How has he transformed the scene?
In the years 1990-1999, Lawrence (Larry) Perlman is credited with orchestrating the turn-around of the flagging Control Data Corporation and the rise to prominence of its successor, the Ceridian Corporation. Under Perlman’s leadership, what was once a leading mainframe computer company and manufacturer of hard-disk drives became a leader in “soft” technology, specializing in information services for human resources, transportation, and electronic media markets. As Perlman characterized the transformation during his tenure, “We no longer make anything you can drop on your foot.”
“Not only a successful and respected businessman, Larry Perlman really understands education: he knows what it means for kids on their way up, and what it means for Minnesota.”
Jim McCorkell, Founder and CEO, Admission Possible
A major force in the Minnesota high-tech community, Perlman has led and lent his expertise to countless initiatives benefiting the state’s business climate, including co-chairing the University of Minnesota’s 2000 Economic Summit. Over the course of his career, he has been a director of over a dozen publicly held companies in the state.
Perlman is well known for his efforts to advance the role of women in corporate culture. In Minnesota, he served as a member of Governor’s Carlson’s Glass Ceiling Task Force, which worked to identify and remove barriers to women in leadership. In 1994, he received the “Women and Corporations that Make a Difference” award from the International Women’s Forum; in 1995 was honored with the “Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award” by Women Executives in State Government, and in 2000 was recognized by Working Mother Magazine with its “Excellence in Corporate Diversity” award.
A champion of equal opportunity, Perlman has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Minneapolis Branch of the NAACP (1999), and is credited with chairing the “most successful ever” Minnesota Campaign for the United Negro College Fund (1997).
Throughout his career Perlman has been active at the state and national level in public policy initiatives related to training and education for a skilled technical workforce. Under the Clinton Administration he chaired the 21st Century Workforce Commission, which was established in 1998 by Congress to address a critical shortage of workers in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math. He has also served on the governing board of the U.S. Business Roundtable—an association of CEOs of America’s largest corporations—chairing its Committee on Workforce Training.
Perlman’s interest in workforce development extends beyond his corporate life to the personal. Through the Lawrence and Linda Perlman Family Foundation, his family has worked to foster a new generation of “classic American success stories” by providing access to college for students of limited means. Among the initiatives receiving major support by the Perlman Foundation is Admission Possible, which provides talented, motivated and economically disadvantaged students in Minnesota with SAT and ACT test preparation, intensive guidance in preparing college applications, help in obtaining financial aid, and support in transitioning to college. Perlman has also provided funding support for creation of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching at Carleton College in Northfield, which supports student learning as well as faculty members seeking to improve their skills through new techniques and interdisciplinary approaches.
Perlman has shared his experiences and insights with the next generation of leaders through lectures and classes taught at the Carlson School, the J.L. Kellogg School, Stanford Business School, and the Harvard Law School.
