Wendy M. Nelson

Wendy M. Nelson currently serves as CEO of Nelson United LLC and holds several leadership positions withing the Carlson enterprise including Carlson, Carlson Private Capital Partners, and Carlson Holdings. Nelson also serves as a Trustee of the Carlson Family Foundation, a foundation that supports the charitable goals of both the family and Carlson. Prior to serving as a Trustee, Nelson was the first in the third generation to serve as chairwoman of the foundation from 2017 to 2023.

Nelson is driven to engage, serve and lead organizations that value and create equity, access, and opportunity. Her extensive experience in business, community engagement, and athletics brings a unique combination of leadership expertise to the organizations she leads and supports.

Nelson’s current community engagement service includes: the Carlson School of Management Advisory Board at the University of Minnesota where she formerly co-chaired the Campaign Committee, Northwestern University, The Constellation Fund, CollegeBound St. Paul, Gold Medal Park Conservancy, Guthrie Theater where she is co-chair of the Campaign Committee, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and serves as an advisor for the InnerCity Tennis Center and Positive Coaching Alliance. Past service includes roles as board member of Rezidor, a global hotel company on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, where she was an executive council member of the Young Women’s Initiative, a public/private partnership with Minnesota Governor Walz’s office, vice chair of the Bush Foundation, co-chair of the Minnesota Super Bowl Legacy Fund and member of the Minnesota Super Bowl LII Host Committee.

Nelson’s professional career started on the tennis court, competing on the professional tour after playing as a Division 1 scholar-athlete for Northwestern University. Nelson continued to the corporate sector with early career opportunities at Budget Rent A Car Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, and then a move to finance and capital management in the private equity field with Lake Capital in Chicago. These early experiences landed her with several executive positions in marketing and development in the global travel and hospitality industry.

Wendy Nelson holds a B.A. in philosophy from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern. She and her two children reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota.