Director of Itasca Business Development
218-326-9411 x.13
Our Team
APEX works well with business, because we understand business. Our leadership and staff are comprised of seasoned professionals and executives with extensive experience leading private sector organizations.
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Jeff Borling
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Elissa Hansen
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Sandy Johnson
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Rob West
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Jeff Borling
Jeff Borling currently serves as APEX’s Director of Itasca Business Development. Since joining the APEX team as part-time research and communication specialist in July, 2006, Borling has led numerous research projects and business development initiatives in the areas of renewable energy, advanced biofuels, manufacturing technology and more. Borling joined APEX fulltime as Director of Research and Communication in 2007 and took on a new role as Director of Itasca Business Development in February, 2010. In this capacity, Borling represents APEX on all business expansion and attraction projects in Itasca County and maintains an office with the IEDC in Grand Rapids.
Jeff Borling earned a B.A. in English Literature & Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin and completed his Master’s work at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2007. A graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership Program, Borling serves on the board of directors and executive committees for several regional non-profits and community groups, including the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, the Iron Range Economic Alliance, the Clean Energy Resource Team for the Northeast Region, and more.
Elissa Hansen
Elissa Hansen joined the APEX team in February 2011. Her duties encompass all aspects of attracting, expanding, and retaining businesses in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, in support of the APEX mission and vision for private sector business development. Using all available resources, Hansen focuses on ensuring that the region’s employers receive private-sector support.
Hansen is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council and earned her BS in Marketing and MBA from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She is also a Blandin Community Leadership Program graduate.
A native of Brainerd, Hansen joins APEX after a successful track record working as the Economic Development Specialist with the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corporation and as a Regional Coordinator for the Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Louis Community Health Board in Duluth.
Since moving to Duluth in 2010, Hansen has been able to connect with the community and explore many of the area amenities. She loves the northland and enjoys what the region offers in art and culture and to outdoor enthusiasts.
Sandy Johnson
Sandy Johnson joined the APEX team in September of 2008. Her responsibilities include all administrative details required to support a dynamic, high energy office environment, while further coordinating company events, providing research for various projects and assisting APEX members in meeting their needs.
Sandy graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park, MD with a B.A. in Performing Arts. After graduating, she performed professionally for many years in music theatre and cabaret shows, traveling from the East Coast to St. Louis and Chicago and later to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. After retiring as a performer, Sandy joined the marketing team at Universal Pictures in Burbank, CA, as an Administrative Assistant. One year later she was promoted to Special Projects Coordinator and was charged with producing movie premieres and other special events for the studio.
Sandy moved to the Minneapolis area in 1991 and married her husband, Todd. She worked as the Marketing and Project Coordinator for Kelleher Construction and Kelleher Environmental, where she developed and managed their emergency response program. In 1998, Sandy accepted a Sales Service Representative position working for North Star Steel (a Cargill Company) in Edina, MN. She was responsible for maintaining and managing many aspects of customer accounts, soliciting new business and serving on the Employee Advocacy Team. In 2000, the family moved to Duluth where she worked as an Administrative Assistant for the Duluth Head Start program for two and half years before joining the APEX team.
Rob West
Rob West has served as APEX’s President and CEO since 2004, culminating a long, entrepreneurial career in marketing, advertising, manufacturing and business ownership that spans more than 40 years. West is accomplished in strategic planning and new product/service development efforts both as an entrepreneur and as a consultant to a wide range of business organizations. His insights into market dynamics and customer relationships have created shareholder value for Fortune 100 companies and business startups alike.
Mr. West holds a master’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University and was an officer in the United States Army. He served for six years as an adjunct faculty member in the graduate program of the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis and taught as an under graduate instructor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Mr. West is also a graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership Program, sponsored by the Blandin Foundation in Grand Rapids, MN. The program encompassed training in effective and cooperative communication, conflict management, networking, stakeholder analysis, and individual leadership development planning.
- Business Planning (Strategic and Tactical)
- Capital Formation
- New Product/Market Development
- Business Valuations and Succession Planning
- Business Performance Turnarounds
- Market and Communications
- Sales Management and Channel Strategy Development
- Issues Management and Public Relations
- General Management
