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Marilyn Carlson Nelson

Chairman, Carlson. Author of How We Lead Matters.



World-renowned CEO. Expert and author on authentic leadership.
Rich international experience.


Highlights

Marilyn Carlson Nelson is chairman and former CEO of Carlson, one of the largest privately held companies in the world, where she has been an extremely effective business leader.

    Under her leadership, the firm's systemwide sales nearly doubled, to $40 billion. She transformed Carlson into a "new model" company and initiated an employee effort that netted more than $200 million in bottom-line process and program improvements.

    She has been named one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report and Forbes magazine has regularly selected her as one of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women." In 2007, Ethisphere Magazine named her one of the "100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics."

Ms. Nelson is an authority on authentic leadership and is the author of How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a Life of Leadership, an inspiring collection of wisdom about how to build a meaningful legacy one day at a time.

Ms. Nelson co-chaired the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2004 and has held a number of other high-level positions at the WEF and other industry councils. She has received prestigious awards from the governments of France, Sweden and Finland. She serves on the board of Exxon Mobil, The Committee Encouraging Philanthropy, The Foreign Policy Association and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

    She served as chair of the National Women’s Business Council, a bi-partisan advisory council to the President and Congress (2002/2005), and is currently chair of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

Credentials
  • Chairman & former CEO, Carlson
  • Author, How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a Life of Leadership
  • Accolades
      One of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, Forbes magazine
      One of America's Best Leaders, U.S. News & World Report
      One of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics, Ethisphere Magazine
  • World Economic Forum (WEF)
      Co-chair, World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland (2004)
      Member of the WEF's International Business Council
      Co-founder and advisory board member, Women Leaders Program, WEF
      Member, steering committee of Aviation, Travel & Tourism Governors of the WEF
  • Boards
      ExxonMobil Corporation
      Mayo Clinic
      Foreign Policy Association
      Harvard Women Leaders Board
      The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy
      Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  • Chair by presidential appointment, National Women's Business Council, advising the U.S. President and Congress (2002-2005)
  • Millennium Chair, Travel Industry Association of America
  • Chair, U. S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board
  • Member, World Travel and Tourism Council and the Business Roundtable
  • Serves on the World Bank's Global Private Sector Leaders Forum
  • Graduated with honors from Smith College with a degree in International Economics and a minor in Theater. Attended the Sorbonne in Paris and the Institute Des Hautes Etudes Economiques Politiques in Geneva, Switzerland, where she studied political science and international economics.

Honors
  • Inductee, French Légion d'Honneur, established by Napoleon Bonaparte to recognize exemplary leadership and service to humanity
  • Royal Order of the North Star, First Class, from the King of Sweden
  • Order of the White Rose, Officer First Class, from the President of Finland

World Economic Forum & Other Appointments

Marilyn Carlson Nelson is on the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and in 2004 co-chaired the Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. She also serves on the steering committee of the Aviation, Travel & Tourism Governors of the World Economic Forum, the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, and is co-founder and advisory board member of the WEF's Women Leaders Program.

Marilyn is also a member of the World Travel and Tourism Council and the Business Roundtable.


Public Service

Marilyn has always been devoted to community programs and has served as President of the United Way of Minneapolis, Board Member of United Way of America, Chair of New Sweden '88, and leader of the Governor's Task Force to bring the 1992 Super Bowl to Minnesota. Supporting the family’s strong Swedish heritage, Marilyn chaired the nine-month long "Scandinavia Today" celebration in the U.S.