHROPY RULES! TreeHouse: Providing Hope to the Hopeless On a mission to end hopelessness among teens, TreeHouse is expanding across the country and transitioning programs in the wake of COVID. 43 QUIPS & QUOTES ‘Tis the season! Minnesotans share their favorite holiday traditions.

What’s Inside | 03

Editor’s Note

I find myself measuring time frequently in B.C. – Before COVID. For example, when was the last time I traveled on a plane, attended a conference, or shook someone’s hand? All B.C. On the bright side, I’ve taken more road trips, expanded my horizons through virtual conferences and events, and, well, is anyone going to miss the handshake? I left the office on March 13 with the suspicion that I might not be back for a few weeks, maybe a month. I was a bit off in my estimate. Luckily, I invested in a new office chair and a second monitor early on. With an established workspace at home combined with a new routine sans commute, I’m more productive with my time. Working from home was a bit of a luxury prior to the pandemic – I could arrange a few days per month at home if I was lucky. Now, the inverse is true. I relish my time in the office where I might catch a few coworkers who happen to be there, too. As a predominantly face-to-face office culture prior to the pandemic, I look forward to the day Concord can once again invite all employees to congregate in the office. In the meantime, we’re thankful for the ability to keep moving forward while remote. Concord’s CEO Florin Ibrani shares a few ways to keep up the momentum despite a distributed workforce (page 20).

Short road trips – like this excursion to Lake Waconia – have been a silver lining of pandemic living.

At the onset of planning this issue, we identified the theme as “transition” long before the articles were ever complete. After conducting interviews, compiling stories, and building out content, an unexpected, yet entirely welcomed, theme emerged: there’s always a silver lining. MOBE’s CEO Chris Cronin showed us that the pandemic is encouraging a focus on living healthier lives and adopting new, positive habits (page 10). Nicole Atchison, PURIS Holdings CEO, revealed that people are making and sustaining better decisions at the grocery store (page 06). Scott Robertson shared that HealthPartners is more agile, and the industry as a whole is responding to change faster than ever before (page 32). It’s a happy thought – the silver lining. There will always be darkness and chaos in the world, but we can find the good if we’re willing to look for it.

Enjoy the positivity in these pages. Until next time.

Natalie Sheffield Director of Marketing, Concord Editor in Chief, MN Tech Mag

04 | Editor’s Note

Upcoming EVENTS

November/December 30 - 18 | AWS re:Invent Conference (Virtual) AWS re:Invent is a three- week learning conference hosted by Amazon Web Services for the global cloud computing community to network, engage, and learn more about AWS.

Feb. 21-24 | Pink21 | Las Vegas, NV Pink21 is the world’s premier IT service management event focusing on ITIL®, Lean, DevOps, Agile, Scrum, Organizational Change Management, and IT leadership. April 13-15 | Adobe Summit (Virtual) The Adobe Summit will connect global leaders in marketing automation, analytics, advertising, and commerce to reimagine customer experiences in 2021 and beyond. 15-16 | TECHSPO New York 2021 (Virtual) This conference showcases the most innovative solutions and the latest technologies in mobile, martech, and SaaS to springboard your business forward. 27-28 | Red Hat Summit (Virtual) A must-attend technology event, the Red Hat Summit highlights the latest in open source innovations enabling the future of enterprise technology. May 17-20 | RSAConference San Francisco Resilience is the theme of the RSA 2021 event. Join the security industry’s brightest minds and gain insights on cybersecurity trends, challenges, solutions, and innovations.

December

9-10 | The AI Summit New York (Virtual) Whatever stage of your AI journey, this conference has dedicated tracks designed to help your organization dig deeper into AI adoption and implementation opportunities. 8 | MnTech Annual CIO Panel (Virtual) MnTech’s Annual CIO Panel brings together CIOs from local organizations to share thoughts on topics of interest for the upcoming year. 10-13 | IEEE Big Data 2020 (Virtual) The IEEE Big Data 2020 conference is an international forum for disseminating the latest results in big data research, development, and applications.

Developer Week

February

Women Impact Tech Seattle (Virtual) Women Impact Tech is the largest regionally targeted tech event series in the nation and is focused on creating dynamic conversations surrounding inclusion, innovation, and tech advancement for women across all industries. 17-19 | DeveloperWeek (Virtual) Join 8,000+ developers, engineers, software architects, dev teams, managers, and executives from 70+ countries to discover the latest in developer technologies, languages, platforms, and tools.

Pink21

Adobe Summit

Upcoming Events | 05

PURISPURI How a Minneapolis-based, family-owned business utilized technology, new and old, to become the nation’s largest pea protein manufacturer. Pea Protein Packs a Punch TRENDING TECHNOLOGY

By: Nicole Atchison

A s the CEO of PURIS Holdings, Nicole Atchison is spearheading the acceleration of the plant-based food industry through top-notch R&D and a commitment to sustainable growing practices. Nicole joined the family-owned company as CTO in 2017 after spending years as an engineer in the medical device industry. Nicole holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Non-GMO Project.

Nicole Atchison

06 | Trending Technology

ISPURISPU Our mission at PURIS is centered squarely on creating a sustainable food system for the global good. We’re the linchpin between what the farmers grow and what the public eats. PURIS is a vertically integrated, non-GMO, and organic plant-based food leader committed to changing how the world farms, manufacturers, and eats on a global scale.

We couldn’t have predicted the pandemic, and how dramatically it changed the way people eat. Before COVID-19 hit, PURIS already saw a steady increase in demand for healthier products, with plant-based foods becoming increasingly mainstream, and that continued through March and beyond. After the initial “stock-up” phase, buying dipped, but plant- based food sales sustained a higher year-over-year increase compared to animal-based counterparts. More people are interested in plant-based options than ever before, given the rise of people cooking at home and questions about the health and safety of animal protein supply chains. In fact, according to the Plant Based Foods Association, plant-based foods are up 11.4% across all categories. While some companies dabble in this space, PURIS has been perfecting it for 35 years. My dad, Jerry Lorenzen, launched our family business in 1985, set on breeding plants to make them taste great to ultimately feed and nourish people. I grew up alongside my brother Tyler (now CEO of PURIS Proteins) in the fields of Iowa, observing our dad’s forward-thinking approach to feeding the planet. Today, we’re continuing his vision of positively impacting the world and soil from the seed up. TECHNOLOGY UNDERPINNINGS PURIS has been an evolution in ag-tech. Multiple layers of technology underpin our vision for PURIS. Notably, our technology efforts influence two main areas: our sustainable, closed-loop farming model and the development of innovative products.

SUSTAINABLE FARMING MODEL Our proprietary seed genetics and regenerative farming approach are at the crux of what we do and what enables us to turn crops into finished foods. We develop high-yield, scalable seed varieties that will build soil health for PURIS farmers. Our yellow field peas, for example, are an excellent addition to a farmer’s standard rotation in the Midwest. Peas take nitrogen from the air and fix it through the soil to leave nitrogen behind, ultimately reducing the amount of synthetic nitrogen needed and providing nutritional benefits for the next crop. Each day, we work closely with our network of growers to create a seamless transition to sustainable organic farming, using regenerative methods.

PURIS Factory Workers

Trending Technology | 07

As the plant-based industry scales, we’re adapting existing technology to meet our needs. For example, our first pea protein plant in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, was retrofitted from a defunct dairy processing plant. We purchased the plant, upgraded the technology and processing mechanisms, and turned it into one of the world’s largest protein processing plants. It’s the same story in Dawson, Minnesota, where we’re currently converting a former dairy processing plant into our pea processing facility. Today, PURIS is the only vertically integrated, U.S.- based, closed-loop food system out there. We develop seeds for our growers and offer them a full production contract to buy back everything they grow. It’s a win- win—farmers get a high performing crop variety with a guaranteed market to sell. In turn, we take those crops and develop innovative products that taste great and are good for the planet. INNOVATIVE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In the history of seed development, crops have been primarily developed to feed livestock. In our company’s mission to make seeds taste good to humans (or “neutral” as we call it), we’ve pioneered the development of breeding and processing technology that does just that. We strongly believe that it starts with the non-GMO, food-grade seeds developed by our R&D team, which we process with a focus on flavor and nutrition.

PURIS Growers

Harnessing ingredients made from PURIS peas, soy, pulses, lentils, and other non-GMO plants, we help CPG brands spanning a wide range of industries—from sports drinks to baked goods and meat alternatives— find innovative uses for plant-strong ingredients. One of our flagship products is PURIS pea protein, which powers the largest plant-based burger companies on the planet and is on your favorite grocery store shelves right now. It’s made from a first- of-its-kind, high-protein pea, with up to 2-3 times the protein per acre of a standard pea crop. In Q4, we are launching a new organic pea syrup product to serve as an alternative to the GMO-heavy corn syrup and brown rice or tapioca syrups, which are often imported. We’re also launching a Sweet Lupin Flour, a keto- friendly ingredient option high in protein and fiber but low in carbohydrates, giving “better-for-you” bakers additional options. Innovation is at the forefront of PURIS day in and day out, as we strive to make plant- based foods more accessible to eaters everywhere.

Growth & The Future PURIS will continue to stay the course in our work to build sustainable food systems. We are developing partnerships with all sorts of organizations – CPG companies, farmers, NGOs, research institutions – to help move the system forward. Our job is to serve as a foundational element in improving the entire food production system. It’s a refreshing focus in my career to help the community be healthier and love what they eat.

08 | Trending Technology

BYTHE NUMBERS TRANSITION

33%

2009

# 1

Year the United States transitioned from analog to digital television. This change took effect on June 12, 2009, and allowed stations to offer higher definition video and better sound quality.

Percent of an employee’s annual salary employers incur to replace their role. Average cost of turnover per employee comes out to $15,000 based on data from Work Institute’s 2017 Retention Report.

Rank of Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, on Harvard Business Review’s 2019 list of Best- Performing CEOs in the World. The company’s stock grew 14-fold from 2015 to 2018.

2018

Starting in October, consumers made more payments with debit cards than with any other payment, including cash.

85%

688

Number of CEO T ransitions

Percent of enterprises that will transition a majority of their workloads to the cloud by the end of 2020.

The number of CEO transitions in S&P 500 companies over a 12-year period from 2003 - 2015. 40% of firms experienced two or more CEO departures during that time.

Years Old

The average age of incoming CEOs to S&P 500 companies in 2019.

$12M

82%

Reported annual cloud spend by 20% of enterprises in 2020.

5.9

Years

The percent of CEO transitions attributed to the former CEO’s decision to retire or step down.

The average tenure in years of S&P 500 CEOs.

By the Numbers | 09

FINDING THE SILVER LINING Chris Cronin, CEO | MOBE

Aligning his career with his passion, Chris Cronin is working hard to help people live happy, healthy lives.

10 | Finding the Silver Lining

A s the challenges of pandemic living continue to take a mental and physical toll, MOBE’s healthcare services are more relevant now than ever before. Chris Cronin, Chief Executive Officer at MOBE, shares how his company’s mission empowers a diverse group of people to achieve better health through continued innovation. Founded in 2014, MOBE is committed to addressing a significant unmet need in the healthcare system: helping people who are frequent users of health care services, but are still not finding resolution for their health issues, bridge the gap between access and outcomes. Spend a day in their (new, beautifully appointed) office, and you’ll see firsthand how the people supporting operations live out the company’s mantra – “guiding people to better health and more happiness.” While the world looks different and there’s undoubtedly less bustle in the office than before the pandemic hit, the friendly demeanor is palpable, despite masked smiles. Walk around, and you’ll see thoughtful touches and a commitment to health is everywhere – plenty of light pouring into the office, outdoor spaces for breaks and a little vitamin D, and a top-notch fitness center to promote the healthiest version of yourself. MOBE partners with insurance companies and employers to provide guided health solutions to customers and employees. By combining data analytics, digital health and a novel one-to-one personalized approach that helps participants successfully connect medical care and lifestyle changes, MOBE empowers participants to achieve better health outcomes, and enables customers to make better use of healthcare dollars and resources – without adding new cost to the system.

About MOBE

MOBE was founded in 2014 to address a significant unmet need in the health care system for people who are frequent users of health care services, but are not experiencing optimal health outcomes. MOBE partners with insurance companies and large employers to provide health solutions to their customers and employees at no additional cost to the health plan, the employer, or the individual. Combining data analytics, digital health and a novel one-to-one personalized approach, MOBE helps people live happier, healthier lives.

We spent a day with some of the MOBE team and caught up with Chris Cronin.

Did you grow up in Minnesota? Yes, I grew up in the Twin Cities as one of five children. My mother was from Iowa, and my father was from Chicago. I probably had more Iowa in me as a kid than Chicago: we were constantly outside playing, building forts, fishing… and we always had a pet of some variety. At one point, my brother and I shared a room, along with about 25 finches. My parents came from relatively modest beginnings, and both placed a tremendous value on two things: working hard and showing up. These were firmly impressed upon me watching my father navigate a demanding career, raising a bunch of kids, and losing his wife at a young age (I was 13). Now, as a father of four with an incredible partner helping to raise them – I don’t know how my dad did it.

Finding the Silver Lining | 11

CONTINUED...

Tell us about your first job and time in college. I have had a job ever since I can remember. I mowed lawns, babysat, and delivered the New Brighton Bulletin . I enjoyed helping people. After high school, I attended a small liberal arts college and studied French and Accounting. I nearly majored in French, by accident -- I enjoyed it, so I kept taking more classes. I am a big believer in a liberal arts education – I am still very close with a group of guys from college, and not one of us is practicing our undergraduate major. How would you describe your career path? I like to think my career path has (thus far) three chapters: the first was in financial consulting as an auditor and then in the M&A, Fraud Investigation, and Litigation Support arm of Arthur Andersen. The second chapter was in the Strategy, Marketing, and Commercial side of the medical device industry. The third chapter is with MOBE. In 2012, I was at a crossroads with what I wanted to do in my career. At the time, my father, a very healthy man, was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal disease and given 6-12 months to live. I was also reading True North by Bill George – the intersection of these two things had a significant impact on my career path. I intentionally sought out roles that align with my values and what I enjoy doing.

Chris Hebner, Pete Knapp, Chris Cronin, and Amy Pressnall convene in a conference room.

How did you get your start at MOBE?

COVID’S LASTING IMPACT How have you shifted in response to COVID? What does the ‘new normal’ look like at MOBE? COVID-19 has shifted the landscape for every family, community, and business. In this new reality, people find different ways to function professionally – and encounter new challenges to their health and personal well-being. Our engagement numbers have climbed during this period. People have had to adapt to cooking more meals at home, exercising without access to a gym, and maintaining their emotional health while being secluded. Fortunately, these are precisely the areas MOBE focuses on and what we do best. We focus on a whole-person approach to wellness, and the interconnectedness of physical and mental health. Knowing that our customers are in some of the most afflicted areas (New Jersey, Chicago, Seattle), we extended our services to our participants’ friends and family. We hope we can help as many people struggling during these times as possible.

I was living in Switzerland on an expatriate assignment. Everything was going well. I was enjoying my job and marveling at watching my four kids navigate life in a country where very little was familiar. We were back for a couple of weeks during the summer, and I bumped into a mentor of mine, and a MOBE Board Member, at Young Joni, an excellent Minneapolis restaurant. He asked me to see him in his office about a potential opportunity. I mentioned life was good, and it probably wasn’t the right time. But I agreed to meet. When I got home, my wife will tell you I was shaking. I told her this is my dream job. I joined as COO for four reasons: I believe in what we do (Eat, Move, Sleep, Smile); how we do it (we don’t make money unless people get healthier and happier); with whom I get to do it (our culture is unique and the team is incredible) and what they asked me to do (to take responsibility for functions that provided me the opportunity to broaden my experiences).

12 | Finding the Silver Lining

transparency, will continue to pressure outcomes-related payment – whether to the medical device manufacturer, the physician, or other players in the health arena like MOBE. I hope that there is a silver lining to this difficult period – that as people have had to slow down to learn new skills around cooking and moving, these new habits will continue and help us get a lot healthier and happier.

What lessons have you learned in your current role? I have never been a micro-

A view from the new MOBE office.

a silver lining to this difficult period – that as people have had to slow down to learn new skills around cooking and moving, these new habits will continue and help us get a lot healthier and happier. As for ways of working, we are HITRUST certified, which has enabled us to continue operating remotely in compliance with HIPAA requirements - this has meant that we’ve been able to continue to serve MOBE participants with limited to no impact. We are also fortunate that people come to MOBE because they are passionate about our mission, making it easier to keep all of the plates in the air when you suddenly have to become your kids’ social universe and teacher overnight.

manager, I don’t believe, but this role, more than any other, has demonstrated the importance of surrounding yourself with really smart people and getting out of their way. The team behind MOBE is very talented, and I am fortunate to work alongside strong leadership. What do your priorities look like over the next few years? Our mission and business model mandate that we help all our participants – empowering a diverse group of people, with a wide range of concerns and challenges, to achieve better health – and this will require continued innovation. In just 18 months, we launched an app,

How do you believe COVID will impact the healthcare industry in the future? I think this pandemic will continue to change many industries materially in the months and years ahead. I’m not sure exactly how that plays out. Still, I have to imagine that with unemployment at the highest level since the Great Depression, there is pressure to revisit how healthcare is accessed and delivered in this country, plus how we can ensure the breadth and effectiveness of that access. Widespread stay-at-home orders forced a massive number of people to get comfortable communicating with their healthcare providers in different ways – and there’s no turning back. Receiving care remotely and digitally became the “new normal,” which has underscored our collective focus on patient satisfaction – and meeting people where they are. Our new COVID-19 and post- COVID reality, along with increased demand for information

‘‘ I hope that there is

stood up our own pharmacy program, and introduced a podcast series.

Finding the Silver Lining | 13

CONTINUED...

How would you describe the relationship between the business and IT at MOBE? We have a strong IT backbone at MOBE, which goes hand-in-hand with privacy and security – both are critical in our business. We believe that technology enables our business and should flex to meet our stakeholders’ and participants’ needs. From early on, we invested in building a robust architecture to ensure the safety of our customers’ information. This has really mandated the close collaboration and integration of IT with, and within, the business function. As we continue to build out new solutions, IT has to be on the ground floor and closely integrated, which is part of the reason we hired our first Chief Digital Officer in March of 2020, Meg Rush, who has a long history in this industry. Are there factors that help make communication between business and IT successful at MOBE? The technology function needs to deliver solutions for real business needs. To do this, we actively engage as a joint team to understand the business and leverage agile processes to prioritize work, identify solution alternatives, and iterate on new capabilities. The business prioritizes new features and functionality, develops a collaborative roadmap, and negotiates a delivery schedule. Collectively, the business and IT team partner to evolve our solutions. Currently, we have a large effort underway to build out our future architecture that underpins our business.

Last year we opened our Innovation Center in Reno, Nevada, to accelerate these efforts. One of our top priorities is to continue advancing new solutions that help people engage with MOBE when, where, and how they want to make impactful progress toward their health goals. At MOBE, we work with a “hidden” population in healthcare – the 5% of people who account for 20% of healthcare costs. Today, we help these people through personalized support with one-to-one guidance on lifestyle, medication, and health care choices. Looking to the future, we are applying learnings from our current work to serve new populations, leveraging our analytics and data science competency with our unique humanistic approach to helping people. Our customers ask us to serve new populations; we want to find those that our solution is best suited and most likely to help. A third key priority is to expand with self-insured employers. Our founder, Mark Evenstad, was a self- insured employer and saw firsthand how some people are struggling to get healthier and happier despite being in and out of doctors’ offices every other week and taking several medications. Seeing this challenge was part of the inspiration behind starting MOBE. The people MOBE serves aren’t having trouble accessing the system – in fact, they’re accessing healthcare more than most people. They need different, more personalized support to see improved health outcomes – and that’s where MOBE comes in.

The rooftop at MOBE’s new office.

MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION Across your career, how have you seen the relationship

between business and technology progress?

Throughout my career, the relationship between business and technology has transformed massively. I remember when I was an auditor at Arthur Andersen lugging these enormous audit files across downtown Minneapolis. Very little was done electronically. Today, I don’t have a single file in my office – I don’t think you could find a pen either. As consumer preferences have changed, digital health solutions have become mainstream. We embed technology in how we serve our participants. Capabilities like online scheduling, biometric monitoring, and health tracking applications allow us to interact with participants in new, engaging ways and demonstrate through metrics how our program helps our participants make progress in their health journey. Today, when a potential participant opens a welcome email and indicates an area of interest, we can immediately respond with resources based on their interests.

14 | Finding the Silver Lining

This work is required to ensure we can scale our business in line with growth projections. This work started with grounding ourselves in various stakeholders’ needs through a project to identify areas of opportunity for data sharing, integration and net new capability needs based on our business strategies (spearheaded by Concord!). As we move forward, we review the plan periodically to adjust to new learnings and business opportunities.

Brian Urke, who has since passed away after a battle with cancer, asked me, “Who is on your Board of Directors?” I stammered and asked him what he meant, and he said, “People you can go to, that you trust, for candid advice at any time.” I have since been intentional about identifying a Board and, when I do, I explain the concept and formally ask the individual if they are willing to be on my Board. Today I have four incredible leaders on my Board. What is the number one takeaway from your career thus far? Surround yourself with people you trust, admire, and enjoy being around – and do what you love, and you’ll be successful. I guess that’s two.

Now, fast forward to last winter, when we pivoted to four key initiatives that we affectionately call “The Big Four.” We are talking about these every day across the organization – and they are gaining momentum. Amid uncertainty around COVID-19, we made it our mission to lean into communicating even more. We are hosting company- wide Town Halls every other Friday. From the beginning, we’ve been clear they are not mandatory – but we continue to have almost the entire organization attending.

Any advice for companies struggling in this area?

Where do you personally turn for advice on professional matters?

View the IT members of the organization as critical enablers to the business. Make sure IT has a seat at the leadership table. Look to them for solutions, innovation, and new ideas, like new technology to enhance business performance – AI, voice technologies, cloud computing. Involve them early and engage them as solution partners, not a transactional service organization.

I have been lucky to have some great mentors throughout my career. In 2012 when I was at a career crossroads, my boss at the time,

PRACTICAL ADVICE

What advice would you offer to someone managing through times of transition, like so many are right now? Over-communicate. In the Fall of 2018, we launched three new strategies. We hosted a number of company-wide meetings to introduce them. Subsequently, we talked about them at quarterly Town Halls -- but not every day. As a result of us slowing down communications after the initial discussions, one strategy failed to gain momentum.

Eric Hamborg, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, and Chris Cronin collaborate in the common area.

2020 CHRONIC CARE ACTION INDEX MOBE commissioned a survey in partnership with YouGov to provide insight into the care experiences of people with complex, chronic health concerns. The results highlighted that health outcomes are not improving for those with complex, chronic health concerns, even though they see their doctor frequently and take multiple medications. For the full study and insights, visit: mobeforlife.com/resources.

Finding the Silver Lining | 15

Meet the Twin Cities

CIO of the Year Award Winners

CIOs are a pillar of every organization. Whether solving problems, driving innovation, fostering relationships, or creating new best practices, they are leading the charge and helping their companies evolve as times change. Technology is at the forefront of this evolution. The InspireCIO ORBIE Awards recognize CIOs taking hold of technology and, through it, transforming their organizations.

As a TwinCitiesCIO Underwriter, Concord is thrilled to showcase the 2020 winners.

16 | Twin Cities CIO of the Year Award Winners

HEALTHCARE

CIO // MAYO CLINIC CRIS ROSS

WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION AND WHY? It used to be a tie: Seattle where my older daughter lives, and Paris where my younger daughter lived. My younger daughter is now back in the Twin Cities, so it’s Seattle, hands down. WITH WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YOUR CAREER AND/OR LIFE ARE YOU MOST PLEASED? I’ve tried to help people by providing appropriate challenges and opportunities. It’s a good thing to make a small difference in someone’s life.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT MANAGING THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN IT AND THE REST OF THE BUSINESS? Listen. Be prepared. Be humble. Be responsive. Think ahead. And follow the first rule of improvisation, “yes, and…” WHAT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY DO YOU EXPECT WILL SHAPE YOUR INDUSTRY AND WHY? Healthcare is the last major industry to automate, and we’re just getting prepared to digitize. So, adopting what is commonplace elsewhere will dominate our agendas. Beyond that, I think making data fluid while also keeping it safe and private will create remarkable opportunities, and advanced analytics and artificial intelligence is already making a difference in healthcare.

WHAT PRIMARY GOALS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

First, to support our clinicians with great technology so they can provide hope and healing. Second, to support our very technology-dependent 2030 strategy that includes a digital focus, creation of the Mayo Clinic Platform, and an international growth strategy.

HUNTER SAKLAD SVP CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER/INTERIM SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS // SLEEP NUMBER CORPORATION

WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION AND WHY? Costa Rica. I lived there for six months working and studying Spanish while I was in my 20s. It is a wonderful and loving culture housed in a beautiful landscape accompanied by stunning biodiversity across it’s unique combination of biomes. The cultural exposure along with all the many beautiful and wonderous things to see and experience there make me continue to love going back. HOW DID YOU END UP IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE? My boss (Shelly Ibach) came into my office one day during the early stages of our ERP/CRM implementation and asked me to take on the role of CIO in leading that transformation. At the time, I was building out our Consumer Insight function and when I observed that Consumer Insight was about as far from IT as possible, she explained that I knew our customer, I knew Sleep Number and I would need to learn IT.

LARGE ENTERPRISE

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT MANAGING THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN IT AND THE REST OF THE BUSINESS? Partnership is based on having equal input and a seat at the table. Identifying common objectives and determining each party’s role and responsibilities in achieving goals together with mutual accountability.

WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THUS FAR?

“Just choose something, do it well and then choose again.” AND “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.”

Twin Cities CIO of the Year Award Winners | 17

WHAT PRIMARY GOALS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

ENTERPRISE

Elevate the role of IT at each of our companies and support our IT leaders and teams as they step up to the elevated expectations. WHAT TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY DO YOU EXPECT WILL SHAPE YOUR INDUSTRY AND WHY? If I’m being honest, COVID-19 has done more to progress the technology strategy of our companies than any of us could have ever done on our own. Capitalizing on this unprecedented opportunity, while striving to maintain methods and opportunities for meaningful personal connection, is so important and will shape all industries for the foreseeable future. WITH WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YOUR CAREER AND/OR LIFE ARE YOU MOST PLEASED? I’m most pleased with the role I played in helping others advance their careers and achieve more than they thought possible. As for specific technology accomplishments, I was very proud of myself and my team for developing and implementing an enterprise information security standard across our diverse group of businesses. Also, moving several of our companies to the cloud and to SD-WAN architectures.

RACHEL LOCKETT

CIO // POHLAD COMPANIES

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? Technically my first job was as a waitress in a steakhouse. I got my start in the IT field as a programmer for a marketing company. WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION AND WHY? Paris. I love the history, the art and architecture, the food, and the ambiance of the city. I’ve been there three times and can’t wait to go back.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? My very first job, I was a paper boy in Wilbraham, MA (home of Friendly’s Ice Cream), however, my first professional job was a high school math teacher and coach in Vermont. WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT AND WHY? First and foremost, I am passionate about my family. As I look at my work, I love to coach people and teams to achieve stretch results. A team is like a puzzle: one needs to fit all the pieces together carefully, and when you do, it’s a great outcome. WHAT PRIMARY GOALS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE? I announced my retirement from Thomson Reuters in August, but I will remain with the organization until February 2021. My goal over the coming months is to support our new CEO and COO as my roles are transitioned to someone new and make sure they come up to speed. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT MANAGING THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN IT AND THE REST OF THE BUSINESS? You always want to be “in the room where it happens,” so the CIO or CTO always needs to work hard to earn that place and demonstrate value.

RICK KING MANAGING DIRECTOR OPERATIONS // THOMSON REUTERS

LEADERSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT

The key is to be the IT person who thinks about the business first and is practical about applying technology to the problem. In the end, it’s important to be focused on business outcomes. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FUTURE ORBIE AWARD NOMINEES? Simple: work hard and focus on the customer, business outcomes, and employees. The last piece is particularly critical – everything that gets done is done by the employees. Nothing gets done without them, so supporting the people who do the work is vital. As you follow that idea, shift your focus onto the “how” as much as, if not more than, the “what” that needs to be done. To put it plainly, it’s about style meeting substance.

18 | Twin Cities CIO of the Year Award Winners

NONPROFIT / PUBLIC SECTOR

TAREK TOMES CIO // STATE OF MINNESOTA

Additional ORBIE Winners:

CIO // MAYO CLINIC WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? I worked for a locksmith and engraving store when I was 17 years old, but my first ‘adult’ job was finding housing opportunities for military service members. I took on technology roles unofficially within that job. WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT AND WHY? My biggest passions involve all things related to my family – I love cheering on my wife and supporting our five kids. Aside from that, my other strong passions include coaching sports and technology, which both allow me to positively influence people in different ways. HOW DID YOU END UP IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE? When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan were elected, they began a process to select their leadership team and appoint Commissioners to each executive branch agency in state government. When the Governor didn’t initially fill the state CIO / Commissioner of Minnesota IT Services cabinet position, I was immediately struck by how important both he and the Lt. Governor viewed the role of technology in state government. The application process involved numerous panel interviews and provided incredible insight into the way Minnesota was planning to strategically approach technology work. It was a tremendous process and experience.

CORPORATE

CAREY SMITH VP & CTO // CONSTELLATION MUTUAL

GLOBAL

WHAT PRIMARY GOALS WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

KURT SVENDSEN VP IS // THE TORO COMPANY

Technology is an incredible connector, and I want to help create a culture at the state that focuses on connecting people. With that in mind, our vision at Minnesota IT Services is to support an innovative digital government that works for everyone. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FUTURE ORBIE AWARD NOMINEES? Enjoy the opportunity to network and meet other award nominees. Your industry peers can be your best sounding boards, mentors, champions, and critics. There are so many amazing technology leaders that are nominated for this award, and I have learned so much from many of them.

THE INSPIRE CIO ORBIE AWARDS HONOR CIOS IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: LEADERSHIP, GLOBAL, LARGE ENTERPRISE, ENTERPRISE, CORPORATE, HEALTHCARE, AND NONPROFIT / PUBLIC SECTOR.

Twin Cities CIO of the Year Award Winners | 19

MAINTAINING THE MOMENTUM

By: Florin Ibrani Concord Chief Executive Officer A fter eight months of working from home and helping our clients wade through the difficulties that poses, I can confidently say no one has it all figured out. How do we define where to work, when to work, how to instill culture remotely, and how to separate work life and personal life without an office?

20 | Maintaining the Momentum

At Concord, working remotely has presented some challenges, but also many victories. The pandemic has completely shifted the way we operate in our new workplaces: our homes. Productivity, adaptability, and success are not necessarily harder to obtain but require more attention and discipline to establish at home. Our company saw an immediate uptick in productivity right after the workforce went remote, but we noticed a gradual decline – as the pandemic drags on, what worked for our team initially no longer fits. Maybe the key to working remotely is reframing our expectations and norms to fit our current reality. I’ve broken down some key ways that helped us adapt without losing the culture that makes our company tick. COMMUNICATION OVERLOAD & FLATTENING THE HIERARCHY Communication overload is definitely real. By the second week of remote work, we had conference calls, emails, IMs, Teams, Slack, Zoom, Hangouts, WebEx, and a plethora of other apps to stay in touch. We were pinging each other on every known communication tool under the sun… and not really getting anything more

accomplished than usual. Arguably, we were less efficient, because we had to share information in multiple areas – just in case anyone missed it. We decided to eliminate redundant tools from the day-to-day fold. Microsoft Teams and Slack have been the most efficient for our organization. Teams is keeping us connected for recurring meetings and virtual happy hours amongst co-workers, while Slack has provided organized channels for our consultants to collaboratively connect, share files, and socialize in real-time across clients and geographies. The reality is, remote work enables more opportunities to engage with broader swaths of the company. Virtual presence has flattened the hierarchy. I feel like I’m now in touch with more people and more threads of activity. I can contribute to many more tasks in minor ways. Working remotely has widened my range of impact in the workplace and widened the range of ideas coming from different areas of our team. While on some level this may be an illusion, I actually feel more connected to both my team and the work we’re doing now than I did before.

“

Maybe the key to working remotely is reframing our expectations and norms to fi t our current reality.

– Florin Ibrani Concord CEO

Maintaining the Momentum | 21

Concord employees enjoying happy hour in 2019.

MAINTAINING CULTURE Prior to the pandemic, the vast

Culture is a topic that cannot be ignored. Remote work has leveled the playing field for talent across the globe – if your culture isn’t appealing enough, you might find your team walking out the proverbial door. ENCOURAGING NORMALCY It’s remarkable how quickly we adapt to new routines. In the old world, you commute to work, take breaks to chat casually with colleagues throughout the day, and have a natural ‘quitting’ time to drive home. Now, I find I’m accustomed to starting the work day earlier, scheduling calls through lunch, and typing away on emails right up until it’s time to make dinner. With that in mind, we are encouraging our teams to normalize taking breaks and block off time for lunch. It can be overwhelming when you have no routine time to step away throughout the day and your schedule fills up solid every 30 minutes. We built opportunities for casual communication that emulate break- room feel. Whether it’s taking a few minutes at the start of recurring meetings to share good news or starting healthy banter in the chat function of a meeting, we want the fun part of our culture and our humor to endure through remote work. Part of this is done by learning to be more intentional catching up one-on-one with co- workers like we used to do in the hallways or on a lunch break, too. Nothing is stopping us from picking up the phone.

In so many ways, we’ve started to encourage the use of technology as a substitute for in-person time, but it’s causing tech fatigue. Sometimes we just need to step away from the screen. Part of stepping away is setting boundaries. On top of normal work stress, the pandemic places a new layer of stress we aren’t prepared to handle. It’s important to drop the expectation that people need to always be available, and to be mindful of our own limits. WHAT’S NEXT Our workplace is unlikely to go back to normal anytime soon. Adapting to remote work has a surprising bit of upside – we see change across industries take place at a faster pace than ever before. By focusing on streamlined communication, emphasizing culture, and encouraging healthy boundaries, I believe we can sustain this pace of improvement in our business.

majority of our team was based out of our office in Hopkins, Minnesota. In those days, our Chicago branch felt the struggle for connection. They missed out on food trucks on Town Hall days, weekly Lunch & Learns, and regular visits to the popcorn machine for a 3 p.m. pick-me-up. Now, we all equally share the same experience at Concord, and there’s a level of solidarity in navigating that together, from afar. We had to grow and learn how to accommodate our collective social needs during this time to create a positive work environment for all. Apps like Slack have helped maintain the social dynamics of our team. We set up open channels which allow us to chat back and forth more casually, as if we were in a conference room. Certain channels are designated exclusively for non-work-related topics, which helps us connect as humans a bit more. It’s especially helpful for new employees who don’t have the benefit of context and history with other co-workers. Similarly, we’re still hosting virtual events – whether it’s a quick game of pub trivia on a Friday afternoon or a “Concord Cribs” tour of an employee’s home, we are finding new ways to stay connected and learn more about our fellow team.

Concord is a technology consulting firm based in Minneapolis, MN. Founded in 2003, Concord provides strategic consulting and execution services in the cloud, integration, data, analytics, and information security space.

We build opportunities for casual communication that emulate break-room feel.

22 | Maintaining the Momentum

MEET THE CIOs LEADING TWINCITIES CIO TwinCitiesCIO is a peer-based approach to helping CIOs maximize their leadership effectiveness, create value, reduce risk and share success. Led by an advisory board of CIOs from prominent organizations in Minneapolis/St. Paul, TwinCitiesCIO sets the direction for CIO events, CIO membership and the annual CIO ORBIE Awards.

MIKE LARSON CHAIR

JOHN AVENSON VICE CHAIR

JEFF KUBACKI MEMBERSHIP CHAIR

DEBRA BAULER MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIR

JIM NONN PROGRAMS CHAIR

TAMMYLYNNE JONAS PROGRAMS CO-CHAIR

EDMUND CLARK AWARDS CHAIR

THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROOM. ARE YOU? TWINCITIES CIO.ORG

MN Tech Mag | 23

THE INNOVATORS:

Leveraging data and technology to fi nally disrupt health insurance – and make it personal.

Bind Office

By: Tony Miller , CEO

T here has been little innovation in health insurance in two decades. Sadly, we all feel this—on a very personal level—because the consumer experience we are living with has been terrible. Unlike nearly every other consumer buying experience in our lives, we cannot see and compare our health care treatment options with prices side-by- side, in real-time. On top of that, the unaffordability of health care is killing us. Even people who get insurance through work are having a hard time affording care because of high deductibles—many of them avoid seeing a doctor or filling a prescription because of cost. Employers haven’t been served well either. They want to offer quality benefits, but that’s become downright impossible without breaking the bank or doing it on the backs of employees. Narrow networks, higher premiums or increased deductibles don’t solve the problem of skyrocketing health expenditures.

It’s unacceptable that this is our reality in the year 2020, especially given that our health is one of the most important, basic human needs. Disruption is long overdue.

24 | The Innovators: Bind

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