Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> March 17, 2004

TRUDY RAUTIO – CARLSON HOTELS WORLDWIDE

TRUDY RAUTIO is president of the Americas division of Carlson Hotels Worldwide Ms. Rautio has been a member of the senior management team at Carlson since joining the company in 1997. Most recently she served a dual role as executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Carlson Consumer Group and Chief Administrative Officer of Carlson Hotels Worldwide. She was responsible for developing and implementing financial strategies and policies for Carlson Consumer Group which includes all of the company's operations and brands in hotels, resorts, restaurants, cruise ships and leisure travel agencies. She also was responsible for several key support areas of the organization including finance and accounting, planning and acquisitions, public relations, legal, human resources and technology. During the past several years, she has been instrumental in leading the planning and implementation of several key initiatives including a program called "greatwork" designed to increase effectiveness and efficiencies of processes throughout the organization. In other experience, Rautio was senior vice president and chief financial officer of Josten's, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis. She also served as vice president of finance for Pillsbury Co., which is also based in Minneapolis. She serves on the board of directors for Select Comfort Corporation and is also a board member of HIRED, a nonprofit organization that assists the unemployed. Rautio is active in several finance-related organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Management Accountants and Financial Executives Institute. In 2001, she was named one of the top women in finance in the Twin Cities by Minnesota-based business publication Finance and Commerce. A graduate of Bemidji State University, Rautio holds an MBA and is also a CPA and CMA (Certified Management Accountant). Profile
TWST: Trudy, can we start off with a brief historical sketch of Carlson

Company?

Ms. Rautio: Carlson Companies is a private organization that was founded

by entrepreneur Curt Carlson 65 years