Former CEO of Vascular Solutions, Howard Root, penned this piece for the Star Tribune, chronicling the decline of public companies in Minnesota and why that's a problem. Excerpt:
We’re now down to just 78 public companies headquartered in Minnesota, a drop of eight in the last year alone — and down 100 over the past 25 years. Back in 1992 when the Star Tribune started ranking the top 100 Minnesota public companies, a company had to win a competition to be included. Now, every public company in Minnesota, no matter how tiny, is guaranteed to pick up a participation ribbon every year.
This isn’t just a Minnesota phenomenon. Nationally, the number of public companies peaked at 7,500 in July 1998. In the last 20 years, that number has dropped by more than half. With the number of IPOs down 65 percent over the last two years to the lowest number since 2009, and with only one IPO completed in Minnesota since 2015, this decline is certain to continue.
Howard is also hosting a lunch event with The Center Of The American Experiment on May 12th. Click here for more info and to purchase tickets.
Listen to audio from today's interview with Justice & Drew: