Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read January 2022 — While 2020 brought circumstances that no one could have foreseen and 2021 saw the proverbial deck reshuffled as businesses reassessed strategies, 2022 has ushered in a heightened sense of optimism in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Speaking with Invest:, regional leaders shared their outlook and priorities for 2022 and beyond.
Kent Hanson, President, Anoka-Ramsey Community College & Anoka Technical College
We’re going to be shifting how we deliver our programs. We’ll maintain a steady course similar to the route we had taken in 2019 but defining what the new normal of higher education is in the aftermath of the pandemic.
2022 will be a year of restructuring and my outlook is positive. There will be a renewed excitement in higher education as we’ve missed interacting with each other in person.
Brian Johnson, CEO, Choice Bank
We continue to view change and stress as an opportunity and we’re entering the next phase of both. Regional rollouts of larger supra-regional banks are beginning to impact the Midwest. We will need to build a $3 billion bank to build our team and partnerships to provide the funding necessary to create it. We have substantial growth on that end and we’re working to remain nimble as we’re in a fast-paced environment.
Janel Dressen, CEO/Shareholder/Attorney, Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan P.A.
I have very high expectations and optimism for Anthony Ostlund. We are here to stay. We are looking forward to our new generation leading the firm successfully into the long-term future and providing new lawyers the opportunity to become seasoned trial attorneys. Because I see the opportunity for dispute resolution growing and because we are a group of entrepreneurs here, we will take full advantage of the opportunities and challenges presented to continue to provide our business clients top-notch service. One of our biggest challenges at present is getting people back to work in person on a consistent basis and balancing that with their desire to work independently from home. We have been successful in maneuvering that so far, but it is a challenge we have to deal with going forward.
Kalyn Hove, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast
Broadband has further become the oxygen with which not only consumers at home need to function , but also businesses of all sizes as they reimagine the way they operate and serve customers. The pandemic has forever changed the way people work and live, and we know connectivity matters more now than ever. As Comcast looks forward we will constantly evolve what our network is capable of for consumers and businesses and stay ahead of customer demand. We are focused on delivering innovative, technologically advanced solutions to support small to very large enterprise customers. We’re focused not only on the technology being reliable and scalable, but also that there is more security built in it because of the rise in cybersecurity issues. Going forward, we will also continue to take tangible actions that are focused on digital equity.
Tim Busse, Mayor, City of Bloomington
We are going to continue to work with the Minnesota delegation for Expo 2027. It’s a fantastic opportunity that will prove transformative for Bloomington and the Twin Cities. Another pressing issue is that we are a city of 90,000 residents and we lack a full-time fire department. To be fully staffed, we would need about 160 firefighters and we can’t get above 110.
Housing in the Twin Cities is an issue that we need to address as a region. It cannot be done on a city-by-city basis. In Bloomington, we’ve adopted an opportunity housing ordinance and an affordable housing trust fund that we have put together over the past few years. Both are powerful tools to try and increase the amount of housing available to folks at all levels of the income spectrum and give those folks who work in Bloomington the opportunity to live in Bloomington. Whether it’s our new teachers or our first-year police officers or the folks in the hospitality industry, they need more opportunities, more options to live in the city of Bloomington. This is not something that is new in the Twin Cities. The pandemic exposed a lot of the holes that we have in our system, both in terms of affordable housing and housing in general. The homelessness issue came to the forefront as a result of the pandemic and it continues to be at the forefront. The three-legged stool of jobs, transportation and housing is essential. We can do a much better job in terms of better transportation, more housing and workforce readiness if we look at it through a regional lens.
Mark Gherity, Senior Managing Director – Minneapolis Complex, RBC Wealth Management – U.S.
We really want to grow the business in the next three to four years. Right now, we have 2,100 advisors averaging $1.2 million in revenue and want to increase that to 2,500 advisors averaging over $2 million. Our ongoing investment in the Wealth Strategies group, who work with our advisors to develop strategies and solutions to meet their high-net-worth clients’ complex financial and wealth transfer goals, helps our advisors to connect generations during ever-changing market conditions. We will continue to double down on planning because every family deserves a customized plan for the future.
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