Sioux Falls, SD – (Jan. 10) The Leadership South Dakota Board announces the selection of John Meyer as the organization’s next Executive Director. Meyer, former co-founder and CEO of Lemonly, will transition into the role over the next few months until April 1, when Meyer fully takes the reins.
“We were thrilled with the interest in the director position and thankful to the many qualified individuals who interviewed for the role,” said Mike Begeman, Board Chair. “John has a passion for developing leaders, years of experience growing an organization, and a love of South Dakota that aligned with the goals the board had for this hire. We know he is the right individual for the next chapter of Leadership South Dakota.”
Meyer’s selection completes a months-long search process that began in September 2022. A large candidate pool was narrowed in phases by a board search committee, with a final round of interviews with the full board of directors.
“The board recognizes the importance of this transition in two specific ways. First, we want to honor the foundation and legacy created by Rick and Val and their impact on our alumni.
Second, we want to double down on growing the organization and providing a premiere leadership development program to best live out our mission to build the next generation of South Dakota leaders. As an alum of the program and dynamic entrepreneur, we believe John can be the bridge between both,” stated Paula Jensen, Board Vice Chair and Vice President of Program Development & Community Coach at Dakota Resources.
“I am honored to be selected for this role and grateful for the opportunity to lead in this capacity. We have so many exceptional leaders to learn from in our great state,” said Meyer. Meyer, a graduate of the Leadership South Dakota program (2018), is a sought-after speaker and leadership consultant, who coaches entrepreneurs and hosts the ‘Leadmore’ podcast. He’s married to Paige Pearson Meyer who graduated from the Leadership South Dakota program in 2022. They have two daughters. “I’m excited to go on this journey with the program participants, and I’m eager to soak up as much knowledge from Rick and Val over the next few months,” said Meyer.
Leadership South Dakota currently runs two leadership development programs, the flagship Leadership South Dakota program and the Leadership South Dakota for State Government program. The application window for the 2024 Flagship Class opens February 1, 2023, and the next State Government class kicks off April 19.
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About Leadership South Dakota:
Leadership South Dakota is a non-profit (501c3) organization established in 2014. Through generous grants from the South Dakota Community Foundation and the Bush Foundation, Leadership South Dakota became a reality. Leadership South Dakota is supported by First PREMIER Bank and Sanford Health (gold sponsors); Daktronics, Marco, First Interstate Bank, Black Hills Energy, Raven Industries, POET, Sammons Financial Group, SDN Communications, NorthWestern Energy, South Dakota Trust Company, Valley Queen, Avera, Marsh McLennan Agency, and Monument Health (silver sponsors); and Boyce Law Firm, Dakota Resources, South Dakota Community Foundation, South Dakota Magazine, Pinnacle Productions, and Lawrence & Schiller (in-kind sponsors).