Meet the Judges

Meet the 2025 e-Fest Judges

One of the honors of being an e-Fest finalist is the opportunity to get your ideas in front of some big names in the business world. Each year, e-Fest judges generously donate their time and expertise to the event, helping young entrepreneurs gain the confidence they need to pursue their dreams. Get to know this year’s judges by reading a little about them below.

Richard M. Schulze

Owner, Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club

Founder, The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation
Founder and Executive Chairman, Best Buy

2025 Keynote Speaker

In years to come, Richard Schulze hopes that his legacy will be his major contributions to three important areas: business, education and entrepreneurship.

Richard M. “Dick” Schulze, the founder of The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, is also founder and chairman emeritus of Best Buy Co., Inc., the world’s largest multi-channel, consumer-electronic retailer.

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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.

RYAN KRUIZENGA, Partner | Arthur Ventures 

Ryan Kruizenga has been a Partner at Arthur Ventures since joining the firm in 2016. He joined Arthur Ventures from Mainsail Partners where he focused on growth-stage B2B software investments. Prior to Mainsail, Mr. Kruizenga was the founder of a software startup, an investor with Summit Partners, and a member of the Technology Investment Banking team at Piper Jaffray. He graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in entrepreneurship. 

HANY NADA, Co-founder & Partner | ACME Capital

Hany Nada is a trusted advisor to CEOs and leadership teams, helping both public and private companies navigate complex market dynamics and scale effectively. With over 25 years of venture capital experience, he has partnered with more than 150 companies across the U.S.,
Europe, and Asia, providing strategic guidance on global expansion, business development, go-to-market strategies, and M&A/IPO execution.

In 2018, Mr. Nada co-founded ACME Capital after nearly two decades at GGV Capital, where he was a Co-founder and Partner. At GGV, he pioneered a one-team approach, fostering a strong cross-border culture between the firm’s U.S. and China offices. He led GGV’s first investment in China and served as Managing Partner from 2000 to 2016 before continuing as a Venture Partner until 2018.

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MAHENDRA NATH—Founder & C.E.O. | Nath Companies

Nath Companies began purchasing residential real estate properties in the late 1970s. In 1990, Mahendra and Asha Nath acquired two Burger King Restaurants from Burger King Corporation. These restaurants out-performed their expectations, and soon the company began expanding their restaurant ownership and management company. In 1997, the company had grown to become the fourth largest Burger King franchisee with over 156 restaurants operating in six states (MN, IA, WI, IL, FL and NC). By the end of 2000, Nath Companies owned Burger Kings, Axels/Bonfire Restaurants, and Denny’s Restaurants along with several hotels (branded under Radisson, Ramada, Quality Inn & Suites, Holiday Inns and Hampton Inns) and commercial and residential real estate.

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LISA SHANNON, President and Chief Executive Officer | Allina Health

Lisa Shannon is the CEO of Allina Health, a nonprofit healthcare system that serves communities in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. She has the responsibility of setting the overall strategic direction for Allina Health, ensuring the organization delivers exceptional care and supports the health and well-being of all those served.

Prior to her appointment as CEO, she served as president and chief operating officer, accountable for driving exceptional clinical, operational and financial performance, thus allowing Allina Health to deliver quality, affordable care to the communities we serve.

Before joining Allina Health, 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, Shannon served in several executive leadership roles at Spectrum Health (now Corewell Health) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, including three years as chief operating officer.

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VIK UPPAL, Founder, CEO and CIO | Mavik

Prior to founding Mavik, Vik was a Partner and Head of Real Estate at Axar Capital Management and Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group. He joined Fortress from Mount Kellett Capital Management, where he was co-head of North American real estate investments. Vik began his career as a real estate operator and developer focused on acquiring distressed and underperforming assets.

Vik holds a BS from the University of St. Thomas and an MS in Real Estate from Columbia University.