3M exec joins a distinguished list of revered Minnesotans

Herb Brooks, Paul Wellstone, John Najarian.

Now add 3M's Alex Cirillo Jr. to the list of recipients of the Distinguished Minnesotan Award.

Cirillo, 62, will be recognized Friday at Bemidji State University's commencement ceremonies.

First presented by Bemidji State in 1981, the award acknowledges the contributions of current or former state residents "who have performed exemplary service to the people of Minnesota or the United States," the school said in a news release.

Cirillo joined 3M as a senior physicist in research in 1979. Four years later, he was leading 3M's first laboratory in filtration products and later directed the company's commercial graphics division.

He also served as the research and development executive for the company's health care markets. In that role, Cirillo was responsible for several 3M Technology Centers and the 3M Bioanalytical Technologies Project, a business venture targeting products for genomic applications.

In 2000, he was named president and general manager of 3M-Canada.

Today, he's 3M's vice president for community affairs and vice president of the 3M Foundation and also has extensive mentoring experience. He spent several years with Menttium 100, a program that partners top-level corporate executives with emerging mid-level female employees to help prepare them for corporate leadership roles.

Away from the corporate world, Cirillo spent five years in religious life as a teaching brother, six years in the Army Reserves, and has taught science and math at various levels from elementary school to college.

Complete list of the Distinguished Minnesotan Award recipients:

1981 Sigurd Olson, naturalist and author

1982 Karl Kassulke, athlete and handicap advocate

1983 Janet Dearholt Esty, businesswoman and entrepreneur

1984 Frederick F. Manfred, author

1985 Dr. John Najarian, transplant surgeon

1986 Dr. Harlan Cleveland, political scientist

1987 Muriel Buck Humphrey Brown, wife of Hubert Humphrey and advocate for the disadvantaged

1988 Elmer L. Andersen, businessman and former governor

1989 Curtis L. Carlson, businessman and philanthropist

1990 William S. Marvin, businessman and community leader

1991 Meridel LeSueur, writer and social activist

1992 Veda Ponikvar, newspaper publisher

1993 Nellie Stone Johnson, political and social activist

1994 Cheryl Dickson, leader in humanities programming

1995 William H. Kling, innovator in public radio

1996 Jerry Willet, businessman and former state senator

1997 Ann Bancroft, polar adventurer

1998 Bob Bergland, congressman and former U.S. secretary of agriculture

1999 Coya Knutson, congresswoman

2000 Jon Hassler, author and educator

2001 Libby Larsen, composer

2002 Rosalie Wahl, Minnesota Supreme Court justice

2003 Edgar Heteen, entrepreneur and snowmobile pioneer

2004 Herb Brooks, men's ice hockey coach

2005 Gerald Vizenor, author and educator

2006 Kathleen Blatz, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court

2007 Paul Wellstone, U.S. senator and Shiela Wellstone, advocate against domestic abuse

2008 Alex Cirillo Jr., vice president for community affairs, 3M

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482