Winston Roger Wallin (6 March 1926 – 20 December 2010) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He served as chairman and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...

from 1985-1991 and as President and

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

of Pillsbury from 1977 to 1985. He also formed, along with his wife Maxine, the Wallin Foundation, later known as Wallin Education Partners.

Early life

A 1943 graduate of

Minneapolis South High School Minneapolis South High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Corcoran neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. A member of the Minneapolis Public Schools district, it is both the oldest and largest public high sc ...

, Wallin served two years in the

U.S. Navy Air Corps A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard ...

and enrolled in the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

to major in business administration when he returned. While there, he met and subsequently married Maxine Wallin née Houghton.

Career

After college, Wallin started his career as regional grain buyer for Pillsbury in 1948. Wallin rose through the ranks of Pillsbury, eventually becoming president and chief operating officer responsible for the company's agribusiness operations, restaurant businesses including

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

and

Steak and Ale Steak and Ale was an American chain of casual dining restaurants that went bankrupt in 2008. However the brand, recipes and other intellectual property associated with the former chain is currently owned by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC, t ...

restaurants. In 1985, Wallin was named chairman and CEO of

. Despite Medtronic's troubles at the time, revenue increased by $1 billion during his tenure. He retired as CEO of the medical device maker six years later, naming Bill George as his successor and turning his attention to philanthropy.

Philanthropy

In 1991, Wallin and his wife formed the Wallin foundation, later Wallin Education Partners, which gives financial aid and advice to promising

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

public school students from low-income families to attend college. As of 2017, Wallin Education Partners had aided 4,400-plus college students through nearly $50 million in

scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarshi ...

and critical guidance services. In 2010, the University of Minnesota named its new medical biosciences building, a key facility in the school’s $292 million Biomedical Discovery District, after Wallin and his wife Maxine in recognition of their lifelong patronage of the school.Winston and Maxine Wallin Medical Biosciences Building
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallin, Winston American businesspeople Carlson School of Management alumni 1926 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists South High School (Minnesota) alumni