Packers recognize Mentor-Protégé Program participants

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The Green Bay Packers Mentor-Protégé Program on Tuesday recognized the success of the program's participants with a celebration event at the Lambeau Field Atrium.


Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy congratulated the entrepreneurs gathered to mark the program's ninth year of pairing established mentor companies with growing protégé companies in the community. This year, the program officially expanded into Milwaukee, as well, matching six pairs of companies in southeastern Wisconsin.


Several companies were also named Most Valuable Mentor, Most Valuable Protégé and Comeback Player of the Year, following their growth and performance during the program. Jim Robinson with Wisconsin Ordnance Works, LTD., Michael Troyer with A Different Perspective and Refilwe Goll with Northwestern Mutual were named MVMs; Nick Calaway with Ahnapee Brewery, Peter Mayer with FoamFit Tools LLC and Kate Hill with Dakonte Product Group, Inc., were named MVPs. Brenda Leopold with World Headquarters and Annette Tipton with Able Access Transportation LLC were named Comeback Players of the Year.


The program matches established mentor companies that can provide technical, managerial, financial or other guidance to protégés seeking to improve their competitive standing. Those partnerships aim to foster business growth, economic development and job creation in Wisconsin. Created in part to match up minority-owned, veteran-owned, or woman-owned businesses with experienced mentor companies, such businesses account for 87 percent of the participating protégé businesses.


In the nine years of the program, more than 250 full and part-time jobs have been created across the 76 protégé companies. Additionally, participants have increased their annual revenue by a combined $62.4 million and acquired more than 4,600 clients.