Kristine Fortman

As CEO of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF), Kris provides strategic direction to advance the organization’s mission, strategy, goals and objectives. She believes strongly in its legacy of innovation and collaboration, and the vision of creating a world without heart and vascular disease guides her work every day.

Before joining MHIF, Kris served as director of global engagement at Medtronic Philanthropy, where she led significant growth and impact in health-focused community development and social investment around the world. Under her leadership, 86,000 employees were mobilized to channel their time and resources into improving community health.

Kris has a proven track record in building effective teams, leading strategic initiatives, engaging diverse stakeholders and translating complex science into meaningful stories. This experience spans her work building a research portfolio at HealthPartners Research Foundation, leading a team of scientists at Medtronic and her most recent leadership at Medtronic Philanthropy. In both her professional and personal life, she is a passionate advocate for improving community health and currently serves on the board of the Minnesota Region of the American Red Cross and as an ex officio member of the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation board.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Benedict and holds an interdisciplinary PhD focused on health communication from Washington State University. She was also a policy fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Kris lives in White Bear Lake with her husband and three sons.