COMMITTED TO CORPORATE GROWTH IN
THE EAST DOWNTOWN
The September 18, business forum will feature Valspar’s new Applied Science and Technology Center in the Downtown East neighborhood, as well as Kraus-Anderson Construction.
The event will take place the VAST Center – 312 11th Avenue South. Please refer to Map of VAST Center Campus for parking and building entrance information.
The cost to attend the event is $20, which can be paid at the door. To register, please send an email to [email protected] by no later than Monday, September 15, at 4 p.m.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Valspar Corporation is the fifth-largest manufacturer of paints and coatings in the world, with $4.1billion in annual revenue, and traces its beginnings to 1806. In 2012-2014 Valspar contracted with EDC Member Kraus-Anderson Construction Company and spent more than $30 million to restore an 87,000 square foot vintage structure on S. 3rd Street that was once its headquarters. Kraus-Anderson achieved award-winning results and this important investment in East Downtown has contributed to the revitalization of our district next to the Hiawatha light-rail line. The building houses a “best-in-class” laboratory as well as meeting and office space.
Plan on attending this exciting launch of the 2014-2015 EDC Business Forum that will feature speaker Steven Erdahl, Executive VP and Dr. Cynthia Arnold, Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer of the Valspar Corporation along with John Campobasso, Vice President and Director of Marketing for Kraus-Anderson Construction Company. There will be a brief tour of the showroom portion of the newly renovated facility following the main presentation.
AGENDA
- Welcome and Introductions, Paul Mellblom, President EDC, Dan Collison, Executive Director EDC (10 Minutes)
- Stadium Construction Update, Tom Schmall, Mortenson Construction (5 Minutes)
- Valspar Campus Renovation Presentation (30 Minutes)
- Q & A Moderated by Dan Collison (10 Minutes)
- Preview of the October EDC Forum (5 Minutes)
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Steven Erdahl, Executive Vice President, The Valspar Corporation
Steve Erdahl is Executive Vice President of The Valspar Corporation, with responsibility for the company’s Global Wood business as well as for Valspar’s Global General Industrial business. Since joining Valspar in 1974, Erdahl has held a series of finance, sales, and sales management positions of increasing responsibility and was elected a corporate officer in 1989, as Vice President, General Industrial. After experience leading most Valspar businesses and functions, he was named Executive Vice President in 2002. Steve also serves as lead director of MOM Brands.
Dr. Cynthia Arnold, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, The Valspar Corporation
Dr. Arnold is responsible for global technology and development of Valspar’s coatings and paints, polymers and dispersions, overseeing an organization of approximately 1000 technologists located in 38 Valspar laboratories throughout the world. Prior to Valspar, Dr. Arnold served as the Chief Technology Officer of Sun Chemical, a global leader in pigments, inks and graphic arts coatings; Vice President of Technology of Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties for Eastman Chemical. She has held various technical leadership positions at General Electric. She served for several years as a Sloan Executive Science and Engineering Fellow in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House and is currently a member of the Board of the Minnesota Zoo. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA.
John Campobasso
Vice President Director of Marketing, Kraus-Anderson Construction Company
John joined Kraus-Anderson in 1992 and has led the company’s marketing and business development efforts since 2000. Prior to joining Kraus-Anderson John served as vice president and director of development for the St. Paul Port Authority. He is active in a number of professional and civic organizations including the Minneapolis East Downtown Council, Minneapolis Downtown Council/ Downtown Improvement District, Minneapolis Uptown Rotary and the Economic Development Association of Minnesota.
