Congr atulations

Top Women In Business

IN THEIR SPARE TIME, CORPORATE TRAVELERS TO WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA CAN VISIT MINOT’S SCANDINAVIAN HERITAGE PARK, WHERE THEY’LL FIND THE REPLICA STAVE CHURCH FROM GOL, NORWAY, AND STATUE OF NORWEGIAN-BORN CASPER OIMOEN, A MINOT RESIDENT WHO WAS AN OLYMPIC SKIER. PAGE 32. IMAGE: MINOT CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

A Q&A WITH PAUL WILSON, CEO OF ONE OF FARGO’S BIGGEST BUT LEAST-KNOWN EMPLOYERS: NORIDIAN HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS 25 WOMEN

Judging by the glass ceiling’s continuing presence and seeming durability, you might think the material is bulletproof.

But here’s the thing: Hit it with a sledgehammer often enough, and even the toughest bulletproof glass will yield. That’s what’s happening across the Prairie Business region these days, as our annual Top 25 Women in Business award issue shows.

The 25 women profiled in this issue include business owners, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, vice presidents and all manner of other executives. And thanks to their and others’ hammering, there are a lot more holes in that ceiling, with more paths to advancement for women and fewer obstacles than maybe ever before.

What great news that is for the modern workplace. Consider the period drama “Mad Men,” which ran on AMC from 2007 to 2015 and was set in 1960s-era advertising agencies. The all-male executive suites shown in the series struck viewers as ancient history. And that was the point: Those days are gone, and good riddance to them, too.

We’re far better off in today’s world, in which women’s presence in high-level posts now is becoming routine. These days, the Top 25 Women in Business and others like them can bring their leadership talents to the workplace – and our region’s organizations and overall economy are much stronger as a result.

The women featured in this issue all were nominated by one or more of their peers. We salute them for their skill, their dedication and their ambition – all of which, taken together, are making our world a better place.

PUBLISHER KORRIE WENZEL

AD DIRECTOR STACI LORD

EDITOR

TOM DENNIS

CIRCULATION MANAGER BETH BOHLMAN

LAYOUT DESIGN ANNA HINSVERK

ACCOUNT MANAGERS

NICHOLE ERTMAN 800.477.6572 ext. 1162 nertman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

PETER FETSCH 800-477-6572 ext. 1172 pfetsch@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand Forks Herald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 375 2nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Subscriptions are available free of charge. Back issue quantities are limited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). The opinions of writers featured in Prairie Business are their own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

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ADDRESS CORRECTIONS

Prairie Business magazine Box 6008 Grand Forks, ND 58206-6008

Beth Bohlman: bbohlman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

ONLINE www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com

If you set the bar at competence, how do you reach excellence?