Paul Wagner - Founder
Paul J. Wagner is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Minnesota Wire. He has been with the St. Paul based custom development and manufacturing firm since 1985, when he joined the sales department.
Before coming to the company Mr. Wagner worked for Northstar Financial Corporation, and the Metropolitan Sports Center.He became president of Minnesota Wire in 1992, and was named CEO in 2000. During that time, Mr. Wagner greatly expanded the company’s market exposure which now includes the medical, defense, industrial and commercial sectors; and he has provided strategic direction to evolve the business into a high technology development house primarily through federal research and development grants. The company has a nearly 50 percent capture rate on federal grant applications, compared with a 10 percent national average.
Mr. Wagner developed Minnesota Wire's subsidiary MINNESOTA MED-EQUIP, the Minnesota Defense division, a joint venture with Primordial, Inc., and was a founding member of the state’s Manufacturers Alliance and Leaders Alliance.
In 2004, Mr. Wagner founded the Defense Alliance of Minnesota, the region’s defense and homeland security industry network that is the first of its kind nationally. A collaborative among businesses, organizations, federal agencies and state and national political delegations, the Defense Alliance is having a positive impact on businesses securing federal research dollars and government contracts, and thereby developing the high technology infrastructure of the state. The Alliance is also involved with service member support, and lobby efforts to make Minnesota more “Veteran friendly.” Mr. Wagner and the staff of the Defense Alliance were awarded the Small Business Administration’s Veteran Business Champion of the Year Award for the state of Minnesota for 2006. In 2007, the Defense Alliance was selected by the Defense Sustainment Consortium to be a Center of Excellence for the Midwest.
Mr. Wagner was the President of the General John W. Vessey Jr. Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) from 2005 to 2007, significantly expanding its corporate and individual membership levels, and leading it to two consecutive “Best Chapter” awards during that time. He then served as Minnesota state president of AUSA until 2010. He is currently the AUSA Region FIVE President, representing 9 states and 13 chapters. In 2006, he was selected to be on the national Defense Advisory Board of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), which advises the Secretary of Defense on ESGR initiatives.
Additionally, Mr. Wagner is a member of the board of Minnesota Bramstedt Surgical and the St. Joseph’s School. He supports the Downs Syndrome Association of Minnesota, and coaches softball, soccer, and basketball for youth teams. He also created a charitable giving program called "Charity Park.”
Mr. Wagner has traveled internationally to over 24 countries throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, including with Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson’s trade delegation to Asia, and with Governor Tim Pawlenty's Trade Mission to Israel. In 1999 he was honored with the Governor's International Trade Award.
Mr. Wagner holds a B.A. in business with an emphasis in management from the University of Saint Thomas. He and his wife Cindy reside in Eagan, Minnesota with their five children.