Carlos M. Gutierrez is the 35th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, "the voice of business in government."  The former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Kellogg Company, Secretary Gutierrez is a core member of the administration's economic team.  He oversees a diverse cabinet agency, focused on promoting American business at home and abroad.

Reflecting his commitment to fostering American companies' innovation and competition in the global economy, Secretary Gutierrez formed the Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economic Advisory Committee in 2007.  Comprised of 10 prominent CEOs and 5 distinguished academics, including the Carlson School's Rajesh K. Chandy, this committee was chartered to conceive ways to improve the measurement of innovation so as to better understand its impact on the economy.  Following the committee's recommendations, Secretary Gutierrez announced his innovation measurement initiatives in early 2008, including comprehensive accounting of the effect of high-tech goods and services, measuring the increase in productivity due to increased investments in innovation, and expanding data collection on innovation.  With these steps, Secretary Gutierrez and the Department of Commerce hope to develop policies to foster innovation across diverse sectors of the U.S. economy.

George W. Buckley is Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Minnesota-Based 3M, a company which has set the standard for success through innovation by applying leading-edge technologies such as microreplication, nanotechnology, light management, and fuel cell research to create products that transform businesses.  3M's products are found in a variety of applications across a wide cross-section of global industry.

Prior to his position at 3M, Buckley served in leadership positions with Brunswick Corporation, Emerson Electirc Company, and the British Railways Board in the U.K.  He holds a PhD in engineering and is a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Advisory Committee.

William Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic, began his medical technology career with Carolina Medical Electronics in 1977 and has been with Medtronic since 2002.  With training in electrical and biomedical engineering at Duke University and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Hawkins is uniquely positioned as a leader in the worlds of medical and economic innovation.  He has also held executive roles at Novoste, American Home Products, Johnson & Johnson, Guidant, and Eli Lilly & Co.

In a 2007 keynote address at his alma mater, Hawkins asserted that, "Innovation, translating ideas into action, is at the center of my company's success."  Hawkins's experience leading Medtronic and other firms in the competitive medical technology industry gives him a distinctive view on innovation in the American economy.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman of the Board of Minnesota-based Carlson, a global group of integrated companies providing travel, hotel, restaurant, and marketing services.  Carlson has expanded from the business started by Carlson Nelson's father to a suite of powerful brands and services in more than 150 countries.  As Carlson Nelson puts it, the very notion that the daughter of the company's founder could take the helm of this dynamic company is exemplary of Carlson's innovative culture.

Carlson Nelson, an active board and council member of business organizations around the world, was recently selected by Forbes magazine as one of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women."  In 2006 she was named one of "America's Best Leaders" by US News and World Report, and in 2007 Ethisphere Magazine named her among the "100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics."  Carlson Nelson's first book, How We Lead Matters, is due from Mc-Graw Hill in the fall of 2008.

Governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty approaches innovation both from the public service standpoint of second-term governor with experience as a lawyer, state Representative, and city councilman and from the standpoint of a champion of industry whose home state ranks first in Fortune 500 companies per capita.  In 2006, Pawlenty served as the Co-chair of the Innovation America Initiative of the National Governors' Association.  This initiative was a year-long effort to stregthen the country's competitive position in the global economy by improving American firms' capacity to innovate. Through a focus on the improvement of math and science education, better alignment of postsecondary education systems and state economies, and the development of regional innovation strategies, the Innovation America Initiative's task force of governors, CEOs, and university presidents collected and shared best practice information to ensure that each state and the nation as a whole was equipped to excel in innovation.