Congratulations to 2022’s 40 Under 40 award winners!

One, two, three … 40. 40 Under 40, that is – and Prairie Business couldn’t be more pleased with this year’s award recipients. Turn the pages and look at all of them – 40 of the region’s young professionals who continue to impact their careers and communities.

The magazine’s 40 Under 40 award recognizes individuals from a wide range of industries who have made significant impacts in their chosen professions and communities. They are business owners, community trendsetters, entrepreneurs, executives, industry experts, nonprofit leaders, and more.

They are, in a word, exceptional. Congratulations to all of the 2022 award recipients!

Health savings plans

Nancy Bjorndahl is going on a quarter century with DCN, and has seen a lot of change in that time. The limited-liability company, doing business as Dakota Carrier Network, started with just a handful of employees but today has about 40 in two offices, Bismarck and Fargo.

It’s a good company, said Bjorndahl, who serves as business manager. She said it offers a number of perks for its employees, including a competitive insurance benefits package.

“People are surprised when they learn we have five options,” she said.

Some new developments within the past couple of years, and continuing this year, is a Health Savings Account (HSA) option – an account set aside to pay for health care costs – which Bjorndahl said is trending in the industry these days. Last year was the first time DCN started offering the option.

“It has to be offered with a high deductible health plan, though,” she said. “And so we offer a total of five plans. Three of them are kind of your traditional plans with various premiums, and then we offer two high-deductible HSA compatible plans.”

Insurance benefits as retention and retaining tools

Holland sums it up like this:

“I think there are really three things that are big topics right now for employers when it comes to insurance. What we’re hearing is staffing is the number one concern.

“Almost every single business we talk with is actively searching for new team members or trying to retain those team members. The employers are really wanting to see their options when it comes to employee health and benefits solutions. The employers and the employees are looking to see what brings the maximum value to them.

“Their hope is that their benefit packages are going to be a differentiator to retain talent and to get new talent. Probably the number one area is the staffing, no matter what industry you’re in right now. … There’s a wage competition going on out there – who is providing the highest dollar – but you can’t always only look at that; you have to look at the benefits packages companies are offering too, because those dollars are also coming out of your paycheck.”

Derek Anderson

Age: 38 Professional Engineer

Apex Engineering Group, Inc. Fargo, N.D.

Rob Ashe

Age: 37 Director of Business Applications

Microsoft Fargo, N.D.

Derek Anderson is a registered Professional Engineer and project manager at Apex Engineering Group in Bismarck. He is a Tioga, ND native and North Dakota State University graduate with a B.S. in construction engineering. As a consultant, he provides professional engineering services specifically focused on transportation projects for various public agency clients across the state of North Dakota. He has been involved with multiple large-scale projects that have improved the safety and reliability of the road network system within North Dakota. Anderson takes his role seriously and strives to uphold the ethical commitment that all Professional Engineers must hold paramount. He is a dedicated employee and supervisor who pushes his team to excel. Because of these qualities, he was asked to become an Apex partner and owner four years ago. Anderson resides in Bismarck with his wife, Sherri, and their two boys. Outside of work, he enjoys hunting and fishing with friends and family and volunteers his time coaching the Bismarck Youth Football League (BYFL) and Bismarck Youth Baseball (BYB) organizations.

In his 10-plus years at Microsoft, Rob Ashe has held numerous sales roles and earned multiple “Key Talent” awards, as well as selection for the Next Step Leadership Development program. For three years, he served as senior commercial manager, where he led a team of contract and licensing experts to manage commercial sales operations for a $2 billion business division. He now holds a senior sales role focused on leading business applications strategy at enterprise retail and CPG brands like Sleep Number, RDO Equipment and Fastenal.

Ashe is an industry thought-leader with national-level impact through his efforts to educate and entertain with social content and speaking engagements. His popular LinkedIn Video Series, “Rob’s Reads” is widely considered the greatest book reviews of all-time. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Minnesota State University Moorhead and recently completed the Credential of Readiness program from Harvard Business School Online and his MBA at Boise State University. Ashe lives in Fargo with his wife of nine years, Nicole, their two dogs, Doc and Cece, and cat, Doyle.

Mubashir Badar

Age: 38

Vice President/Clinic

Sanford Health Bismarck, N.D.

Mubashir Badar, MD, serves as vice president, Clinic, for the Bismarck Region of Sanford Health. In this role, Dr. Badar leads the region’s 425-plus physicians and advanced practice providers.

Originally from Toronto, Dr. Badar joined the Sanford family in 2013 as a hospitalist, a physician who cares for patients while they are in the hospital. He has served in various leadership roles for Sanford, including chief of medicine and chair of the region’s physician executive council. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was one of the first volunteers to treat patients with COVID-19 in the medical center. Because of this leadership, Dr. Badar received the 2020 Sanford Health Physician of the Year award.

Dr. Badar graduated with honors from Ross University School of Medicine in 2010. He completed his internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine at Queens Hospital Center in New York. In addition to his administrative position, Dr. Badar continues to provide direct patient care in the hospital. He lives in Bismarck with his wife and two children.

Landon Bahl

Age: 30

Partner & Director of Business Development

322 Hospitality Group Grand Forks, N.D.

Landon Bahl is a partner and director of business development at 322 Hospitality Group, a hospitality group focused on maximizing communities with premier hospitality facilities, services, and amenities.

Bahl has been instrumental in forming 322 Hospitality Group. This includes expansion of multiple franchises in North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota, oversight of Sky’s Fine Dining, Cloud 9 Events, the Opal Event Center, and the latest projects 322 Hospitality Group is bringing to fruition which includes, “The Olive Ann” boutique hotel, and a year-round rooftop bar under construction in downtown Grand Forks, set to open in 2023 and 2024.

An individual with a driving entrepreneurial passion and mindset, one could say his hobbies also include business. Currently he is co-owner of Knowles Jewelry of Minot, and founder of LandoLive Music Festival in Bottineau, North Dakota.

A graduate of the University of North Dakota, he resides in Grand Forks. Bahl was elected to serve District 17 as a representative in the North Dakota State House of Representatives, volunteers on local and national Fraternity boards, and an avid mentor through UND.

Mallory Berdal

Age: 36 Banking Operations Manager

Alerus

Grand Forks, N.D.

As the banking operations manager at Alerus, Mallory Berdal is responsible for the deposit operations and loan operations teams and plays a critical role in areas including technology advancements, fraud mitigation, deposit and lending projects, and process improvements. Her steady leadership, mentorship, and creative solutions help employees and the company continuously evolve and innovate to meet clients’ changing needs and reflect industry trends.

Berdal has served in various roles at Alerus since 2006, including client service manager and deposit operations manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of North Dakota and National Check Professional and Accredited ACH Professional designations. An active member of the Greater Grand Forks Sertoma Club, she helps organize the group’s annual Fourth of July event and co-chaired the kids’ bike parade in 2021 and 2022. She contributes her free time as a youth soccer coach and helps organize community involvement activities for Alerus. She lives with her family in Grand Forks, North Dakota.