Alumni Leaders in the Classroom — Business
August 23, 2017
Brian Whinnery’98 grew up three blocks away from CDH, and always wanted to go the school. Brian played football (quarterback) and baseball (pitcher). His team won state titles in baseball his Sophomore, Junior and Senior year. After he graduated from CDH he attended the University of St. Thomas earning his major in Accounting and graduated in '02. He completed his graduate course work in Educational Leadership from St. Mary’s University. Brian joined Hays Companies in 2016 as part of their benefits team specifically in the retirement plan department.
Kate Steineman’94 attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she graduated in 1998 majoring in both Economics and Business and minoring in Spanish and History. She began working for Wells Fargo, where she has been employed for the last 19 years. She began her career in Sales, and she moved onto Sales Management and ran one of the only all-female offices for the company at that time for the next three years, winning Distinguished Office awards all three years. Kate was asked to move back to Minnesota in 2010 to lead a team for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and assumed the role of Vice President, Operations Manager. In 2012, Kate’s role transitioned to Vice President, Business Liaison Manager within the Strategic Engagement Management team at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
Tony Fisher’93 is the owner and president of K1 Sportswear, a sportswear apparel manufacturer based in Minnesota. K1 is the largest hockey uniform manufacturer in the United States and Tony purchased the company in 2016. In addition to hockey, K1 also focuses on baseball and lacrosse uniforms. Prior to owning K1 Sportswear Tony spent the majority of his career in retail at Target Corporation. He started his Target career in College and Pro Sports Apparel, and held many positions throughout merchandising and Operations, until his last role as President of Target Canada. While at CDH Tony played baseball and continued his playing career through college at the University of St. Thomas as well as at the professional level.
Krista O’Malley’90 has swum with Humpback whales, run marathons, and is known for her passion for excellence, enthusiasm, straight talk, and obsessive attention to detail. This is fitting for the CEO and Principal of cmnd+m, a Minnesota-based brand experience design firm, as all of these characteristics are necessary for best-in-class design and innovation in an industry tasked with perpetually creating what’s next for brand-to-consumer experiences. Although a St. Paul native, Krista is a Badger at heart (go Bucky!) having graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Krista has recently started her own charitable foundation and is involved with several business organizations.