Daktronics has a proven management team whose top ten officers and managers have amassed nearly 200 years of combined experience in the electronic display industry. Biographies of chairman and co-founder Al Kurtenbach, CEO and president Jim Morgan, chief financial officer Bill Retterath, and vice president of sales Frank Kurtenbach follow.
Dr. Aelred J. Kurtenbach
Dr. Aelred J. Kurtenbach is co-founder of Daktronics, Inc. and currently serves as chairman of the board of directors. Kurtenbach, a native of Dimock, South Dakota, has B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, all in electrical engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the University of Nebraska and Purdue University, respectively. He also taught electrical engineering at South Dakota State University and Purdue University. While on the staff of SDSU, he cofounded Daktronics, Inc. in 1968.
Dr. Kurtenbach served on the Brookings School Board for twelve years and on the South Dakota Board of Regents from 1984-1986. He also served as Chairman of the South Dakota Manufacturers & Processors Association from 1984-1986 and as Director for the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves as Chairman of the Education Committee for the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Chairman of the South Dakota District Export Council and as Chairman of the South Dakota EPSCoR Committee, a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Kurtenbach was twice named South Dakota's Small Businessman of the Year. He was honored in 1994 as the South Dakota Executive of the Year, and the South Dakotan of the Year by the University of South Dakota School of Business. He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 1992. Additional awards are SD School of Mines & Technology Outstanding Alumni 2000; SDSU Family of the Year 2000; and Purdue University Outstanding Electrical Engineer 2001.
Over the years Dr. Kurtenbach and Daktronics have been recognized with numerous awards for entrepreneurism and quality. Dr. Kurtenbach was chosen as the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 for manufacturing in a national competition sponsored by Ernst & Young. Daktronics, Inc. was named the 1994 Entrepreneurial Success of the Year by the Small Business Administration for South Dakota and the Denver Region. Daktronics was also chosen the South Dakota Business of the Year in 2000, 1993, 1989 and 1987 by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
James B. Morgan
Jim Morgan was named chief executive officer of Daktronics in November 2001. Morgan had assumed the role of president and chief operating officer in August 1999. Morgan has been with the company since its early beginnings, having joined Daktronics in 1970 while a graduate student obtaining his master's degree in electrical engineering at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D
Morgan led Daktronics' engineering department from 1971 until his appointment as president in 1999. He was promoted to vice president in 1976, and to executive vice president in 1996.
Morgan was responsible for the design of the first Daktronics scoreboard, the Matside® wrestling scoreboard, in 1971. He also led the design, manufacturing and installation of the first Daktronics swim timing system, a plant control system for a municipal water treatment plant, and the first Daktronics outdoor electronic message center.
In 1980, Morgan was project engineer for Daktronics' first major involvement in an Olympic event, the 1980 Olympic Winter Games held in Lake Placid, N.Y. This included managing Daktronics venue support during the event. Morgan has also been responsible for the design and installation of numerous voting systems for state legislatures and other legislative bodies. Morgan lead the Daktronics engineering team from its infancy to its current status supporting four major product families each with its own autonomous development group. This engineering capability allows Daktronics to offer the broadest and most comprehensive product line in the industry today.
William R. Retterath
Bill Retterath, CPA, is the chief financial officer and treasurer of Daktronics, Inc., and has served in that capacity since September 2001. Retterath, originally from Minneapolis, has a bachelor's degree in business with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Retterath's background includes extensive experience in the software and financial services industry, as well as manufacturing. In addition, he has been involved in restructurings and turnarounds and has played a lead role in a number of mergers, acquisitions and other equity and debt transactions.
Prior to joining Daktronics, Retterath served as the chief financial officer for a number of privately held and publicly held companies. Most recently, he was chief financial officer of MQSoftware, Inc., which was selected as the fastest growing technology company in Minnesota for the five years ending in 2000 by Deloitte & Touche, LLP. While there, he lead the company through a round of financing and helped position it for future strategic alternatives. Prior to joining MQSoftware, he was the vice president of finance for Sterling Software's Business Intelligence business unit which was purchased by Computer Associates. At Computer Associates, he managed all finance and administration for their midwest region, which generated over $500 million in revenues.
Retterath also served as partner and chief financial officer of a regional securities firm and spent approximately five years with Deloitte & Touche, LLP. He was also the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of a publicly held company. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Frank Kurtenbach joined Daktronics in 1979. He received his education in Dimock and Parkston, S.D. school systems. Mr. Kurtenbach graduated from South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D., in 1961 with a bachelor of science degree in physical education. He then served for two years as a commissioned officer in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY. Part of his assignment was with Special Services.
Mr. Kurtenbach entered the teaching field in 1963 and combined teaching and coaching for 16 years. During the school year of 1968-69 he earned his master of science degree in physical education and recreation at SDSU and coached at the University. He served for six years on the Wrestling Rules Committee for the National Interscholastic Activities Federation. During this period of time he also was a member of the South Dakota Rules Committee.
His first assignment at Daktronics was sales manager of the Standard Scoreboard Division. This expanded to other products in 1981, and he presently holds the position of vice president of sales for Daktronics.
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