Meet the Judges

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Schulze is the ultimate entrepreneur and is living the American dream. From a modest background, he and a hand-picked team built a retailing empire based in the Twin Cities. Through it all, he adhered to his life-long values of integrity, humility, honesty, and respect – both in his professional career and his personal life. In years to come, Schulze hopes to be remembered by a personal legacy involving three major contributions through business, entrepreneurship education and philanthropy.

After working as a manufacturer’s representative for electronics components, in 1966 Schulze founded his own company, The Sound of Music. The business expanded to six stores in Minnesota by 1983, when Schulze renamed it Best Buy, adopted a warehouse format, and expanded into many more kinds of consumer products. The company soon went public and began a period of remarkable growth when Schulze revolutionized the industry by introducing the superstore to electronics.

Schulze served as Best Buy’s Chief Executive Officer from 1983 to 2002 and then as Chairman until 2012. He rejoined the company in 2013 as Founder and Chairman Emeritus. Today, Best Buy employs more than 145,000 people and operates more than 1,400 stores in the U.S. and 479 stores in Canada, China, and Mexico.

Schulze’s most recent entrepreneurial venture includes the purchase and operation of Aurora Anguilla, a resort in Anguilla, BVI. Schulze is in the process of revitalizing the multi-faceted complex into a luxury resort with family-centric programming which includes an extensive entertainment center. The entertainment center features an amphitheater, which celebrated its grand opening on December 31, as well as a waterpark, which is scheduled to open in summer 2023.

Although his plans to attend college never materialized, Schulze became trustee and major donor of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota – the school where he enrolled before joining and serving full-time, active duty in the Air National Guard. In 1998, the University of St. Thomas awarded him an honorary doctoral degree. (He also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Minnesota.)

In 2000, Schulze and his late wife, Sandy, donated $50 million to St. Thomas – then the largest donation ever to a Minnesota college or university – founding the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship in Schulze Hall, part of the university’s downtown Minneapolis campus.

Founded in 2005, the Schulze School has worked to become a leader in entrepreneurship education and outreach. Students learn to turn innovative ideas into sustainable businesses and hundreds of businesses have benefitted from its expertise, consulting and start-up support.

Schulze served on the University of St. Thomas’ board of trustees for 20 years, 1995-2015, before retiring from the board. He now serves as trustee emeritus.

Schulze has long supported nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities and Minnesota. He and Sandy established the Richard M. and Sandra J. Schulze Family Fund in the mid-1990s as their main vehicle for donations to Twin Cities’ social service charities related to health care, education, and family. Sandy died in 2001 from mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
A desire to identify and fund “transformational change to benefit mankind” led Schulze to start The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation in 2004. In June 2013, Schulze announced plans to gradually expand the Foundation from $100 million to about $1 billion. Schulze chairs the Foundation’s board of trustees.

Schulze has four adult children, who rotate service on the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation’s Board of Trustees, 14 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. He is now a permanent resident of Florida.

The company received over 50 commitments to units across the country within four months of announcing the franchise expansion plan to the public. Ms. Henry has been recognized by national media outlets for her impressive business career and continues to gain recognition as FACE FOUNDRIÉ locations expand across the country. In addition to this, she is a board member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Ocean Crest Ventures, a 2022 40 under 40 Business Journal Honoree and winner of EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023. Her most recent adventure was launching Savant Aesthetics Institute where her team empowers students getting into the aesthetics industry. 

Ms. Henry holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine’s University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she studied Business and Apparel Design. Soon after graduating, she launched a series of companies, including PRIMP, a cheap-chic boutique that garnered over $25 million in sales during her tenure. She sold her shares of PRIMP to pursue FACE FOUNDRIÉ. All her businesses have been self-funded, grown 100% organically, and remained debt-free. Ms. Henry is a wife and mother of four residing in the Twin Cities area. When not with her family, the entrepreneur enjoys painting, serving on boards, reading, or delving into the latest beauty trends.

Since then, he has led a variety of merchandising teams. Prior to his current role, he was the vice president for home theater and digital imaging.  He serves as the chairman of the Video Division Board within the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Mr. Motschenbacher is a member of the Board of Industry Leaders and Division Executive Board within CTA as well as a Board Member/Trustee of the Minnesota Zoo.  He holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas. 

He made GGV’s first investment in China and served as the Managing Partner of the firm from 2000 to October 2016. He remained a Venture Partner from November 2016 to 2018. 

 Over the course of his career, Mr. Nada has made a significant number of successful investments, including Athenahealth, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), Endeca (acquired by Oracle), Heptagon (acquired by AMS), IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Kintana (acquired by Mercury Interactive), Phoenix Labs and Xfire (acquired by Viacom), Tudou (NASDAQ: TUDO later acquired by Youku/Alibaba), and Vocera Communications (NASDAQ: VCRA). Hany currently serves on the board of directors of AviaGames, Forma.ai, Forte, Petra, Regology, and Uhnder. Before founding GGV Capital, Mr. Nada spent ten years on Wall Street as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co., specializing in internet software and infrastructure. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he earned a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science. 

Before joining Allina Health, Ms. Shannon held the roles of chief operating officer and president of KentuckyOne Health, the largest integrated health system in Kentucky, owned by Catholic Health Initiatives (now CommonSpirit Health). Preceding her time at CHI, Ms. Shannon served in several executive leadership roles at Spectrum Health (now Corewell Health) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, including three years as chief operating officer.  She began her career as a clinical dietitian at The Community Hospital in Springfield, Ohio, and spent 10 years at OhioHealth Corporation in Columbus, rising to vice president of ambulatory services.  

She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio and earned a Master of Business Administration from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio.  Ms. Shannon places a great deal of value on community and professional engagement. She currently serves on the Board of Greater Twin Cities United Way, the Minnesota Business Partnership and the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business Strategic Board of Advisors. She is also a member of the American Hospital Association Health Systems Committee, Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable and Itasca Project.