Kurt Zellers, chief executive of the Minnesota Business Partnership, abruptly resigned on Thursday, June 25, 2026, jolting the influential statewide business lobbying group and leaving it without a permanent leader. The group, which represents more than 100 of Minnesota's largest employers and roughly 500,000 workers, now heads into a high-stakes policy and election season under temporary leadership.
As reported by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, Zellers stepped down on June 25, 2026, after about three years at the helm. The Business Journal was the first local business outlet to flag the leadership shakeup and updated its coverage as additional details came out.
Interim leaders named
The Partnership has tapped two senior staffers, Chief of Staff Erika Nelson and Education and Workforce Policy Director Abby Loesch, to serve as co-interim CEOs while the board hunts for a permanent successor, according to the Star Tribune. Nelson is a former state director for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Loesch previously worked on Minnesota House Republican staff and in campaign coordination, the paper reports. "This is odd. This is a big change," Traci Tapani, a board member with ties to Minnesota business groups, told the Star Tribune.
Zellers’ tenure and MBP finances
Zellers, a former speaker of the Minnesota House who ran for governor in 2014, took over as CEO of the Minnesota Business Partnership on Sept. 1, 2023, according to the organization's earlier announcement. Public nonprofit filings show the Partnership paid Zellers roughly $600,000 in 2024 and reported about $5.8 million in revenue that year, according to ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer.
Political ripple
The interim pairing, a former Klobuchar staffer alongside a Republican-aligned aide, gives the Partnership a leadership setup that cuts across party lines at a politically sensitive moment, according to the Star Tribune. Sen. Amy Klobuchar won the DFL endorsement for governor in late May, and the Partnership's relationships with top statewide campaigns could shape how the organization engages this fall, according to the Minnesota DFL.
What to watch
The Partnership said its board has launched a search for a permanent CEO and is focused on continuity while the transition plays out, as reported by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Observers describe the move as the latest in a string of leadership changes among Minnesota business lobbying groups, a trend noted by MPR News.
