Op-Ed: Tami Reller: Doug Burgum’s leadership is badly needed at Interior

"For a country that needs bold change and action, Doug Burgum is uniquely suited to make significant progress on the toughest issues we face as a country," Tami Reller writes.

I’ve known Doug Burgum since 1984. He is a friend, mentor, family man, and honorable leader who cares greatly about natural resource production, outdoor recreation, and conserving the environment. This is why I was so thrilled when President Donald Trump nominated him to lead the Department of the Interior.

Doug’s experience as a two-term Governor and as a highly successful global business executive makes him uniquely positioned to lead and address the challenges and opportunities in the Department of the Interior. He will be focused on ensuring our country returns to a position of energy independence.

Doug deeply understands the intrinsic connection between energy, national security, and the economy. He will use his ability to think and act strategically to advance the country in all three areas, working effectively with colleagues in the Executive Branch and in Congress. Doug’s leadership style naturally enables him to bridge divides, reach across the aisle, and leverage the assets of both the public and private sectors, all towards implementing workable solutions that are good for the country. Doug has repeatedly shown his commitment to balance the natural resource assets with the energy needs of our country.

I worked with Doug in the private sector — at Great Plains which he successfully grew and sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion, and at Microsoft where his leadership drove significant growth and culture change. After leaving Microsoft, Doug remained very active in technology, including starting a successful venture capital firm. Doug also served as Chairman of the Board of two highly successful software companies helping both build lasting organizations and delivering exceptional shareholder returns.

I also saw how his leadership as Governor drove positive change in the state of North Dakota as he applied what he learned in the private sector into advancing an agenda for the people of the state. Doug’s time as Governor saw North Dakota’s economy boom, innovation thrive, quality of life increase, and its population grow. He oversaw an excellent balance of natural resource production and conservation of all the natural beauty North Dakota has to offer.

As Doug did in the private sector, he set a long-term vision, built a team and a plan, and executed against that plan, modifying as needed. He was also always willing to tackle vs. avoid the harder-to-solve problems. To drive results, he is always focused on finding the right talent to address the important issues for the people he serves — Doug epitomizes what it means to be a servant leader.

Doug’s entrepreneurial nature makes him a creative and curious problem solver. For a country that needs bold change and action, he is uniquely suited to make significant progress on the toughest issues we face as a country.

Tami Reller is a technology and health care executive.