Joel A. Schleicher to receive University of Minnesota’s 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Joel A. Schleicher, founder and executive chairman for Cyber Risk Management, LLC (“CRM” and its partner companies: Sunera, LLC and ANRC, LLC), will receive the University’s Entrepreneur of the Year award on Wednesday, September 9, at 5:00 p.m., at the University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis. The ceremony will feature welcoming remarks from University President Eric Kaler and the announcement of the winners of the 2015 Minnesota Cup, a competition that supports and encourages emerging entrepreneurs and highlights the University of Minnesota’s role as a hub for innovation.

“Joel’s a passionate entrepreneur who has built and led management teams in several national technology companies,” said John Stavig, professional director of the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. “We’re proud to recognize Joel as a role model who has not only founded a billion-dollar company at Presidio, but who continues to build new ventures that create jobs and opportunities for its employees.  He has a strategic grasp of the technology industry, and a demonstrated ability to build successful organizations that solve important problems.”

Schleicher graduated with a BSB-accounting from the Carlson School in 1974.  For 30 years he has led and/or founded technology companies selling enterprise solutions, initially serving as the president/COO and board member for Nextel Communications, Inc. before pursuing his own ventures. Schleicher founded Presidio Networked Solutions in 2003 and grew it to more than $1.4 billion in revenue before selling the company in 2011. Presidio raised more than $140 million of equity capital and generated returns of greater than 4.2 times capital for its investors, after substantial returns to the employee base.  Not content to rest on his laurels, Schleicher is now building CRM into the market leader in cyber-related IT governance, risk, and compliance services.  CRM already has more than 200 employees and is seeking to drive consolidation in the fragmented cyber security market.

Schleicher previously served on the Board of Overseers for the Carlson School and is a frequent speaker in entrepreneurship and finance classes.  He is a straight-talking entrepreneur with a simple approach – “Find a pain point, identify the solution, and put yourself in the middle.” A devout capitalist, he emphasizes uncompromising principles, while being a good listener and strong leader, and establishing a committed culture by sharing the credit and wealth with a talented team.   

About CRM/Sunera/ANRC
CRM/Sunera, headquartered in Tampa, Fla., is a leading provider of business and technology risk consulting services throughout the United States and Canada. Sunera’s primary consulting services around data risk management (i.e. cyber security) includes information security, data privacy, data analytics, ERP controls and security, SOX compliance and IT audit. Through hands-on experiences, real world demonstrations, and interactive classroom discussions taught by subject matter experts, ANRC delivers the best in cyber security training and compliance products.

About the MN Cup
In its 11th year, the MN Cup is the largest stateside new venture competition in the country, having supported more than 10,000 participants across the state. The competition’s mission is to seek out, support, celebrate, and promote Minnesota's newest, most innovative business ideas and connect Minnesota entrepreneurs with the resources to advance their concepts. The organization also supports emerging entrepreneurs through events and educational programming.  Participants have gone on to successfully launch businesses, raise capital, and create jobs in Minnesota, and finalists from 2005 through today have raised nearly $180 million to spur innovation and job creation.  The Holmes Center and MN Cup alumni founders hope it will inspire new business ventures and drive economic growth throughout the state of Minnesota. For more information, visit www.mncup.org.