Forge North, the startup and small business-focused initiative from Greater MSP, will get its first managing director later this month when Morris Goodwin, a longtime Twin Cities finance executive, steps into the position.
Goodwin starts at Forge North Aug. 22, coming from American Public Media Group, Minnesota Public Radio's parent company, where he serves as chief financial officer.
In addition to acting as Forge North's first managing director, Goodwin will also be the coalition's enterprise financial advisor.
Forge North is a coalition of Twin Cities organizations launched by Greater MSP in 2019 to boost the area's small business and startup ecosystem through early stage round capital investment and community building. The Bush Foundation, Beta and gener8tor were among Forge North's first partners, and the coalition has since expanded to include more than 150 organizations.
"Forge North has been growing and evolving its effort and is now at that stage where it needs a senior, seasoned leader to take on the managing director role," said Mary Grove, a co-chair of the Forge North Council and a managing partner at Bread and Butter Ventures, a Minnesota-based early stage venture capital fund.
Goodwin will be replaced at APMG by Barry Gisser, who previously held the same role at the Minnesota Science Museum.
A core part of Goodwin's work at Forge North will be advancing the coalition's racial equity, one of its three primary goals. Increasing access to early stage capital and engaging more large Twin Cities enterprises are its other two.
His day-to-day work will also include managing Forge North's signature projects, including the MSP Equity Fund and angel investor application campaign.
And, Grove said, Goodwin's appointment helps formalize and institutionalize Forge North. The coalition set out a three-year blueprint when it launched in 2019, and landing a managing director means that blueprint will sustain and expand, Grove said.
Where Forge North wants to keep growing is through extending its support to more startups — especially those with diverse leadership, Grove said. She said that Goodwin's relationship building skills and "funding acumen" will help the coalition do that.
"This work is about making connections to drive ideas forward," Grove said. "[Goodwin] is really able to do this."
Before taking over as chief financial officer at American Public Media, Goodwin was chief financial and administrative officer at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a St. Paul-based nonprofit community organization. He has served in executive finances roles at The Hogan Group, Vivius Inc. and Deluxe Corp., as well.
Goodwin also sits on the board of directors of HealthPartners, Bigelow Foundation, Twin Cities Rise, Episcopal Church of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Board of Investments Advisory Council.
He could not be reached for comment.
