Steve Wellington
Steve Wellington, president and owner of real estate company Wellington Management, was named one of Minnesota’s “10 mostadmired CEOs” by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in September.
Each year, the Business Journal awards 10 Minnesota executives who demonstrate strong leadership and integrity, manage impressive financial performance for their company, and show a commitment to the community.
Wellington, a Massachusetts native with a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Yale University, is known for opening staff meetings by reading a poem. He came to Minnesota in the 1970s, obtained a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, and worked in St. Paul’s Planning and Economic Development Dept. In 1984, he received a Bush Foundation Fellowship, studied at Stanford University’s School of Business and obtained a second master’s degree. He started Wellington Management in 1985.
The Business Journal cited Wellington’s role in helping his church, Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, build a controversial 40-unit affordable housing complex for homeless people. Despite a court battle, the apartments were built and now Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, of which Wellington is a founding board director, has worked with other churches in building 400 units of affordable housing.
When the Business Journal asked him what was the most pressing issue facing our region, he replied, “Solving the problem of the increasing disparity between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ ” Wellington and his wife, Kathy, have lived in St. Anthony Park for 40 years and have three children and four grandchildren.
