Moraine Park Technical College is celebrating five individuals who completed the College’s STRAT 3.0 program, a business strategy program for local business and industry leaders.
The 2024 STRAT program completers include Markus McDonnel, director of compliance for Sadoff Iron and Metal; Tyler Anklam, controller at Kondex Corporation; Angie Gerlach, business development manager at Moraine Park; Ross Fassbinder, production manager for Gleason Reel Corporation; and Deanna Respalje, vice president of loan operations for National Exchange Bank and Trust.
The STRAT program goes beyond traditional training, integrating critical reflection and feedback, stretch assignments, experiential learning, and 1:1 personal coaching to accelerate individual performance. Leaders emerge with an enterprise-wide view of their organization while developing the skills needed to inspire, influence & motivate their team to achieve breakthrough results.
Tyler Anklam has been with Kondex Corporation for four years. His recent promotion from assistant controller to controller aligned perfectly with his participation in the program, which has significantly supported his career advancement.
“I would recommend the STRAT program to anyone, wherever they are at in their career journey,” Anklam said. “The information we were taught and hearing from other participants really helped me feel confident in my new role at Kondex.”
Individuals are sponsored by their employers and organizations to participate in cross-functional activities that help them link strategy and execution to achieve measurable results within their organizations. Ryan Haines, CFO at Kondex, served as Anklam’s sponsor.
“Tyler is at least the third person from Kondex to complete the STRAT program, so we see and appreciate the value it brings to our organization,” Haines said. “Tyler is someone we view as having a very high ceiling, so this was a great way for him to continue to grow in his career.”
The program began in August 2023 with an orientation and was completed in three phases: Leadership Reflection, Operational Effectiveness and Achieving Results.
“The journey began with a 360 self-assessment that told us our strengths, weaknesses and blind spots,” Angie Gerlach, STRAT participant and business development manager at Moraine Park, said. “I have been at Moraine Park for 10 years, and I went from a very task-driven role to one where I am challenged to think more strategically. This program has helped immensely with skill development and understanding more about myself.”
Markus McDonnel, director of compliance at Sadoff Iron and Metal, began the STRAT program as he stepped into a newly established role within the company.
“Markus had the challenge of not only being promoted to a new role, but he was promoted to a position that hadn’t existed at the company before,” Brad Lasky, McDonnel’s sponsor and executive vice president at Sadoff Iron and Metal, said. “Completing this program is a great investment in his time and has laid the groundwork for building his new role and unlocking relationships to be successful.”
For more information on the STRAT program or how to partner with Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu/training.