Paseka School of Business Hosts Conversation with N.D. Native and Entrepreneur Gary Tharaldson
Monday, April 16 | 1:30-2:30 p.m. | Center for Business 111
The Paseka School of Business will host a conversation with North Dakota native and successful entrepreneur/hotel mogul Gary Tharaldson, Monday, April 16 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Center for Business room 111. Jane Pettinger, assistant professor in the Paseka School of Business, will moderate.
Tharaldson is the subject of the book “Open Secrets of Success: The Gary Tharaldson Story,” written by Patrick J. McCloskey, director of research and publications at the University of Mary.
Tharaldson worked as a teacher and insurance salesman before purchasing his first Super 8 motel in 1982 in Valley City, N.D. He has since established success by building and managing hotels across the United States. His 500th hotel construction will be built in 2020.
The book details Tharaldson’s upbringing and his early successes and business failures. In 1998, he was on the list of Forbes 400 richest Americans. He has consistently been ranked North Dakota’s wealthiest man by Forbes, currently worth $900 million, according to the magazine, yet many people in the book call Tharaldson “down-to-earth” and genuine.
“Every one of our encounters brings the same humble Gary Tharaldson, who, as a young insurance salesman, put the needs of his clients ahead of the policies he was selling,” wrote Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N-D, in a foreword to the book. “This is one of the many ‘open secrets’ that brought him and his business great success and admiration from all who have been privileged to know him.”
The book is available at the University of Mary bookstore and Amazon.