Jacquie Berglund
Jacquie Berglund is The Rambunctious Social Entrepreneur, CEO of FINNEGANS Brew Co. and founder of FINNEGANS SBC, the first beer company in the world to donate 100% of profits to fund fresh produce for those in need. Through the creation of both FINNEGANS SBC, and its nonprofit counterpart, FINNEGANS Community Fund, Berglund has championed an innovative, market-based approach to addressing and raising awareness about food security in communities across the Midwest.
In 2018, FINNEGANS opened its first ever brewery and taproom in the FINNEGANS House in the Kraus Anderson block development in East Town Minneapolis.
Berglund also founded the FINNOVATION Lab in 2017, a social business incubator and venture services company, also located in the FINNEGANS House.
Berglund graduated from Augsburg College with a degree in communications and political science and has a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the American Graduate School in Paris. Berglund has pursued her entrepreneurial spirit to make the world a better place, from being an important role in bringing together government officials through the OECD to train Baltic countries in market economy laws, to Marketing Director at the successful Cara Pubs where the spark for FINNEGANS began.
Berglund has generated over a million dollars in impact through FINNEGANS profits, partnerships and successful events, while raising significant awareness about local hunger issues. Driven to innovate with astute leadership, and the ability to rally people and organizations for a cause, she has built the second longest running social enterprise that donates 100% of profits (behind Newman’s Own Foundation)
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She has built a team of eight full-time dedicated staff and fifteen part-time staff as well as engaged thousands of volunteers and supporters to move the mission forward and scale FINNEGANS’ impact.
Berglund’s trail-blazing social enterprise has earned her prominent accolades over the years. Berglund received a “40 under 40” nomination from the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, which recognizes and honors the top 40 business people in the Twin Cities under the age of 40. She is also a recipient of the Minnesota Jaycee top honor of Ten Young Outstanding Minnesotans, and in 2010 she was featured on CNN’s “Leaders with Heart” and “Small Business Success Stories” segments. Berglund was named one of the “200 Minnesotans You Should Know” by Twin Cities Business magazine and was nominated as a 100 Year Centennial Award honoree by the Girl Scouts. In 2012, FINNEGANS was awarded the Small Business of the Year Award by the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, and they also received the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award from Minnesota Business Magazine. Berglund was awarded a Bush Fellowship in 2014. Berglund was selected as one of 12 business leaders to watch in 2016 by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal and was named a 2016 Trail Blazer by Growler Magazine.
In 2018, Berglund was selected as 50 over 50 by AARP and FINNEGANS received the Made in MN Manufacturing Legacy Award from Minnesota Business Magazine. Berglund was also selected as a 2018 ‘Leader in Giving’ by Twin Cities Business Magazine.