Lee Schafer

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Lee Schafer

Columnist | Business

Phone: 612-673-4302

Lee Schafer came to the Star Tribune after 15 years as a corporate officer, consultant and investment banker in the Twin Cities. He has been a columnist for Twin Cities Business magazine and was senior editor for Corporate Report Minnesota.
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Schafer: Reinvention isn't easy, but sometimes it's the only way forward

The job of leading a corporate reinvention isn't an easy one, as evidenced by recent turnover at the top of two of Minnesota's biggest companies.

Updated: July 30, 2012, - 09:37 PM

Taylor is aiming for growth, even as the industry shrinks

Glen Taylor returned as CEO of Taylor Corp. two years ago because he refused to accept that his company had to decline with its broader industry.

Updated: July 28, 2012, - 04:13 PM

Schafer: Blue Cross still needs a change in culture

Kenneth Burdick took over as CEO of the nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota after a career in the for-profit world, and not just any for-profit. Much of his career was at Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group -- a company that would be known for its fast-paced change and profit-oriented aggressiveness if it were a Silicon Valley start-up or a used-car lot.

Updated: July 25, 2012, - 09:16 PM

Schafer: Do angels really need incentives to invest?

Investors who want in on a generous subsidy, the angel tax credit, better hurry. The program is almost sold out for the year.

Updated: July 21, 2012, - 09:07 PM

Schafer: Leveraged buyout of Best Buy? Too late

The big liabilities that will make a leveraged buyout of Best Buy Co. Inc. challenging are all of the leases, and they aren't even on the company's balance sheet.

Updated: July 20, 2012, - 02:27 PM

Schafer: Few good options remain for Supervalu

Supervalu has started acting like a company where the leadership finally concluded there was nothing left to lose.

Updated: July 14, 2012, - 08:56 PM

Schafer: Law schools finally get realistic

With significantly smaller classes starting this fall at Twin Cities law schools, it looks like the regional market for legal education is finally in correction mode.

Updated: July 12, 2012, - 08:53 PM

Schafer: Demographic trends favor U.S., if we do things right

For those of you fretting over the perceived loss of American economic leadership, cheer up.

Updated: July 07, 2012, - 05:23 PM

Schafer: U.S. Bank shows that boring is beneficial

U.S. Bancorp tells its investors that it is happy leaving capital markets activities to others, whether or not the markets are hot.

Updated: June 30, 2012, - 09:52 PM

He wears a sign of the times right on his back

One of the first things David Turetsky will tell you about himself is that he is an introvert. Even though he has been seeking work since September 2011 in his niche of the financial services industry, he finds it all but impossible to use the phone or approach someone to pitch himself.

Updated: June 28, 2012, - 03:19 PM