Dr. Rajiv Tandon, Chairman, President and CEO
A founder of Adayana, Rajiv Tandon has more than 39 years of global business consulting and higher-education experience. He served as President and CEO of Adayana from its founding in 2001 until 2008. He was named CEO in May 2011. Prior to forming Adayana, Rajiv was CEO and President of LearningByte International, a developer of custom e-Learning and web-based training solutions. Rajiv served as Director of Corporate Venturing Programs at the University of St. Thomas, and taught MBA courses in entrepreneurship and new venture management. In 1992, he was awarded the Edwin M. Appel Prize by the Price-Babson College Fellows Program "for bringing entrepreneurial vitality to academia." Earlier, Rajiv was Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Worldwide Operations for National Car Rental, Inc. He also served as President of the American Car Rental Association.
Peter Dow, Chief Operating Officer (retired), Campbell-Ewald Advertising
Peter Dow is a founding Shareholder of Adayana. He also serves as an outside director of Technobrands, Inc. He is a past director of Masco Corporation; Invetech Co. Inc.; R.P. Scherer, Fretter, Inc.; Republic Bank S.E.; The Stroh Brewery Company; the Stroh Companies Inc.; Masco Tech, Inc.;, and Campbell-Ewald Co. Now retired, Peter had a 40-year career in advertising. He served as President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman of Campbell-Ewald Advertising, and chairman of its Executive Committee. Prior to that, he was Director of Marketing for the Chrysler Corporation and all of its divisions. Earlier, he was an executive at Young and Rubicam Advertising. He served as chairman of the Michigan Advertising Industry Alliance; President of the Ad Craft Club of Detroit; President of the Detroit Advertising Association; and Director of the Association of National Advertisers.
Tim Penny, President & CEO, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
Timothy (Tim) Penny is President/CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, where he uses his extensive background in workforce development, early childhood development, and economic development to help the organization achieve its vision as a catalyst for economic growth in 20 Minnesota counties. Previously, Tim represented Minnesota’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982-1994. While in Congress, he served on the Education and Labor, Agriculture, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. He also chaired the subcommittee on Veterans’ Education and Training and the Foreign Agriculture and Hunger subcommittee. In addition, Tim chaired the Democratic Budget Group and the Porkbusters Coalition. Prior to election to Congress he was a member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1976 to 1982. Most recently, Tim served as a Senior Counselor at Himle Horner, a Twin Cities-based public relations and public affairs firm, and as co-chair of the Humphrey Institute Forum at the University of Minnesota. To supplement his career, Tim co-authored three books: Common Cents; The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics; and Payment Due.
Jay A. Novak, Client Advisor
Jay Novak is a client advisor at Aethlon Capital, a Minneapolis investment-banking company. He is also a general partner in a hedge fund focused on undervalued fixed-income securities; chairman of the board of directors of a small software company and a director of start-up wind-power company. From early 2001 through autumn 2010, he was publisher and editor of Minnesota’s premier business magazine, Twin Cities Business, of which he was also founding editor.
During the second term of Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, he served as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development. In 1999, he became the senior vice president of a Minnesota-based investment banking company, Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard Investment Securities, for two years before returning to publishing.
He has also been director of communications at General Mills; press secretary for a United States Senator; and editor of another monthly business magazine, a weekly business newspaper, and a weekly magazine for Midwestern bankers. Early in his career, he was a reporter and news editor of a rural daily newspaper.
In 2010 he received an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame.
