Nine CLA Alumni Selected as 2026 40 Under 40 honorees
Nine CLA alumni have been selected as 2026 40 Under 40 honorees by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. The award honors young business leaders for their professional accomplishments and community involvement. Congratulations to Brian Bruggeman, Shahbaz Khan, Adora Land, Courtney Ernston, Erica McKenzie, Zachary Zelickson, Ryan Bandy, Michelle Boe, and Gaosong Heu for their achievement! Learn about each honoree below and follow the links to learn more about their work, hear how they'd spend an ideal day off, and find out something new they want to learn this year.
Brian Bruggeman’s 16-year career at Colliers | Minneapolis-St. Paul has taken him from intern to senior vice president and Colliers's health care fellow. The firm’s youngest-ever vice president, Bruggeman oversees a portfolio exceeding 3 million square feet, representing $800 million in consideration, including $300 million in sales.
Shahbaz Khan is leading national sports brands to the top of their game thanks to digital outreach and innovation. As head of social strategy and emerging platforms at the NFL, Khan oversees audience growth for all 32 NFL teams and major initiatives across emerging platforms. He also has managed the Player Social team, including a new Fashion Team.
Adora Land believes that systems can only heal when communities have the power to shape them, so she is working to make sure communities have that power. As grant making director for St. Paul-based Bush Foundation, Land oversees multimillion-dollar investments that drive leadership, equity, innovation and systems change in the Midwest, specifically Minnesota and the Dakotas, as well as the 23 Native Nations that share the same geography.
Courtney Ernston is transforming how legal teams support the business community. Ernston founded North Star Law in April 2023 as a primarily flat-fee firm rather than one with billable-hour requirements. This approach, designed to match legal services with transparency and efficiency, has resulted in clients engaging earlier and more openly, faster client resolution, and improved client retention.
In her 15-plus years working for the Minnesota Wild, Erica McKenzie has established herself as a leader in NHL business development and ticket sales, culminating in her current role as senior director of ticket sales and service. McKenzie has averaged a yearly membership retention rate of 95% during her tenure with the Wild. She oversaw the team’s 2024-25 group sales strategy, which ranked in the top five for revenue in the NHL.
In his seven years with Border Foods Inc., Zach Zelickson has helped add 75 new properties to the company portfolio. As vice president of Marvin Development, a sister company to Border Foods, Zelickson has led efforts to open more than 40 new Taco Bell restaurants, including five in 2025 alone. Among those 2025 openings, Williston, North Dakota’s location generated the most revenue for a grand opening in Taco Bell history.
As chief business officer at Indeed Brewing Co., Ryan Bandy has done more than just ride the high of THC beverage demand. He positioned the company to be among the first Minnesota breweries to produce and distribute THC beverages, which have generated over $2 million in yearly revenue for Indeed. That’s on top of increasing total distribution revenue across beer and THC categories about 20% since 2023.
Michelle Boe came to HealthPartners Inc. three years ago with a vision for philanthropy. The 38-year-old vice president of advancement and strategic initiatives implemented a systemwide reorganization of fundraising, bringing all eight HealthPartners' hospital foundations together to leverage their strength. She leads systemwide campaigns, principal and transformational giving, and strategic fundraising for the regional health care powerhouse.
Gaosong Heu is building a pastry empire one croissant at a time. The CEO of Marc Heu Patisserie Paris was just 25 when she and her husband, executive pastry chef Marc Heu, founded the company with only $200 in startup capital. Now, at 33, Heu oversees companywide strategy, creative direction, finance, human resources, partnerships, marketing, branding and operations.
