Center for Innovation

 
 
image: Doug Burgum Doug Burgum is a senior vice president at Microsoft and president of the Microsoft Great Plains division. Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions is a leading provider of business applications that help small and mid-sized companies become more agile in today's interconnected economy. Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions was created through Microsoft's April 2001 acquisition of Great Plains.

Microsoft Great Plains has been recognized as a leader in providing e-business solutions that include financials, project accounting, distribution, electronic commerce, human resources and payroll, manufacturing, enterprise reporting, sales and marketing management, and customer service and support applications.

Doug earned top honors in the technology category of Ernst and Young's 1997 Minnesota and Dakotas "Entrepreneur of the Year" awards. He has been honored in Accounting Today magazine by being named to its "The Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting" list for the past five years.

Doug Burgum
Great Plains Software
Year Inducted: 1989
 
 
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image: John Odegard John Odegard, Dean of the UND Center for Aerospace Sciences, and President of the non-profit UND Aerospace Foundation, is a native of Minot, ND. In 1968, Odegard pioneered UND’s aviation program with one other faculty member and a pair of aircraft financed by the University’s Alumni Foundation. Under his leadership, the college has grown to become one of the nation’s most widely respected aerospace education programs, and a leader in atmospheric research. Beginning with only 12 students, enrollment is now over 1,400. The Center’s flight training facility is the largest of its kind in North America. Odegard’s reputation for leadership has earned him industry respect and numerous rewards.
John Odegard
UND Aerospace
Year Inducted: 1989
 
 
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image: Norman Jones Norman Jones began his career at Metropolitan Federal in 1952 and was named President in 1967. At that time, Metropolitan’s assets were $57.5 million and its branches were limited to the Red River Valley. By 1990, it was one of the largest institutions of its kind with assets of $4.3 billion and a financial performance that ranked in the nation’s top ten. It was the first North Dakota company to be named to the Fortune 500 list. Jones was named Chairman of the Board in 1983 and led the company’s conversion from a mutual to a stock thrift. Among Metropolitan’s innovations were the acquisition of Edina Realty, Minnesota’s largest home seller, and the acquisition of seven insolvent thrifts. Metropolitan was acquired by the First Bank System in 1995, at which time Metropolitan had assets of over $8 billion.
Norman M. Jones
Metropolitan Federal
Year Inducted: 1990
 
 
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image: Bob Spolum Bob Spolum joined the Melroe Company in 1963 as Controller; sales at that time were $4 million. When he was named Executive Vice President in 1969, sales had increased to $25 million. Today, sales of the Bobcat® skid-steer loader total $500 million per year, outselling the nearest competitor two to one. All of the Bobcats sold worldwide are manufactured in Gwinner and Bismarck, North Dakota. Fortune magazine has twice named the Bobcat one of "America’s Top 100 Products." Today, Melroe is owned by Clark Equipment Co. and employs 1,500 people. Spolum retired as President and Chairman of the Board of Melroe in 1992.
Bob Spolum
Melroe Company
Year Inducted: 1991
 
 
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image: Gary Tharaldson’s Gary Tharaldson’s Fargo-based company, Tharaldson Enterprises, is the largest developer of new motels in the U.S. Today, his company owns and operates 225 motel properties in 21 states, including 13 in North Dakota. Carving out a market niche, Tharaldson’s motels fall into the "economy luxury" category and are located in mid-size university cities. Hotel and Resort Industry Magazine called him "the entrepreneurial and financial guru for the U.S. motel development and management industry." Room sales will exceed $190 million in 1996 with a 74% occupancy rate.

Gary Tharaldson
Tharaldson Enterprises
Year Inducted: 1992

 
 
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image: Gerry Groenewold Gerry Groenewold became Director of the UND Energy and Environmental Research Center in 1987. Under his leadership, the EERC has grown from $6 million in annual research contracts to over $21 million in 1996. EERC is the world’s largest low-rank coal research center and the leader in lignite coal and groundwater research. North Dakota’s largest research entity, with a staff of 260, EERC offers technical solutions to energy and environmental problems.
Gerry Groenewold
UND EERC
Year Inducted: 1992
 
 
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image: Judy Johnson Judy Johnson is President and CEO of Meyer Broadcasting of Bismarck, and under her leadership, Meyer Broadcasting has become a national industry leader in automated telecasting, using custom-designed computer applications. Meyer Broadcasting has long dominated the electronic media in western North Dakota and purchased KTHI-TV in 1995. As a partner in Pentor Communications, Johnson was the first American woman to own a business in post-Communist Poland. Pentor Communications is a media conglomerate in Warsaw employing 200 people.
Judy Johnson
Meyer Broadcasting
Year Inducted: 1993
 
 
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image: Barry Batcheller Barry Batcheller is the founding president of Phoenix International Corp. of Fargo, which has an international reputation for quality electronic design and manufacturing. Phoenix supplies electronic instrumentation, control systems, sensors, and other devices to more than a dozen North American manufacturers and five in Europe. Starting with three employees in 1987, Phoenix has grown to over 450 people. Sales have doubled every year since 1990. Batcheller holds 17 patents on control and instrumentation products and has authored numerous papers on the use of electronics in agriculture.

Barry Batcheller
Branic Industries
Year Inducted: 1994

 
 
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image: Darlene Jackson-Hanson Darlene Jackson-Hanson is the President and CEO of Fisher Flying Products and President, CEO, and Owner of Jackson Mfg. of Edgeley, North Dakota. Fisher Flying Products is North Dakota’s only light aircraft kit manufacturer and a leader nationally in the number of models available. Their R-80 Tiger Moth and the Dakota Hawk won "Best of Show" awards at Oshkosh ‘94, the international fly-in convention, and their bi-wing model, the "Classic," has won "Champion" awards for 1991, 1992, and 1993. The company is one of the largest in sales in competition with 60 other companies offering 500 models.
Darleen Jackson-Hanson
Fisher Flying Products
Year Inducted: 1994
 
 
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image: Steve Orr Steve Orr joined Lutheran Health Systems of Fargo in 1988 and serves as its Chairman, President, and CEO. Under his leadership, LHS has experienced the most successful period ever in its 60-year history. Net income increased from $800,000 in 1987 to $55.8 million in 1995. Orr’s commitment to the historical mission of LHS to serve rural areas has proven that rural health care is a vital and important part of America and serves to anchor the economic viability of rural communities. LHS owns, leases, and manages health care facilities in 70 communities across 17 states and employs 14,000 people.

Steve Orr
Lutheran Health Systems
Year Inducted: 1995

 
 
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image: Russ Brown Russ Brown joined the family business, AGSCO, in 1956. After three years at the Watertown, SD, branch, he returned to Grand Forks to become Sales Manager in 1961. He was named CEO and President in 1978, a position he held until 1995, when his son, Randy Brown, was named President. Russ continues as CEO, and his father, Larry, as Chairman of the Board. Under Russ’s leadership, AGSCO expanded tremendously and earned a national reputation as an innovator in the use of seed treatments, herbicides, insecticides, adjuvants, and chemical application equipment.

L. Russell Brown
AGSCO
Year Inducted: 1995

 
 
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image: Wes Rydell After purchasing the Grand Forks Chevrolet dealership from his father, Leonard, in 1976, Wes Rydell has expanded the Rydell organization to include nearly 30 automobile dealerships in seven states. The expansion of the organization has grown out of Wes's personal philosophy rather than the desire to simply "get bigger." Taking great pleasure in promoting the success of his employees, each and every dealer in the organization used to work for Wes, or is an employee of former employees who are now owners. In 1995, Wes established Cartiva, a planned network of used car dealerships, based on the concept of enhancing the image of the car business by taking better care of the customers. He believes giving the customer what they want, when they want it, is the key; profits and market share follow.

Wes Rydell
Rydell Chevrolet/Cartiva
Year Inducted: 1997
 
 
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image: Howard Dahl Continuing a family tradition of creativity and innovation, Howard Dahl founded Concord, Inc., a manufacturer of conservation tillage farm equipment, in 1977 in Fargo. In 1981, the first Concord Air Drill was manufactured. Surviving the severe economic downturn in the ag machinery market of the 1980's, Concord emerged as a leader in seeders for wheat and small grains. Concord was the first to manufacture an air drill with row-by-row packing and precision depth control, the first to put down fertilizer below the seed at the same time as planting, and the first to build a machine that changed seeding and fertilizing rates on the go. After the sale of Concord to Case Corp. in 1996, some of the retained technology was incorporated into Amity Technology, a leading manufacturer of sugar beet harvesting equipment and the manufacturer of the Concord Air Drill in Russia, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and China.
Howard A. Dahl
Oil Pioneer
Year Inducted: 1997
 
 
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image: Donald R. Mengedoth In 1986, when First Bank decided to divest 42 community banks in a five-state territory, Donald R. Mengedoth saw the potential of serving the smaller, mostly rural markets. Mengedoth led a group of investors who acquired 21 of the banks in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. From its unique beginnings with 21 banks and $630 million in assets, Fargo-based Community First has grown under Mengedoth's leadership to become a $6 billion multibank holding company serving 154 communities in 11 states. It now employs 604 people in North Dakota alone. True to its community-based roots, Community First's expansion strategy has been to grow though acquiring financial institutions in small and median sized markets…markets that are typically under-served or overlooked by other major banking organizations.
Donald R. Mengedoth
Community First
Banksharers, Inc.
Year Inducted: 1998
 
 
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image: Richard J. Lee, Ph.D. A native of Berthold, North Dakota, and UND graduate in physics, Richard J. Lee, Ph.D. purchased an analysis and consulting company with six employees in Monroeville, Pennsylvania in 1985. Through his leadership, RJ Lee Group, Inc. now employs a staff of over 120 professionals at five nationwide locations, providing contract research, analytical services and applications development in various fields of materials analysis and problem solving on behalf of an international client base. In the late 1980's, company scientist and engineers developed an innovative personal electron microscope, which is now produced and sold by a new spin-off company, RJ Lee Instruments, Ltd. (now known as ASPEX®, LLC) located in Trafford, Pennsylvania.

R.J. Lee Ph.D.
RJ Lee Group, Inc.
Year Inducted: 1998
 
 
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image: Mark Stutrud Mark Stutrud launched Summit Brewing as a microbrewery in 1984 and built the first new brewery in the Twin Cities area in over 100 years when in 1995 he built his 58,000 square foot brewery with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per year. Summit Brewing became one of only 33 "regional" breweries producing more than 15,000 barrels in 1995. Summit brews - in the tradional British style - three beers year-around and four on a seasonal basis. Profitable since 1990, the company has enjoyed nearly a decade of double digit growth, ranging from 11% to 35%. Summit is one of the nation’s leading regional brewers of specialty beer, and is the premier specialty brewer in the Upper Midwest. Stutrud is a native of Wahpeton and is a graduate of UND as well as the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Mark O. Stutrud
Summit Brewing Co.
Year Inducted: 2000
 
 
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image: Jack Dalrymple Jack Dalrymple, a Casselton, ND durum grower and influential state legislator saw a changing market for pasta and recognized that the quality of pasta the general public was demanding could only be achieved through complete control and integration of the grain procurement, milling and manufacturing processes. Dalrymple also recognized that this could best be achieved through a grower-owned cooperative structure, ensuring a steady supply of the right kind of durum wheat. In its first five years of operation, Dakota Growers became the third largest producer of pasta in North America, employing 500 people with processing capacity of 470,000 million pounds of pasta a year and sales in excess of $150 million.

Jack Dalrymple
Dakota Grower's
Pasta Co.
Year Inducted: 2000
 
 
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image: Tim Dodd Tim Dodd is the foremost authority on integrated pasta manufacturing. He was responsible for the design, construction and start-up of the Dakota Grower’s plant and has continually used innovations to refine the manufacturing process. A Kansas native, Dodd has developed three pasta plants considered leaders in the field. Dodd quadrupled sales of Dakota Grower’s pasta in four years, and built the company’s clientelle to include 30 supermarket chains and a number of restaurant chains. Dodd led the company to become the largest producer of non-branded pasta in the United States, and the third largest pasta producer in the industry.

Tim Dodd
Dakota Grower's
Pasta Co.
Year Inducted: 2000

 
 
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Patrick H. Sweeney has been the President of Weather Modification, Inc. of Fargo since 1992. Weather Modification, Inc. is a worldwide atmospheric research and cloud seeding company conducting business in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, South America and North America. Since the early 1960s, the company has been a worldwide leader in the field of cloud modification and atmospheric research. Currently, the company operates multiple weather radars and more than 25 high performance aircraft staffed by experienced pilots, meteorologists and radar technicians on its cloud seeding and research programs. In 1995, Sweeney formed WMI’s sister company, Fargo Jet Center, Inc., a full service aviation company located in Fargo. In 1999, Sweeney formed Ice Crystal Engineering, LLC, which is the largest producer of cloud seeding pyrotechnics in the world. In 2000, Sweeney was instrumental in the development of Fargo Air Medical LLC, a professional, on-demand, fixed-wing air ambulance service for North Dakota, Minnesota, and the Upper

Wade Into Social Security Privatization: A TCS Interview - TCS Daily

Wade Into Social Security Privatization: A TCS Interview

By Wade Dokken - December 3, 2001 12:00 AM

Editor's Note: "By creating private accounts, you'd create private assets and private assets could be passed onto another generation as capital. And I think that would change the lives of millions of people," says Wade Dokken.

And Wade would know. A former advisor to Hillary Clinton, he is the President and Chief Executive Officer American Skandia, Inc. a financial services companies in the country, with more than $30 billion in client assets under management.

Wade recently sat down with TCS host James Glassman to discuss the coming social security crisis and what to do about it. As the Presidential Commission on Social Security Reform gets ready to present its recommendations this month, Wade's views are especially important.

TCS: Wade Dokken, you have written a book about Social Security, what 's the title?

Wade Dokken: "New Century, New Deal, How to Turn Your Wages into Wealth through Social Security Choice."

TCS: You know, so many people who write about this subject are policy wonks like me. How did you get involved in it?

Wade Dokken: Well, that's a great question. I have always loved public policy but this was more motivated by a series of things, I would say three or four things. One is my love of public policy, my access to information about how out of line our Social Security system is and what we can do about it, and the fact that I, like a lot of people, am a parent and I have three boys for whom I know the Social Security system is not going to deliver.

TCS: Now, what would you like to see as far as reform for Social Security is concerned, just briefly.

Wade Dokken: Well, the most important thing we need to do is we need to have a funded versus an un-funded system. We need to be honest about putting aside money now for the retirement of people at a future date. Today we're not doing that.

Once we've established a funded system, I believe we need to invest it in what I call a modern way, so that those assets that are set aside are being invested as any modern portfolio manager would invest assets, whether that's like the state of California or the state of New Jersey or anybody's 401K.

TCS: When you say a "funded system," I think this is worth spending some time on. How does the current Social Security system work and how is it similar or not similar to a conventional pension plan?

Wade Dokken: Well it's not similar to any other pension plan because the law of the land of the United States is that you can't have pension plans like Social Security. Social Security does not have any assets set aside for anybody's retirement. It's a pay-as-you-go system. You and I as under 62 or under 65-year-old taxpayers pay money in, and people who are now receiving Social Security receive that money within 30 days. It's a conduit system. What we pay in, somebody else receives. Therefore it is dependent upon, when I retire, another generation of people to be doing the same thing.

The problem is -- and it is the crisis question -- the demographics of this nation have changed profoundly in two ways. One, longevity has increased tremendously so we have an ever-increasing percentage of our population that is over age 62, 65. And all those subgroups are the largest growing groups of our population.

The second part is our birth rates are way down. So not only are we living longer but the replacement population is smaller. When Social Security was created we had 43 people supporting every retired person. Today we have 3.1 and in a very short matter of years we'll have two people supporting every retired person. It won't work.

TCS: And so your solution is to allow individuals to invest part of what they now pay in payroll taxes in private accounts in stocks and bonds, is that correct?

Wade Dokken: That's correct. That's the third part. I said number one: a funded system. Number two: invest in a modern way. And the third conclusion, I believe, is to allow people to at least have the option of having their money invested in private accounts.

TCS: And exactly how would that work? Would people be free to put their money just about anywhere, the way they do now with 401Ks? The 401K plan, of course, is limited by the offerings of the employer. But there are hundreds, probably thousands of choices, is that the way this would work?

Wade Dokken: I doubt it. It's not what I would recommend. Social Security is the foundation retirement plan for all Americans. And as such, if that money is squandered in any way, you would have a social crisis. So I think what would happen is there would be some significant limitations.

I believe a recommendation would be to let people invest in bank CDs which are guaranteed and are very safe and have a rate of return that is far in excess of Social Security's rate of return today.

It is also possible that you allow people to stay invested in a Social Security system and that all the money is held in a pooled account and managed like any other state pension system.

A third option is to allow people to have a limited number of choices and those choices would probably be automatic portfolios that have a combination of stocks, bonds, and cash so the risk would be very low.

TCS: Now when you said your second option, which is pooled accounts, are you saying that you think that it would be a good idea if, let's say, government employees or a government-run board were to make investment decisions for Americans? That is what, I guess, Alan Greenspan has been alarmed about, the notion of the government itself becoming a large shareholder in American corporations.

Wade Dokken: I think it's a possible outcome, but it's not one that I support. The reason I don't support it is I believe the politicization of it would be too great. For example, if the government owned the stocks, who would vote the shares of those stocks? I think that's a problem. I think quickly it would be politicized another way, in which the government would set up laws that we can't invest in certain types of stocks.

So it's not a proposal that I personally support, but I think it is a proposal that is supported by almost half the people in Congress.

TCS: But you don't think, in general, that people should have a wide range of choices. Another model might be the thrift savings plan, which is kind of the federal equivalent of a 401K plan.

Wade Dokken: I think that's a very good model. It has five choices. It's a great model because there are limited choices, they're indexed funds, and there are very low fees.

Currently there is a way to save for college education which is known by a lot of people, it's called a 529 plan, and what occurs in 529 plans is, you get those five choices. But there are combinations of stocks and bonds already established. So, for instance, as you're younger, you'll have a higher percent in stocks. And as you get older and you have less time to take risk, [the plan] would automatically [move savings] to a lower [risk of investment]. And I think some kind of structure like that would ultimately be the best thing to do.

TCS: Now let me get this straight. Is a reform of this nature intended to save Social Security in a financial sense? Or is it to provide Americans with a way to own their own retirement plan and have more money when they retire?

Wade Dokken: Well, I would argue that it's both. Social Security is a bankrupt system. At one point, we can model that it will be $27 trillion in deficit in about 30 years. So there's no financial scenario except for a growth rate for the U.S. economy sustained over decades that we've never achieved that will bail it out.

Having said that, one of the things that is important to realize is that the kind of implicit rate of return for Social Security today, for people under 50, is approximately zero. And it gets negative as you get younger. Compare that to the worst 50-year period for the stock market, which is plus 4 percent.

So we can save Social Security and at the same time create an income stream for people retiring which is greater than Social Security.

TCS: Now some people say this is not a good time to bring up the idea of reform that involves any kind of stock market investing. Isn't it risky for Americans to have their retirement dollars tied up in the stock market?

Wade Dokken: Well the risky scheme would be to do nothing. I can guarantee you that people will lose money on Social Security if we do nothing. So if guaranteed loss of your investment principle is safety, then we have the safest system we can create.

Having said that, there's no level of analysis that does not tell you that owning a basket of stocks and bonds over a long period of time is going to produce superior returns. And the risk is focusing on the very short period of time, or the risk is having an insufficiently diversified portfolio, both of which would be solved by using indexed funds and having long-term, pooled accounts.

TCS: So the point is that over a long period of time, if you have a diversified account, the riskiness of stocks is....

Wade Dokken: Negligible.

TCS: Certainly no greater than bonds, as many economists have found.

Wade Dokken: Well bonds are riskier than stocks. Risk is two things. Risk is short-term volatility [and] bonds can have short-term volatility just like stocks can. But risk is also opportunity foregone. And when you look at the average rate of return for a basket of stocks over a 50-year period, it is nearly seven percent after inflation. It's almost nine, ten percent before inflation. And Social Security is, today, for the entire population, at 1.7 percent. And for the younger population it's a negative number. It's difficult for me to see the risk in diversified equity portfolios.

TCS: Now your own firm, American Skandia, is in the annuity business. I think people would be wondering whether your book might be self-interested. Are there ways that you can gain as a result of this reform?

Wade Dokken: Well it depends on what the reform is. My reform has been careful on that. I'm thrilled if the outcome is 100 percent of the assets go into the thrift savings plan, in which companies like American Skandia do not participate.

I do believe that the economy -- and therefore all of our boats -- will rise if Americans are actually converting Social Security to a savings program. The pool of investment capital available will almost, undoubtedly, mean that we'll have sustained, longer, and higher growth rates.

TCS: Just as a last question since we focus on technology on our website, Tech Central Station. What would be the effect on technology companies as a result of a reform like this?

Wade Dokken: I'm not a futurist, but I would give you one small example. There's no predicted reform that will not focus on the administrative costs of the accounts. And the only way to solve the administrative costs will be to have everybody able to avoid talking to people on the telephone but build their access to accounts and model things right on the Internet.

But this is a powerful application, because if you now have 280 million people, all with the same need to access data on the Internet that involves their money, I think what will flow from that will be a much greater sophistication in Internet banking, Internet investing, and Internet shopping.

TCS: As well as providing capital for Internet companies.

Wade Dokken: As well as providing capital for them, yes.

TCS: Wade, some people might be surprised to find out your party affiliation and that you've been fairly active politically. Tell us just about your politics?

Wade Dokken: Well, I'm standing in my office looking at a picture of myself and a picture of Senator Hillary Clinton, so you can get some ideas on it. I'm a Democrat and I'm a liberal. I'm a socially tolerant liberal and a fiscal conservative, and I see nothing that I've said which is in conflict with that.

If you create pools of capital where the guy today -- who might be a laborer or anybody today who might be of the underclass -- could have a pool of capital of $250,000 or $500,000 of their own wealth, I think that's the greatest social program you could create.

TCS: I mean in a sense, of course, wealthier Americans already have pension plans that are oriented around stocks and bonds, and less well-off people don't have those things and really don't own their own retirement accounts, is that correct?

Wade Dokken: That is correct. And in fact, what people forget is the class of people most damaged by Social Security today: single, black men. And the reason is that they often are poor, and poverty creates lower mortality rates, and lower mortality rates mean that which they paid in they don't ultimately receive. By creating private accounts, you'd create private assets and private assets could be passed onto another generation as capital. And I think that would change the lives of millions of people.

TCS: Well, thank you, Wade Dokken, this was a good note to end on.

Wade Dokken: It was my pleasure, thank you.

Wade Dokken Named President and CEO of AmericanSkandia. | Company Activities & Management > Board & Management Changes from AllBusiness.com

Business and Financial Editors

SHELTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2000

Skandia Insurance Company Ltd. announced today that Wade Dokken has been promoted to president and CEO of the company's American subsidiary, succeeding Jan R. Carendi, founder of American Skandia, Inc. and its subsidiaries, who is stepping down after 13 years as president and CEO. Jan R. Carendi will remain as chairman of the board during a transitional period.

Jan R. Carendi comments: "After nearly 30 years at Skandia, including the start-up and leadership of American Skandia during its first 13 years, I take great satisfaction in the fact that we have achieved a leading position in the U.S. and global long-term savings markets. At this time, it feels appropriate to hand over the CEOship to Wade Dokken, who has been my deputy CEO for the past two years. I will be dedicating all my energy to developing new markets and long-term solutions for Skandia in a changing world."

Wade Dokken, chief operating officer and deputy CEO of American Skandia, also serves on the Executive Management Board of Skandia since March 2000. Dokken, 40, began his career in financial services as a Minneapolis-based broker for Paine Webber. He joined American Skandia in 1989. A native of North Dakota, he attended the University of North Dakota and was a candidate for the North Dakota State Legislature in 1984.

In the first quarter of 2000, American Skandia ranked as the number one distributor of variable annuities in the U.S. The company is also a preeminent distributor of mutual funds, qualified plans and variable life insurance products. The company has $34.8 billion in client assets under management and realized 1999 sales of $10.1 billion (first quarter 2000 sales totaled $4.3 billion). More than 1,200 employees work at the company's Shelton, Connecticut headquarters.

Skandia announced last week that its first-quarter operating profit more than doubled, powered significantly by U.S. sales of variable annuities, which rose 93 percent, and mutual funds, which nearly tripled. Skandia's stock (ticker SDIA SS), which represents approximately 8 percent of the Stockholm stock exchange's General Index, has risen some 75 percent since January 1, 2000. Skandia, with a market capitalization of USD $23.2 billion, saw its operating profit rise 161 percent to SEK 5.9 billion (USD $713.6 million) in 1999. It is now the no. 2 issuer of variable annuities in the world according to Tillinghast Towers Perrin.

Further information on American Skandia can be found by visiting the company's award-winning web site at www.americanskandia.com Variable insurance products are issued by American Skandia Life Assurance Corporation. Mutual funds are issued by American Skandia Advisor Funds. All products are distributed by American Skandia Marketing, Incorporated, Shelton, CT.