2024 Dealmakers of the Year Honorees
Presented By: Gallagher
The 2024 Milwaukee Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year award winners represent a wide swath of this region’s dealmakers and diverse types of transactions. Together they provide a strong picture of the Milwaukee regional business community.
Todd Asmuth
President & Chief Strategy Officer
SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc.
This past October, Todd and his team raised $88 million of growth capital from Fidelity Management & Research, Ballie Gifford, Utah Retirement Systems, and the University of Wisconsin to fund continued growth at the nuclear technology company focused on applications of fusion, including the manufacture of medical isotopes to diagnose and treat heart disease and cancer.
Jim Frings
Managing Director
Wisconsin River Partners
Jim is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has built a business ecosystem that spans four continents in the areas of manufacturing, real estate, investment and development, and software. He has also founded three private equity firms, including Wisconsin River Partners, which has been active over the past few years. Last June, WRP acquired SUN Printing through an LBO. It also acquired Heyman Printing & Green Bay Blue last year.
Gale Klappa
Executive Chairman
WEC Energy Group Inc.
WGC Energy Group is one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving nearly 4.7 million electric and natural gas customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Under Gale’s leadership, the company successfully completed its 2015 acquisition of Integrys Energy Group, at which time he assumed those same roles for WEC Energy Group. Gale served as non-executive chairman of WEC Energy Group after retiring as CEO in May 2016. In October 2017, Klappa resumed the role of chairman and chief executive officer to provide leadership and continuity following a medical setback that sidelined his successor. In February of this year, WEC Energy Group completed a $123 million debt financing round to continue its growth. Accepting for Gale is WEC Energy Vice President & Treasurer, Tony Reese.
Scott Lauber
CEO
WPS
Scott has been instrumental for more than 30 years in helping grow WEC, its subsidiaries and the WPS Foundation. Scott was named president and chief executive officer of WEC Energy Group and appointed to the board of directors in February 2022. In these roles, Scott is responsible for business operations for WEC Energy Group’s utilities in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. In November 2022, Scott led a $300 million debt financing round to help spur WEC continued growth—which has included acquisitions and organic growth.
Frank Powell
Partner/President
Managecore
Managecore provides cloud hosting services intended to offer SAP and IT-managed services. In March, the company was acquired by Protera Technologies via its financial sponsor Pamlico Capital.