Editor’s Note: Rautio discusses with The Journal this week her journey to the new position. For her personal comments, see a future edition of The Journal.
Trudy Rautio, who grew up in International Falls as a small-town girl, was elected last week as president and chief executive officer for Minnetonka-based Carlson.
Rautio becomes the fifth executive in the 74-year history of the global Fortune 500 company, and the company’s second female president. Carlson is an international hospitality and travel company. It is in charge of worldwide entities such as Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Park Inn, T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
“I am honored to accept the leadership role of this dynamic company...,” Rautio said in a prepared statement. “I am also grateful for the support of my colleagues on the current leadership team and look forward to working with our employees, partners and stakeholders around the world.”
Rautio is a 1971 graduate of Falls High School. She held her first job dealing with finances as a cashier at the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store, according to the Star Tribune.
Julie Schumacher of International Falls called the news “so inspiring.”
“I hope this will inspire our local girls,” Schumacher told The Journal this week.
Rautio, who now lives in Edina — a suburb of the Twin Cities — still has family in International Falls, including her mother, Erna Mae Kocinski, 92. Rautio is an avid jet skier and is known as a “speed demon” on Rainy Lake.
Heather Faulkner, senior director of public relations for Carlson said Rautio is “very excited” to share her comments with the Falls community through The Journal, but was on a business trip in London as of press time.
The Associated Press reported that the company’s board chair Marilyn Carlson Nelson called Rautio “an obvious choice” to succeed most recent president Hubert Joly.
“Trudy is highly respected,” Nelson told the Associated Press. “She’s probably the most effective go-to person in the company.”
Rautio was appointed to the new position and heard the news from Nelson last week during a phone call from Rautio’s Moose Lake cabin.
Rautio will manage operations in more than 150 countries for Carlson, formerly known as Carlson Companies. She will work with more than 1,300 hotels and more than 900 restaurants for the $38 billion-dollar company. She joins an elite club of female CEOs of multibillion-dollar companies.
Rautio has been a senior executive at Carlson for 15 years. Most recently, she was executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer for the past eight years.
She replaces Hubert Joly who recently left the company to become CEO at Best Buy. In a company release, Rautio was called “the complete opposite of her predecessor” as a “small-town girl who grew up to be a remarkably savvy executive.”
Rautio came to Carlson from Jostens Inc., where she was senior vice president and CFO. Before that, she had been vice president of Minneapolis-based Pillsbury Co.
Rautio was named CFO of the year for large, private companies by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. In addition, she received an award as one of the 2009 Women of Distinction from the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys.
The graduate of Bemidji State University also was named an Outstanding Alumni. In 2007, she was recognized by The Business Journal as a Woman Changemaker, among other prestigious awards throughout the years.
Rautio holds a master of business administration degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. She holds certification in public accounting and management accounting.
Rautio is well-known within the halls of Carlson. A company information release states that Michael Batt, founder and chairman of the Travel Leaders Group, called Rautio intelligent, articulate and “fantastic to deal with.” Batt added that Rautio is “tough but persuadable, as long as your logic was flawless.
“She is a great choice,” he said in a prepared statement. “And kudos to Carlson for having someone of her caliber just ready and able to take over the reins.”
Other colleagues, including Dave Zitur, chief information and process officer for the Travel Leaders Group said in a company statement that Rautio is a hands-on, hard worker and a “process person.”
“Meaning that when things go wrong, instead of pointing fingers, she first looks to see where the process broke down,” Zitur said.
Rautio received a loud and lengthy standing ovation Monday when she was introduced to hundreds of employees as their new boss, according to the company’s communications staff.
In a video of the event, Nelson praised Rautio for starting a mentoring program at Carlson.
“Trudy has not only visited you, she has helped you share your strategies,” Nelson said to employees. “She has supported you in times of change, and she has vision for you. You can trust in her and believe in her.”
