Sidney Applebaum, B.A. '41, founder, Rainbow Foods

Roman Arnoldy B.S. '33, founder, Triten Corp. (deceased)

Earl Bakken, B.S. '48, inventor of first transistorized cardiac pacemaker; founder of Medtronic, Inc.

Lyle Berman, B.S. '64, founder of Grand Casinos, which is now Lakes Entertainment Inc., where he is chairman, president and CEO

Paul Brainerd, M.A. '75, creator of Aldus Pagemaker; founder of Social Venture Partners, a nonprofit company for professionals to volunteer for social and environmental causes

Brian Brockway, M.S. '79, founder and CEO of Data Sciences, a company that provides implantable data collection and monitoring systems for laboratory animals

Emilie Buchwald, Ph.D. '71, cofounder of Milkweed Editions, one of America's largest literary nonprofit presses

Larry Buegler, B.S. '59, former president of Norwest Bank; also worked in Russia using World Bank and USAID money to establish farm banking regulations and procedures; appointed head of St. Paul Community Economic Commission

Jim Campbell, B.S. '64, general vice president of Minnesota Banking, Wells Fargo Bank

Margaret Campbell-McCullough, Ph.D. '80, first woman president of Christian Children's Fund, 1984.

Curtis Carlson, B.A. '37, founder of Carlson Companies, Inc. (deceased)

Seymour Cray, M.A. '51, super-computer creator; cofounder of Cray Research and Control Data Corp. (deceased)

Jack Dangermond, M.S. '68, founder and CEO of ESRI, the world's leading creator of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software

John Durand, M.A. '66, president of Minnesota Diversified Industries, a nonprofit corporation that trains and creates employment for people with disabilities

Calvin Fisher, B.A. '50, founder of Fisher Foods Ltd.

Archie Givens, Jr. , M.A. '68, CEO of Legacy Management; donor of the U's Givens Collection of early African-American literature

Irwin Goodman, B.A. '37, founder of Goodman Jewelers

Kent Horsager, B.S. '84, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange

Stanley Hubbard, B.A. '55, chairman and CEO of Hubbard Broadcasting (KSTP) and pioneer in satellite television

John Hughes, B.S. '70, M.S. '75, cofounder, CEO, and president of Rhythm and Hues, an Academy Award-winning special effects and animation studio in Los Angeles (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Michael Illbruck, B.S. '85, M.B.A. '87, chairman and owner of illbruck, GmbH, a German manufacturing firm; sponsor of the illbruck Challenge sailing team. See profile.

Ted Johnson, B.S. '82, senior vice president for tools development at Microsoft; helped develop Windows operating system at Microsoft and Pagemaker at Aldus

Jim Johnson, Ph.D. '70, Vice Chairman of Perseus LLC; former CEO of Fannie Mae, nation's largest home mortgage lender; headed search for John Kerry's vice presidential candidate.

Joe Juran, B.S. '25, popularized Total Quality Management; founder Juran Institute

Annette Lin, first female chief bank examiner in the Republic of China

Harvey Mackay, B.A. '54, owner of Mackay Envelope and best-selling author

Richard "Pinky" McNamara, B.A. '56, founder and CEO of Activar; member of the U of M Board of Regents; lead donor for the U of M's McNamara Alumni Center

Frank Mullaney, B.S. '43, cofounder Cray Research and Control Data Corp. (deceased)

Dale Olseth, B.A. '52, chairman and CEO of SurModics; former CEO of Medtronic and Tonka Toys

Fai-Nan "Paul" Perng, M.A. '71, governor of the Central Bank of China in Taiwan

Harvey Ratner, B.A. 49, former co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves; co-owner of Northwest Racquet Swim & Health Clubs, Inc.

Kristin Anderson Rauschenbach, B.S. '84, cofounder and CEO of PhotonEx which produces high-speed products for communications; holds several patents and was formerly with MIT's Lincoln Labs

Lee Raymond, Ph.D. '63, CEO of Exxon-Mobil, the world's largest oil company

Richard Sandor, Ph.D. '67, chairman and CEO of Environmental Financial Products, L.L.C., which specializes in developing and trading in new environmental, financial, and commodity markets. Read Profile.

Scott Schaffner, B.S. '92, venture manager at Medtronic; quarterback for the Gophers for four years

Dean Scheff, '57, founder and CEO of CPT word-processing firm; currently of Image Systems Corp.

Roger Schelper, B.A. '72, B.S. '72, cofounder of Davanni's Pizza

Irving Shapiro, B.S. '39, J.D. '41, former CEO and chair of E.I. duPont Co. and a director of Citicorp

Stone Shih, M.A. '67, president of China Television Company of Taiwan

Dave Sippel, Ph.D. '70, co-founder and now retired executive vice president and CTO of PEMSTAR, Inc.

Steve Snyder, Ph.D. '94, founder of Net Perceptions, an international computer information and technology company

Tom Staggs, B.A. '82, senior executive vice president of Walt Disney Co.

Hicks Waldron, '44, former CEO of Avon

Dan Weiss, Ph.D. '96, founded Amizade, non-profit company that works to preserve forests in Brazil, Australia, and Yellowstone

Roy Wetterstrom, B.S. '86, founder of Plural, a consulting firm that works with start-up companies 

Donald F. Wright, B.S. '57, M.B.A. '58, former COO and president of the Los Angeles Times

Michael Wright, B.A. '61, J.D. '63, CEO of Supervalu (Cub Foods, SuperValu), nation's leading food distributor