Minnesota Business Partnership

What Minnesota Business Partnership does

Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) is a nonpartisan public policy organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It comprises more than 100 CEOs and senior executives from Minnesota's largest employers, whose companies collectively employ over 500,000 Minnesotans, pay $15 billion in wages and benefits, and contribute more than $300 million in charitable giving. The organization represents members on four policy pillars: jobs and the economy, education and workforce development, health care, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Minnesota ranks among the top U.S. states for Fortune 500 companies per capita, and MBP's membership spans the bulk of the state's flagship enterprises.

MBP's "product" is collective policy advocacy rather than a commercial technology offering. It engages Minnesota state legislators and policymakers through three core engagement vehicles: HQExperience (legislator site visits to member company headquarters), Legislative Visits (bipartisan legislator tours of member companies), and an Annual Dinner that convenes approximately 1,000 business, civic, and political leaders. Supplementary programs include the Minnesota's Future Award (recognizing high-performing public elementary schools since 2006), the Legacy Award (corporate responsibility and philanthropy), and the Made in Minnesota storytelling initiative. CEO Kurt Zellers (former Minnesota Speaker of the House, 2011–2012) leads a small internal staff of 1-10 with policy directors covering education and workforce, health, and fiscal policy.

The business model is a recurring membership dues subscription paid by participating companies. Revenue is concentrated in B2B enterprise membership rather than product sales or services. Go-to-market centers on direct recruitment of Fortune 500-level Minnesota employers and sustained relationship-building with state legislators and the Governor's administration. Strategic partnerships with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Greater MSP were formalized through a January 2026 joint open letter co-signed by more than 60 Minnesota CEOs, signaling an expanding coalition posture under current leadership.

Name

Minnesota Business Partnership

Legal name

Minnesota Business Partnership

Website

https://mnbp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Minnesota Business Partnership is a nonpartisan, membership-based public policy organization founded in 1977, representing more than 100 CEOs of Minnesota's largest employers in state-level advocacy on jobs, education, health care, and economic vitality.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: MBP generates revenue through membership dues paid by CEOs and senior executives of Minnesota's largest employers who join the organization to collectively advocate on state policy issues and engage with policymakers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) is a nonpartisan membership-based business association of more than 100 CEOs and senior executives from Minnesota's largest employers. The organization collectively advocates on state policy issues — including jobs and the economy, education and workforce development, and health care — through direct engagement with state legislators, policy briefings, testimony, and coalition-building. It also runs community programs such as the Minnesota's Future Award, Legacy Award, Made in Minnesota initiative, and the HQExperience legislative visits program.

Product overview

The Minnesota Business Partnership is a nonpartisan public policy organization, not a technology product company. It comprises more than 100 CEOs and senior executives from Minnesota's largest employers who collaborate on policy advocacy, legislative engagement, and community initiatives. The organization focuses on four primary issue areas: jobs and the economy, education and workforce development, health care, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Its programs include Legislative Visits (HQExperience), the Minnesota's Future Award recognizing educational excellence, the Legacy Award for corporate responsibility, and the Made in Minnesota storytelling initiative. MBP does not offer commercial technology products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legislative Visits / HQExperience Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60 CEOs co-signed open letter on state challenges (January 2026)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Minnesota Chamber of CommerceflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-released open letter on behalf of 60+ Minnesota CEOs in January 2026 addressing state challenges and calling for cooperation among officials.
• Greater MSPcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership organization representing the Minneapolis-St. Paul regional economic development ecosystem; co-released CEO open letter.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Minnesota Chamber of Commerce: Minnesota's largest statewide business association representing employers of all sizes. Direct peer to MBP in mission and geography; both engage state legislators on behalf of Minnesota employers and have already co-released joint CEO advocacy letters.
• Greater MSP: Regional economic development organization for the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro. Comparable to MBP in advocating for Minnesota business competitiveness and co-releasing joint CEO open letters; differs in being focused on regional growth and talent attraction rather than state policy.
• Itasca Project: Twin Cities-based CEO-led initiative focused on economic competitiveness and quality-of-life issues in Minnesota. Highly comparable to MBP in membership composition (CEOs of major MN employers) and policy focus areas such as workforce and economic vitality.

Broad incumbents

• Business Roundtable: National association of CEOs of major U.S. corporations. Operates at federal scale on the same advocacy model MBP uses at the state level; relevant peer for understanding how CEO coalitions translate economic scale into policy influence.
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Largest national business federation. Comparable to MBP as a business advocacy organization with a membership-dues revenue model, though it operates federally and represents businesses across all sizes rather than large state-based employers.
• National Association of Manufacturers: Largest U.S. manufacturing trade association. Relevant peer because many MBP member companies (3M, Medtronic, Cargill, Hormel) are in NAM's orbit; NAM provides a comparable model of sectoral CEO advocacy at national scale.

Regional players

• Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce: Wisconsin's statewide business association combining chamber of commerce and manufacturer advocacy functions. Closely comparable organizational model to MBP in a neighboring Midwestern state, serving as a useful regional benchmark.
• TwinWest Chamber of Commerce: Regional chamber serving the western Twin Cities metro. Comparable business-advocacy mission to MBP but at a sub-state geographic level and with a broader employer membership base rather than CEO-only.
• The Business Council of New York State: Statewide business advocacy association for New York employers. Comparable to MBP in operating as a state-level CEO/business coalition influencing state policy, but in a different geography.

Others

• Minnesota Manufacturers Coalition: Adjacent state-level industry advocacy coalition focused on manufacturing policy. Comparable in structure to MBP (employer-led policy advocacy in Minnesota) but narrower in industry scope; included as an ecosystem adjacency rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bizpartnership
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minnesota-business-partnership

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Minnesota Business Partnership