2023 Inside the Front Office: A Conversation with the General Managers of the Twin Cities
Presented by WISE Twin Cities and the National Society of Black Sports Professionals Twin Cities
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
5:00pm - 7:00pm
TCO Performance Center, 2600 Vikings Circle, Eagan, MN 55121
Manny Lagos
Chief Soccer Officer, Minnesota United
Lagos was appointed as the first Sporting Director in club history in January 2016 and promoted to Chief Soccer Officer ahead of the 2020 season. Prior to holding this position, he worked as Head Coach of Minnesota United, taking the helm in 2010 and accruing a 78-52-59 record over six seasons, including winning the 2011 NASL championship.
The youngest of eight children, Manny began his professional career as a member of the Minnesota Thunder, where he played for seven years alongside his brother, Gerard, and under his father, Buzz, who coached and founded the team. Manny scored 29 goals with the Thunder and, in 1994, was named USL MVP, netting 18 goals and providing nine assists. Both Manny and Gerard were inducted into the USL Hall of Fame prior to the former leaving to play in MLS.
Lagos also received attention at the national team level as a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. He scored the winning goal in a 3-1 victory over Kuwait, the U.S. team’s only win of the tournament. He also made three appearances with the national team under the leadership of Bruce Arena.
During the inaugural MLS season in 1996, Lagos joined the NY/NJ MetroStars. He went on to play for five MLS clubs during his career: the MetroStars, Chicago Fire, Tampa Bay Mutiny, San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew SC.
Lagos retired from professional soccer in June 2005. He entered the administrative side of the sport in January 2006, when he assumed the role of Director of Soccer Operations for the Thunder, where he emphasized youth development. An occasional broadcaster, he served as color commentator for Sirius XM Radio during the 2006 World Cup.
Lagos is a two-time winner of the NASL Coach of the Year award, given to the best coach in the league, as voted on by the media. His first came in 2011, when he led Minnesota to the Soccer Bowl title after barely making the playoffs. He earned the award again in 2014, as MNUFC won both the spring and combined season championship.
In his final season, Lagos put together the most successful offensive team in the modern era of the NASL, scoring a record 55 goals. He led the squad to the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons, qualifying by virtue of having the best remaining record, not including the spring and fall champions.
Bill Guerin
General Manager, Minnesota Wild
Bill Guerin is in his fourth season as General Manager of the Minnesota Wild after being named to the position on August 21, 2019. He oversees the Wild’s hockey operations department including all matters relating to player personnel, coaching staff, scouting department and minor league operations.
Guerin spent eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2011-19), including the last five seasons as Assistant General Manager. He served as the Penguins player development coach for three seasons (2011-14), helping develop the organization’s minor league, junior and college prospects, many of whom were key contributors on Pittsburgh’s 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup teams. Guerin was promoted to Assistant General Manager by the organization on June 6, 2014, and served as General Manager of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, overseeing the day-to-day operations of Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the last two seasons.
He recorded 856 points (429-427=856), a plus-51 rating and 1,660 penalty minutes (PIM) in 1,263 career NHL games during 18 seasons (1991-2010) with New Jersey, Edmonton, Boston, Dallas, St. Louis, San Jose, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh. Guerin played in four NHL All-Star Games (2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007) and ranks fourth in shots on goal (3,693), sixth in goals, seventh in games played, 10th in PIM and 13th in scoring in NHL history amongst American-born players. He is one of eight U.S.-born players to record 400 career goals and 400 career assists in the NHL. Guerin also made 15 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and tallied 74 points (39-35=74) and 162 PIM in 140 career playoff contests, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995 with New Jersey and in 2009 with Pittsburgh. He was selected by New Jersey in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1989 NHL Draft.
Guerin represented the United States at three Olympic Games (1988, 2002 and 2006) and two World Cups of Hockey (1996, 2004), helping Team USA win a gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics. He also played for Team USA at the 1989 and 1990 IIHF World Junior Championships and played in 46 games for the U.S. National Team during the 1991-92 Pre-Olympic Tour. Guerin tallied 70 points (40-30=70) in 77 games during two seasons at Boston College (1989-91). The native of Wilbraham, Mass., was inducted into United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.
He and his wife, Kara, have three daughters, Kayla, Grace and Lexi, and a son, Liam.
Clare Duwelius
General Manager, Minnesota Lynx
The 2023 season will be Clare Duwelius’ (do-WILL-ee-us) 10th season with the Minnesota Lynx and first as General Manager. Duwelius was promoted to General Manager on December 13, 2022, after spending five seasons as Assistant General Manager.
Duwelius started with the Lynx in 2014 as the Basketball Operations Coordinator prior to being elevated to Basketball Operations Manager in 2016 and Assistant General Manager in 2018.
Duwelius is responsible for overseeing all day-to-day tasks of the basketball operations department, including player contracts, draft prospect scouting, domestic and international player logistics, budget management and team travel arrangements. As a member of Coach Reeve’s staff, Duwelius has served on Lynx teams that made eight-straight postseason appearances, highlighted by three consecutive WNBA Finals trips and two WNBA Championship titles in 2015 and 2017.
A Des Moines, Iowa native Duwelius graduated from Wayne State College where she played on the women’s basketball team and earned her degree in Sports Management. Upon graduating, Duwelius went on to Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) and obtained her Master’s degree in Business Administration while serving as the Graduate Assistant for the SMSU women’s basketball team. Duwelius currently resides in Minneapolis, Minn. with her wife Jen and their son, George.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
General Manager, Minnesota Vikings
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Quay-see Ah-Dough-Fo Men-Saaw), a first-time general manager in the NFL, enters his first season as GM of the Vikings bringing a variety of strong football experiences and a diverse background. Adofo-Mensah enters his 10th season in the league in 2022.
In Cleveland, Adofo-Mensah worked closely with Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry and provided input for all roster and strategy decisions. Additionally, he assisted Berry and the football staff with overseeing and managing the day-to-day operations of the team.
Adofo-Mensah helped oversee the Browns' 2021 NFL Draft, where the team selected CB Greg Newsome II and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, two immediate impact rookies that landed on the NFL's All-Rookie Team. Newsome, their first-round selection (26th overall), started in 11 games and posted nine passes defensed, the most by a Browns rookie since CB Denzel Ward in 2018. Owusu-Koramoah, their second-round pick (52nd overall), started in 10 games, posted 76 tackles, two forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. Owusu-Koramoah and LB Micah Parsons were the only two rookies in the NFL to have at least 75 tackles and two forced fumbles in 2021.
Prior the Browns, Adofo-Mensah spent seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he first entered the NFL. During his tenure with the 49ers, Adofo-Mensah quickly advanced in the football research and development department. He joined the team as Football Research and Development Analyst (2013-15) before earning promotions to Manager of Football Research and Development in 2017 and Director of Football Research and Development in 2018. As the lead of football research and development, Adofo-Mensah ran the team's efforts to develop and implement advanced quantitative methods for game strategy and personnel evaluation, playing a vital role in helping the 2019 NFC No. 1 playoff seed 49ers capture the conference title.
While with the 49ers, Adofo-Mensah helped the front office select three All-Pros (LB Fred Warner, WR Deebo Samuel and TE George Kittle) and the 2019 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year DE Nick Bosa. Warner went on to ink a long-term contract with the 49ers, making him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL.
In June of 2021, he led a session at the NFL and Black College Football Hall of Fame's fourth annual Quarterback and Coaching Summit and inaugural Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum, where he shared his personal story of how his rise from a trader and portfolio manager of Wall Street to working in NFL front offices with a data-driven approach to finding talent, while providing a quantitative view to grading a quarterback's short, medium and deep ball accuracy that could be used across the league.
Adofo-Mensah began his professional career as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and Vice President/Executive Director at Credit Suisse as a commodities trader before entering the NFL in 2013. The Cherry Hill, New Jersey, native received his bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton University, where he also played basketball. After graduating from Princeton, Adofo-Mensah went on to receive his master's in economics from Stanford University.
Derek Falvey
President of Baseball Operations, Minnesota Twins
Derek Falvey was named President of Baseball Operations in November of 2019 after serving under the title of Executive Vice President, Chief Baseball Officer since October of 2016. Under Falvey’s leadership, the Twins have compiled a record of 451-419 (.518) and have reached the postseason three times in his six seasons, winning the American League Wild Card in 2017 and the American League Central Division in both 2019 and 2020. In addition, the 2019 Twins posted a record of 101-61 for the second-most wins in Twins/Senators franchise history, trailing only the 1965 club that finished 102-60.
As the President of Baseball Operations, Falvey is responsible for establishing the vision and related strategies for the club’s baseball operations. Specifically, he oversees all aspects of the department, including: the major league team, coaches and support staff; contract negotiations; player development; scouting; research and development; medical; and communications. Falvey is the sixth head of the Twins’ Baseball Operations department, joining Calvin Griffith (1961-84), Howard Fox (1985-86), Andy MacPhail (1986-94), Bill Smith (2007-11) and Terry Ryan (1994-2007, 2011-16). He was named to Twin Cities Business’ list of “100 People to Know” in both 2017 and 2018.
Falvey’s career in baseball started with Cleveland in November of 2007 when he began an internship in Baseball Operations. In his first three years with the now-Guardians franchise, Derek assisted both the Amateur and International Scouting departments, before spending the 2011 season as Assistant Director of Baseball Operations. He was promoted to Director of Baseball Operations in December of 2011, then elevated to Assistant General Manager in 2016.
During his time in Cleveland, Derek assisted President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and General Manager Mike Chernoff in all areas of baseball operations, including financial, statistical, and contractual dealings, and also contributed to all aspects of professional and amateur player procurement and development. He also oversaw the advance scouting process and worked closely with Manager Terry Francona and the major league coaching staff to assist in the day-to-day management of major league operations.
Derek played baseball at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, where he earned a degree in Economics in June of 2005. After graduating, Falvey returned home to the Boston, MA area, where he worked until joining the Cleveland organization.
Derek resides in Edina, MN, with his wife, Meghan, their sons, Jack and Ryan, and daughter, Brynn.