CASE STUDY – LOIS QUAM, Tysvar LLC
After accompanying Will Steger on a trip to Norway and the Arctic Circle, Lois Quam’s interest in global climate
change was sparked. There she witnessed firsthand the astonishing changes in the polar ice masses and the resulting
impact on wildlife. Inspired by Steger’s call for action to reduce global climate change, in 2009 Lois Quam left Piper
Jaffray, a leading international investment bank, to become the founder and CEO of Tysvar, LLC, a privately held,
Minnesota-based New Green Economy and health care reform incubator. In 2010, Quam was selected by President
Barack Obama to head the Global Health Initiative. This case is a retrospective of her executive experience at Tysvar.
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“I’m focused on ways to finding solutions to really significant problems and taking those ideas to full potential”,
Quam said. “I want to bring the green economy to reality in a way that is much broader than financing. I want to
focus on areas where I can make the most difference bringing the green economy to scale.” Tysvar works with
investors who can create the change they wish to see in the world rather than simply reacting to events as they unfold.
The company is a strategic advisor and incubator of ideas, organizations, and people working to facilitate and build
the New Green Economy (NGE) to scale. Tysvar’s goal is to contribute to a viable, profitable, and socially responsible
industry of sustainability, clean technology, and renewable energy sources
Conscientiously working to play their part to create a more sustainable world for the next generation, Tysvar’s efforts
include new creation of NGE industries, jobs, and investment opportunities, contributing to building NGE public
policy frameworks, trade for import/export of clean technologies, and renewable energy sources around the world.
“We stand on the brink of a very exciting time in the world,” according to Quam. The interest in developing renewable
energy sources to replace dwindling fossil fuel supplies and reduce carbon dioxide emissions is worldwide. “It is a
very difficult time in the financial markets right now to do this, but that will change. Good companies will find ways to
get things done.”
“I am an optimist about our future,” said Quam, “Which is why I started Tysvar. The challenges we face from climate
change are immense, but so are our capabilities, and the rewards and benefits to humanity are even greater in the
New Green Economy.”
Lois Quam named her company after the hometown of her grandfather, Nels Quam. Tysvar is a majestically beautiful
area in western Norway which is becoming a clean technology hub as part of Norway’s growing NGE leadership and
will soon be the site of the world’s largest off-shore wind farm.
Lois Quam has continually worked for a better tomorrow. In 2005, Quam was named Norwegian-American of the
Year. She believes there is much to learn from Norway: From balancing work and life, allowing parents to fully
participate in the economy while still being active parents, to how successfully Norway is immersing itself in new
energy technologies such as wind and biomass. As an arctic oil producing nation with a carbon tax since 1993,
Norway has reinvested its oil wealth to become a world leader in renewable energy.
Internationally recognized as a visionary and leader on universal health-care reform and the emerging NGE, Lois
Quam embodies the skill sets needed to succeed in this new economy. Named in 2006 by Fortune magazine as one of
America’s “50 Most Powerful Women,” Quam has worked as head of Strategic Investments, Green Economy &
Health at Piper Jaffray, a leading international investment bank; served as president and CEO of the Public and Senior
Markets segment at UnitedHealth Group, a $30 billion division she helped create and run; chaired the Minnesota
Health Care Access Commission, which led to legislation that brought health insurance to tens of thousands of
Minnesotans; and served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton’s task force on health-care reform. She graduated
magna cum laude from Macalester College in St. Paul and went on to attend the University of Oxford as a Rhodes
Scholar, earning a master’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
Lois Quam believes the New Green Economy will produce high quality jobs, improve our national security via less
dependence on foreign fuels, and prevent the most damaging consequence of all: irreversible and diminishing climate
change. She and Tysvar are committed to establishing universal health-care reform in America. They believe universal
health care is the answer for dependable, affordable health care for all Americans and that it is necessary to help
rebuild the American economy and restore American competitiveness worldwide.
Recognizing this, President Obama appointed Quam executive director of the State Department’s Global Health
Initiative. This $63 billion project will help developing countries improve their health care systems, with a special
emphasis on women, children, and newborns.12 In accepting this position, Quam decided to step down as CEO of the
company she founded and hand leadership to Norwegian Terje Mikalsen, co-founder and former chairman of Norsk
Data.
“Although we are sad to see Lois leave the firm, Tysvar will continue to follow through on her vision to help bring the
new green economy to scale and make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone,” Mikalsen said on
Tysvar’s Web site. “We wish Lois all the best as she assumes her new position at the State Department. Her vision and
leadership will help improve health care delivery and access for millions of people around the world.”
On Earth Day Lois Quam gave a speech at the University of St. Thomas on the emerging opportunities in the NGE
after which she said, “I enjoyed sharing . . . how we can all use these key capabilities as a platform for doing
something you love. Imagine: helping to build the NGE with a purposeful passion. It doesn’t get much better than
that!”
In another speech she illustrated her philosophy:
The change required to combat climate change and conserve biodiversity will create a change in business and society
similar to the Industrial Revolution. The new energy realities require nothing short of an energy revolution, a
thorough retooling of our energy economy in ways that match up with the realities of the 21st century. It will affect
every aspect of daily life and business, creating an immense set of opportunities for investors, businesses and
individuals. For investors, there are highly diverse and immense opportunities to create and scale new sources of
energy, adapt our current methods of production and improve daily life in ways that drive down global warming
emissions. It will also create unprecedented depth and breadth of opportunities for businesses and investors. . . . clean
energy will always be in strong demand . . . the world will always have massive energy needs, and they will always
have to be balanced against the needs of the environment . . . the clean energy industry is fuelled by the laws of
nature—and there is no force as powerful or promising. Think about what we can achieve working together at this
conference and as a region . . . and think about the time sometime in the future when our work is reaching critical
mass, when our environment is safer and our energy is cleaner, when we too will have our eureka moments, our
moments of life-changing and world-changing discovery. As individuals, organizations, and countries answer the call
for action, we look forward to achieving Lois Quam’s vision of the future.”
Questions:
1. How does Lois Quam use emotions and moods in her speeches to convey her viewpoint? Cite examples to support
your statements.
2. Based on what you have learned about Lois Quam, what can you tell about the attitudes of her colleagues at
Tysvar while using the three basic components of attitudes in your theories?
3. Take a moment to research the Global Health Initiative. Why do you believe Lois Quam was chosen to lead this
program?
4. Research question: Search news reports, Web sites, and blogs to find out more information on Tysvar. How is the
company faring in its quest to make the world cleaner and safer for future generations? What implications might
that have on Tysvar’s employees, their attitudes, and job satisfaction?
