Biography
Engebretson retired in 2006 as the Executive Vice President in charge of the North American consumer events sector for DMG World Media, one of the world’s largest exhibition and publishing companies, headquartered in London. He is the former owner and president of TSI Productions, Inc., a trade show business he purchased in 1984 and sold to DMG in 2001. Upon graduating from the business school with his MBA, Dick established a real estate appraisal business in Boulder which he grew into a very successful enterprise before moving on to as career in marketing and trade shows. Dick came to the business school after serving in the military and reminisces that he was lucky to be admitted at all. "With my undergraduate degree, I majored in beer and girls," he once said. However, he was so grateful to gain admittance and succeeded in making the dean's list each semester he was in school.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Dick served as city council member and then mayor of the Minneapolis suburb where he lived, and was also president of Minneapolis Downtown Rotary in 1995-96. From 1986 to 1987 he served as president of the CU-Boulder National Alumni Association. In recognition of his many contributions, he was awarded the Leeds School of Business Distinguished Service Award in 2005, the Alumni Recognition Award in 1986, a Distinguished Instructor Award in 1982, and the George Norlin Award in 2009. Dick has also served as commencement speaker to Leeds MBA students, providing witty and insightful guidance to our new graduates.
Like a good upper-Midwesterner, Dick is exceedingly modest about his accomplishments and also his philanthropic support, however, he has definitely left an indelible mark on the school and campus. For almost 20 years, MBA students have benefited from his largess through the Engebretson Fellowship, an endowed fund to support outstanding, full-time MBA students.
In early 2002, he established the Engebretson Challenge to increase alumni and donor support to the business school. In 2007, as part of the Koelbel Building renovation and new addition, Dick named a new room on behalf of a professor who had a profound impact on his education. Also, as part of the same building project, Dick invested in the Engebretson Quad, a space that offers a fabulous view of the Flatirons, where students like to gather for cookouts and engage in minor, informal sporting events. It is also the new site of the school's annual Homecoming celebration that Dick is eager to solidify as a Leeds School and University of Colorado tradition.
