Recognized during 2009 Minnesota Cup ceremony for entrepreneurs
MINNEAPOLIS—Digital River, Inc., a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, announced that CEO Joel Ronning was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Minnesota. Ronning was recognized during an awards ceremony for the 2009 Minnesota Cup, an annual statewide competition that encourages entrepreneurial spirit and highlights the University of Minnesota as a hub for innovation. The event was held at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 10, 2009.
Ronning commented as he accepted the award, “I am honored to be recognized among some of Minnesota’s leading innovators. Tonight, however, I am accepting the Entrepreneur of the Year award on behalf of the associates at Digital River. I want to thank our associates, who are among the best and brightest people that I have worked with and some of our state’s finest entrepreneurs.”
Ronning attended the University of Minnesota when he ventured into his first start-up at the age of 20. Following that, he started four technology companies culminating with Digital River. Since its founding in 1994, Digital River has grown to manage over $3 billion in annual online sales and has a market cap in excess of $1.3 billion. Ronning is a frequent guest lecturer in MBA entrepreneurship classes at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
About the Minnesota Cup
The Minnesota Cup is an annual, statewide competition. Its mission is to seek out, support, celebrate and promote Minnesota’s newest, most innovative business ideas and connect resident entrepreneurs with leading executives, investors and the University of Minnesota. In five years since its inception, the Minnesota Cup competition has spurred over 3,500 entries from 48 counties around the state.
About Digital River, Inc.
Digital River, Inc., a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, builds and manages online businesses for software and game publishers, consumer electronics manufacturers, distributors, online retailers and affiliates. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The company’s comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud management, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.
Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call +1 952-253-1234.
Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or copyrights of their respective owners.
