Steven Pederson has over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, business development, and operations leadership roles. He is currently an adjunct professor and runs his own consulting business, Pederson Business Consulting, where he provides strategic planning and tactical execution services. Previously, he was the CEO of BrightPlanet II Corporation and a co-founding partner of Sherpa Partners, a venture capital firm.

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Steven J. Pederson
1105 Woodlake Lane #8 612-840-6888
Richfield, MN 55423 spederson9@gmail.com
Summary
Operational Executive: Strong Sales & Marketing/Business Development focus in both early-stage, entrepreneurial technology
companies and mid-size international manufacturing and distribution companies.
Strategic to Tactical: A 30,000 foot strategist with a unique passion for augmenting and building strong TEAMS that can implement
realistic, scalable tactical systems in sales & marketing, project management, accounting and business processes – all designed to create
sustainable systems for accelerated growth.
Speaker, Writer and Trainer: Creator of business development programs including “Buyer Centered Selling”, “Marketing through
Education”, “Top of Mind Marketing” and others. Certified expert in SPIN™ Selling and Total Quality Management (TQM). Speaker
and lecturer at business schools and colleges throughout the Midwest and the D.C. area.
Federal Security Clearance: Holder of a TS/SCI (highest government issued security clearance).
Experience
Adjunct Professor 2014 – present
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN – Carlson School of Management
St. Olaf College – Northfield, MN - Management Studies Department of Economics
Pederson Business Consulting (PBC) 2014 - present
PBC is dedicated to helping companies fine tune their strategic goals with a strong emphasis on the tactical and scalable means to do so.
Strategic Planning
 Long Term Planning – 1, 3, 5, and 10 year goals
 Accelerated Growth Program
 Merger and Acquisition
 Path to Liquidity
 Team Building
Tactical Execution
 Sales- Customer Centric Selling
o SPIN selling
o Buyer Center Selling
o Direct Sales/ Distributor Sales, VAR Sales
o Training: 1) Product/Service, 2) Technology, 3) The Market, 4) The Competition
 Services – Customer Centric Initiatives
 Financial Planning against Strategic Goals
 Fund Raising
 Project Management Program
 Enhanced Vendor/Supplier Relationships
 Marketing
o Creating sales tool to move the sales process
o Creating branding tools to differentiate with a “call to action”
o Customer Resources: Online “University”, White Papers, Blogs, Webinars, Current Market news
BrightPlanet II Corporation – CEO/President - Sioux Falls, SD (www.brightplanet.com) June ’09 – Nov ‘13
BrightPlanet II is the leader in software technologies dedicated to harvesting mission critical Big Data from the Deep Web for new
sources of Intelligence. In the past four years, the company moved from exclusively serving the needs of U.S. Intel Agencies
(CIA/NSA) fight on the ‘War on Terror’ to the creation of new markets including Pharma/Life Sciences, Law Enforcement and
Banking/Insurance. The company is in the final negotiation of a sale to occur in Q1, 2014.

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Accomplishments:
 Brought BrightPlanet I out of insolvency to a BrightPlanet II liquidity opportunity in four years
 Established new commercial markets to augment legacy contracts for U.S. Intel Agencies
 Moved from license sales to SaaS (software as a service) focus
o Deep Web Intel Silo Services (Commercial and Govt.)
o Deep Web Intel Silo Subscriptions (Commercial and Govt.)
o Twitter Crime Scanner for Law Enforcement
 Created new division of “Deep Web Analysts” to serve commercial investigation/analysts interests
 Established partnerships with key industry players
 Created Full Scale Marketing programs including:
o Online marketing (5K hits/week with new “common language” initiative)
 (see White Papers/Blogs and education materials on BrightPlanet’s “Deep Web University”
o 15 trade shows/year
o 30 speaking events across the U.S. per year
Sherpa Partners, LLC, - Co-Founding Managing Partner – Minneapolis, MN 1998 – present
Sherpa Partners is a Venture Capital firm that invested in start-up and emerging Minnesota-based high technology companies.
(www.sherpapartners.com). Served in multiple directorships, advisory and interim operating roles for Sherpa companies and co-
managed the day to day operations of Sherpa. The fund is fully invested.
Accomplishments:
 Co-raised a $17M fund
 Created Due-Diligence process with Carlson School M.B.A. candidates
 Created online resources for Entrepreneurs creating Business Plans
 Speaker and lecturer throughout the Midwest
 Operating Roles/Directorships (Sherpa Partners)
 Feed Management Systems - Sold to Cargill - Agriculture Enterprise Software – Former Director
 Medisyn Technologies – In silica molecular software for new compounds - Current Director
 MyIceberg – Current Director
 BrightPlanet I – Former Director
 Geek Squad – Software Support – Former Board Advisor
 Maple Tree - Electric Power Industry Roll-Up – Former Board Advisor
 K-Netica – Natural Language Processing Software – Former Board Advisor/Interim CEO
 Digital Biometrics – Software biometrics – Former Board Advisor
 Worldtrak/Axonom – C.R.M./S.F.A – Former Board Advisor/Interim VP Sales Marketing
Skyline Displays, INC. – Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing - Burnsville, MN 1992-1998
At over $250 million in retail sales, Skyline Displays, Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of light-weight trade show exhibits and
large format digital graphics. (http://skyline.com/). Uniquely, Skyline distributes products through over 100 independent and exclusive
distributorships and dealers worldwide, with a field force of over 1100. Served as one of three Executive Officers responsible for
corporate manufacturing and was directly responsible for all international distributor business systems, legal, sales, marketing and
training.
Accomplishments/Initiatives
 Corporate revenues increased 206%: ($24.9 million to $51.3 million wholesale).
 Distributor revenues increased 428%: ($35 million to $150 million estimated retail).
 Corporate owned distributor office revenues increased 15% to 40% annually.
 Created 5 year corporate “Common Language” marketing program to implement corporate vision.
 Created, wrote and implemented 20 “Skyline University” 40-hour courses serving the International Distributor Network.
 Created and wrote 7 “Marketing through Education” customer seminars: a new education-oriented marketing approach
that has reached over 500,000 new customers worldwide YTD.
 Created a 3 tier international distributor program focused to Asia, S. America & Europe
 Opened China & Mexico corporate owned subsidiaries in 1997.
 Trained and implemented TQM policies and procedures into corporate and distributor cultures.
 Managed a database/lead generation program that generated up to 500 leads/week for the International Distributors.
 Authored & co-produced corporate video, “Your Competitive Edge”, winner of top national marketing awards:
Cine, Golden Eagle, Telly Award, & Gold Cindy Award.

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Design Stages, INC. – Vice President Sales & Marketing - Roseville, MN 1991-1992
Recruited to help facilitate a distressed company and create a positive turnaround.. Design Stages is a privately held firm specializing in
custom trade show exhibits, event marketing, meeting planning, and corporate identity campaigns. Responsible for the development of
all sales, marketing and project management activities as well as bringing TQM based training to all levels of the company.
Implemented systems based quality programs to the culture. Reported directly to the CEO.
Accomplishments/Initiatives
 Increased revenue 38% in 18 months.
 Increased profit margin 14%.
 Improved receivable turnover rate by 60%.
 Doubled new account development.
 Implemented TQM and customer care based programs for customer retention.
Xerox Corporation - Engineering Sales Division - Edina, MN 1985-1991
The Engineering & Graphics Products (EGP) Division of Xerox is dedicated to auditing engineering departments of companies and
offering products and services to increase their system efficiencies. At Xerox I was fortunate to serve in sales, management and Total
Quality Management process and was the recipient of high-end business training.
Regional Sales Manager - High Volume Sales: HVEE (1989-1991)
Accomplishments/Initiatives
 Managed sales force & Fortune 100 accounts for the 5 state area.
 Presidents Club Sales Excellence Award, (150%-200% of plan annually).
 Midwest Quality Leader Award 1990 (certified Quality {TQM} specialist).
 Quality liaison and trainer for regional Engineering division.
 Selected as regional and national sales trainer.
 Promoted grade level and position at earliest qualified date.
Xerox Major Account Senior Sales Executive (1985-1989)
Accomplishments/Initiatives
 Geographic and major account sales development.
 Presidents Club Award each year (150%-200% of annual plan.)
 Top 10% sales in country each year.
Publications
BrightPlanet Corporation
 White Papers (http://www.brightplanet.com/category/publications/)
o “Exploiting Big Data from the Deep Web” – July 2012
o “Harnessing the Deep Web for Healthcare Research” – July 2012
o “What is Big Data?” – September 2012
o “Understanding the Deep Web in 10 Minutes” – March 2013
o “Transforming Unstructured Data into Actionable Intelligence” – April 2013
o “Google Search vs. Deep Web Harvesting” – July 2013
 Speaker at over 50 events throughout the U.S. – 2010-2013
Sherpa Partners Venture Capital (http://www.sherpapartners.com/)
 “An Entrepreneurs Guide to Submitting Your Plan”
 “Pitch Document Criteria”
 “Buyer Centered Selling” (5 stage, go to market template)
Skyline Corporation: (http://www.skyline.com/)
 Created International Seminar Series: “7 Keys to Trade Show Success”
o Over 300,000 attendees worldwide in 10 years
o Created 7 “education programs” from 7 Keys - implemented throughout distributors offices worldwide
 Developed “Marketing through Education” distributor resources
o In 3 years, brought Skyline from a commodity sale to a “education driven” customer resource
 Wrote and implemented “Skyline University” for hands-on employee training in Sales, Graphics and Design
 Co-wrote “Your Competitive Edge” customer sales video
o Winner of Cine, Golden Eagle, Telly, & Gold Cindy Awards

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Education
BA - St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
MA - University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
Ed.D - (doctoral dissertation pending) University of Illinois
Post-Graduation Business Study
St. Thomas Managerial Studies
 Business Practices
 Accounting
Xerox University
 SPIN Selling (national trainer)
 TQM (Total Quality Management – regional facilitator)
 Problem Solving (regional facilitator)
 Xerox Advanced Consultative Sales Program
 Xerox 2-year Management Training Program
Interests
 Volunteer – TAPS Bugler for Military Funerals
 Volunteer – Normandale Center for Healing & Wellness – one on one advocacy with disabled clients
 Volunteer – One on one work with autistic children using RPM (Rapid Prompting Method)
 Classical Choral Music – Conducting & Singing
 Boating – Fishing – Hunting - Skiing
 Basketball – Coaching & Referee
 Mentoring/Volunteering
 Anything to do with Northern Minnesota!