The winners of the 2025 Private Company Boards of the Year Awards may vary in service offerings – operating in such areas as banking, biotherapeutics and construction – but they all have one thing in common: a commitment to stellar corporate governance.
The awards, now in their 10th year, are presented by Private Company Director, Family Business and Directors & Boards magazines at the annual Private Company Governance Summit. They were created to recognize private companies that go above and beyond legal governance requirements and commit to the highest levels of governance, whether through fiduciary or advisory boards. The awards honor the performance of the board as a whole.
The awards recognize fiduciary boards as well as advisory boards. Fiduciary board awards were categorized by company revenues and ownership type.
The Private Company Governance Summit, which will celebrate its 13th anniversary May 14-16 at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Washington, D.C., is the only national conference focused on the unique governance challenges faced by owners, shareholders, directors and advisory board members of closely held, family-owned and private equity-owned companies.
While 25 private company boards were nominated for the 2025 Private Company Boards of the Year Awards, eight stood out for their diligence, standards and best practices.
Here are the eight boards chosen for this year’s recognition. Check out our past winners.
Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenues: More than $1 billion
Company Ownership: Family-Owned
Adolfson & Peterson Construction is a national construction management and contracting firm offering preconstruction and construction services across various market segments.
Governance highlights include:
- Split between chair and CEO is required by the bylaws.
- Sophisticated committee structure includes audit, nom/gov and compensation.
- The board conducts self-evaluation processes on an annual basis.
Catamount Constructors Incorporated
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenue: More than $1 billion
Company Ownership: Employee-Owned
Catamount Constructors Inc. is a construction company that specializes in general contracting, construction management and related services across various markets, including government, health care, industrial, multifamily, retail, and senior living.
Governance highlights include:
- Set up the ESOP and the associated board/management structures, creating extensive governance documents.
- Guided the company’s M&A strategy as it tripled in size since 2018.
- Worked closely with management to steer the company through a business crisis.
Dakota Supply Group
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenue: $350 million to $1 billion
Company Ownership: Employee-Owned
Dakota Supply Group is a wholesale distributor of products and services for the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, communications, utility, automation and waterworks industries.
Governance highlights include:
- The board is overseeing the digitization of the business, from how they interact with their customers and vendors to how to use data analytics to drive better decision-making.
- The board has audit, nom/gov and human capital committees, and sets up temporary subcommittees as needed for areas such as mergers & acquisitions and digital transformation.
- Board members roll on and off different committees to get a complete picture of the company’s operations and they perform yearly evaluations of each committee.
Vantage Elevator Solutions
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenue: $350 million to $1 billion
Company Ownership: Private Equity
Vantage Elevator Solutions is a leading North American manufacturer and supplier of elevator components and systems, including control systems, machines, cab interiors and door equipment.
Governance highlights include:
- The board is majority independent.
- The board has audit and compensation committees, as well as informal steering committees in areas such as ERP implementation.
- The board oversaw the creation of a risk register that monitors key risks to the business.
Biosphere Corporation
Type of Private Company Board: Advisory
Approximate Annual Company Revenue: $100 million to $350 million
Company Ownership: Family-Owned
Biosphere Corporation is a Ukrainian manufacturer and distributor of household and hygiene products, operating in Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Governance highlights include:
- The board has played a vital role in helping the company not only survive but thrive during the effects of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- The board has provided guidance and insight to management during its efforts to expand its business internationally and to the West.
- There is a majority independent board, a CEO/chair split, robust board self-assessments and a detailed plan for CEO succession.
Summit Brewing Company
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenue: Under $100 million
Company Ownership: Closely Held
Summit Brewing Company is a craft brewery in St. Paul, Minnesota, that produces a range of beers, including year-round, seasonal and limited release brews.
Governance highlights include:
- There are written charters for all committees (audit, nom/gov and compensation) and they are approved on an annual basis.
- New directors are chosen based on a sophisticated matrix of 20 skills that are considered vital to run the business.
- The board helped the company survive the effects of COVID on the bar and restaurant industry and consistently pushes management to consider new product lines to ensure the company’s long-term health.
First Women’s Bank
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenue: Under $100 million
Company Ownership: Closely Held
First Women’s Bank is a unique commercial bank dedicated to supporting the women’s economy by closing the gender gap in access to capital.
Governance highlights include:
- There is a chair/CEO split, with the chair and CEO meeting on a weekly basis.
- The board has four committees (executive and compensation, audit, enterprise risk and nom/gov), which meet at least four times per year.
- Public company best practices include the number and structure of board meetings, detailed minutes, action-item reporting and use of a board portal.
Sonoma Biotherapeutics
Type of Private Company Board: Fiduciary
Approximate Annual Company Revenues: Under $100 million
Company Ownership: Private Equity
Sonoma Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing engineered regulatory T cell therapies to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by restoring balance to the immune system.
Governance highlights include:
- Split between chair and CEO.
- There are audit and compensation committees, as well as subcommittees on science and tech and nom/gov.
- The board features high levels of diversity both in gender and race and opinions and ideas.