Sponsor: Community & Economic Development
Title
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Agreement with Hennepin County for CEO Next Business Institute and CEO Now Programming
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Recommendation
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1. Authorize the County Manager to execut an agreement with Hennepin County for CEO Next Business Institute and CEO Now Programming for the period of December 2025 through December 2026 in accordance with the rates established in the agreement.
2. Authorize the County Manager to execute amendments to the agreement in accordance with the county’s procurement policies and procedures in a form approved by the County Attorney’s Office.
3. Authorize the County Manager to establish a project budget of $95,000 for the and CEO Now Programming in the Community and Economic Development budget.
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Background and Rationale
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In 2024, Ramsey County launched the CEO Now business program for the first time in partnership with Hennepin County. Designed to accelerate the growth and expansion of existing businesses, CEO Now focuses on early-stage, growth-minded companies. The program equips new founders with the strategic and technical skills needed to build a strong foundation for long-term success, including business systemization and scaling strategies.
Eligible participants are privately owned businesses with at least one employee beyond the owner, a minimum of two years in operation, and annual revenue of at least $250,000. The inaugural cohort saw six Small Business CEOs successfully graduate. All of them are still operating and a few of the participants have been showcased on the Community and Economic Development (CED) newsletter and social media platforms.
CEO Next is a no-cost cohort program that provides practical tools and techniques designed specifically for growing regional second-stage companies. Ramsey County has also partnered with Hennepin, Dakota, and Scott counties to offer this business program at no cost for business leaders who manage annual sales revenues between $1 Million and $50 Million and have 10-99 employees.
The CEO Next program connects CEOs and their businesses with a team of topical experts and research specialists who will spend up to 45 hours addressing areas of human resources, operations and supply chain, accounting and finance, global trade, sales and marketing, succession planning, secondary market research, online marketing and customer prospecting.
Additionally, CED referred each participant of in both programs to New Impact Fund, a nonprofit organization that offers capital to small businesses, giving them the opportunity to access financial support.
With the continuation of the CEO Now and CEO Next programs, Ramsey County is strengthening its ability to support emerging and expanding businesses, fostering a more competitive and resilient regional economy.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☐ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
The Ramsey County Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion Plan calls for several strategies to foster a more economically competitive community including:
• Strategy 6: Develop pathways to entrepreneurship and Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous business ownership.
• Strategy 7: Attract and grow high-wage industry and innovation: technology, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences.
• Strategy 8: Strengthen business retention and expansion infrastructure to support communities.
This ECI Plan prioritizes racial equity as a key factor in regional competitiveness. The County expands opportunities for historically underserved communities and supports Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous-owned businesses, which is growing at 3.5 times faster than all Minnesota companies. The county leverages business programming like CEO Next and CEO Now to attract investment, retain and grow small businesses, and create pathways to entrepreneurship. Through support of businesses in their growth, the county follows through with the ECI Plan’s aims to add 500 minority-owned businesses, generate 6,690 jobs, reduce wage disparities, and strengthen both equity and economic competitiveness across the region.
The CEO Next and CEO Now programs provide critical assistance to small businesses, enabling the implementation of the ECI Plan strategies mentioned above and resulting in the following outcomes:
• 63% of the graduates of CEO Now and Next in 2024 and 2025 from the Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous-owned businesses.
• Those graduates represent different industries including health care, utilities, hospitality, construction, auto repair, and technology.
• 36% of those graduates are from suburban Ramsey Cities including Maplewood, Roseville, and White Bear Lake.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Community participation in this board action is to inform the community of programming that comes as a result of a robust engagement process conducted in the development of the Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion Plan.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
The cost for the upcoming CEO Next Business Institute and CEO Now Programming is not to exceed $95,000. The cost pays for up to four Ramsey County Participants in CEO Now and nine participants in CEO Next. Funds for the CEO Now and CEO Next were budgeted in the 2025 Community and Economic Development operating budget. These funds will be put into a project and expended in 2026.
Last Previous Action
On April 15, 2025, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved the CEO Now Partnership Agreement with Hennepin County (Resolution B2025-044).
Attachments
1. None.