January 27, 1960 ~ May 17, 2024

Todd Krautkremer, a remarkable individual, has left an indelible mark on those fortunate enough to have known him. Over his nearly 40-year career, Todd touched thousands of lives and influenced dozens of companies. His multifaceted roles—as an innovator, corporate leader, entrepreneur, and mentor—shaped the landscape of the software-driven industry.

As a co-founder of MESA (Minnesota Emerging Software Advisory), Todd’s vision and unwavering dedication contributed to the mission and design of the organization, making it what it is today. Beyond business, he selflessly shared his expertise and experience as a mentor to Minnesota-based startup founders for over a decade. Todd’s legacy resonates through the countless lives he impacted.

Todd was more than a colleague; he was a forever friend. May his legacy continue to inspire generations to come.

We honor Todd’s memory and his beloved family with gratitude and admiration.

CMO (Retired), Cradlepoint | Part of Ericsson
Todd has over 35 years of executive experience in startup, early, and growth-stage software-driven companies. His expertise spans strategy and team formation, sales and marketing, strategic partnerships, capitalization, and M&A. He recently retired as CMO of Cradlepoint where he was instrumental in its $1.1B acquisition by Ericsson. After the acquisition, he also became head of marketing for Ericsson’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions business unit. Previously, he was in Silicon Valley as CMO of Pertino, a software-defined cloud networking startup (acquired by Cradlepoint). He also served as COO of Red Lambda, a big data security startup, and was CEO of Gearworks for six years (based in Minnesota). At Gearworks, Todd orchestrated a turn-around, raised over $40 million in venture capital, and led the company to the rank of the fastest growing industry player in the location-based workforce management space before it was acquired by Xora (and eventually Oracle).

Prior to Gearworks, he was in Silicon Valley as VP of Worldwide Marketing for Packeteer (IPO) and also served as VP of Marketing at Sync Research (IPO). As an innovator and mentor, Todd was nominated for the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, holds two patents on application-intelligent networks, and sat on several technology and private company boards.

Todd Krautkremer – Interview Entrepreneur Week 2021