Launch Minnesota, a state program that provides grants and mentorship to early-stage entrepreneurs, announced new appointments to its board of directors on Thursday.
The three new members are Alfonso Cornish, general partner at Gener8tor; Sunny Han, founder and CEO of Fulcrum; and Ben Wright, vice president of 3M Ventures.
Cornish has decades of corporate leadership experience, including time at Medtronic and Target Corp. Prior to joining Gener8tor, he served in a senior management role for Amazon Logistics.
Han leads Fulcrum, a cloud-based software company that supports manufacturing. During his tenure at Fulcrum, the company has gone from being self-funded to closing a $3 million round last year.
Lastly, Wright steers 3M Ventures, the venture capital arm of 3M Co. In this role, Wright advances 3M innovation by making strategic investments in companies that align with the company's portfolio.
Launch Minnesota's existing board members are
- Christine Beech, Executive Director of the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
- Xavier Frigola, treasury services at Mayo Clinic
- Dave Hengel, executive director of Greater Bemidj Inc.
- Jodi Hubler, board member for Central Logic, Marani Health, Oscar, Caring Bridge and Medical Alley Association
- Rick Huebsch, executive director for the University of Minnesota's Technology Commercialization team
- Ashley Lowes, communications lead for Target Corp.'s technology, data science and cybersecurity team
Since its launch two years ago, Launch Minnesota has awarded $3.2 million in grants to 104 startups. Another $1 million has gone towards the development of eight hubs and 80 program partners to support entrepreneurs and startups through a hub-and-spoke model.
The organization, which is an arm of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, has also been recognized as a national "super connector" by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
