Inaugural Minnesota HR THRIVE Awards

An Event Built for HR Leadership

Last Wednesday marked the inaugural Minnesota HR THRIVE Awards. More than 250 leaders came together to celebrate HR leaders from across Minnesota. The room buzzed with energy, respect, and shared pride in the work shaping organizations every day.

The Most Complex Seat in the C-Suite

The CHRO role carries an unparalleled breadth of responsibility. Few c-suite positions demand such range—requiring one leader to serve simultaneously as organizational architect, executive coach, board partner, operational leader, advocate for humanity, mentor, and sponsor of change. Along with the constant work of bringing clarity in a fast-moving business environment, this level of complexity deserves focused recognition.

Why the HR THRIVE Awards Matter

The HR THRIVE Awards stand on a clear belief – HR leadership is business leadership. The awards are designed to shine a light on leaders who drive results through people, culture, and systems and ultimately shape how strategy becomes action and how values show up in daily work.

The first Minnesota HR THRIVE Awards set a high bar. Leaders showed up to honor peers who are doing the hard, meaningful work of moving their organizations forward through disciplined people leadership. This was a celebration of impact, not titles, and it signaled to the business community that HR leadership matters and deserves recognition at the highest level.

The HR THRIVE Awards honored these leaders:

• NextGen HR Leaders – honoring those early in their careers who are already making a powerful impact. Honorees include Taylor Gardner, Jon Harden, Sarah Landers-Balder, Jenna Longo, Beth McWilliams, Bincy Mitchell, Ashley Ross, and Chelsie Tilkens.

• Empower HR – honoring leaders who elevate others and multiply goodness through mentorship and advocacy. Finalists include Leah Henrikson, Kyle Rich, and Amanda Ruch; with Patience Ferguson as the winner.

• HR Innovator Award – honoring professionals using technology to spark momentum and efficiency. Finalists include Sarah Johnson, Michelle Lemahieu, Krishna Sallman, Koni Thomas; with Krystal Holmes as the winner.

• Good Leadership Award – honoring HR executives shaping strategy, culture, and results. Finalists include Lindsey Bauer, Denise Le Mere-Anderson, Michelle Mueller, and Rochelle Remund; with Kelly Hansen as the winner.

• BONUS: We had SO many amazing nominations that the independent judging committee was unable to narrow to 5 finalists for the Good Leadership Award. So, they created an additional category: Good Leadership Honorable Mentions which include Jennifer Bartels, Rhonda Cox, Tami Cybulski, Oyekolawa Fatusin, and Kathy Megarry.

Nothing significant happens alone – a team of smart, thoughtful leaders partnered together to make this event a success to lift up the HR community. Thank you to Gallagher, Twin Cities Business, and all the sponsors of the HR THRIVE Awards. A photo gallery from the event is available here.

To all HR leaders, and all those who support HR leaders, thank you. Thank you for continuing to show up each day, to lead through all sorts of confusion and change, and for balancing the care and concern for people with the needs of the organization. The impact of your leadership does not go unnoticed.