2025 Alumni Honors: Phil Gisi, ’82

Phil Gisi, ’82, to be honored with the 2025 Sioux Award for Distinguished Achievement & Leadership.  

Hometown: New Rockford, North Dakota
Area of study: Business Administration & Accounting

Phil Gisi, a 1982 graduate of the University of North Dakota, has built a career that reflects the values of his alma mater: hard work, innovation, and service. A “serial entrepreneur” with ventures in healthcare, hospitality, energy, and real estate, Phil has grown from his roots in small-town North Dakota to lead companies employing thousands — while never losing sight of the importance of mentorship and community.

After an early career in North Dakota’s oil industry ended with the mid-80s price bust, Phil pivoted into healthcare, a move he said “completely happened by accident.”

Hired as a hospital controller in Minot with no prior healthcare experience, he quickly rose to CFO and later CEO. 

That first-job breakdown instilled in Phil a habit of diversification and seizing opportunities. “Fear of failure” became a powerful motivator. “I always created a backup plan for myself,” he said. “When I saw an opportunity, I would take advantage of it.” 

That mindset led to the founding of multiple ventures, including Edgewood Healthcare and Edgewood REIT, which now support more than 3,000 employees and nearly 1,800 investors.

Despite his success, Phil remains grounded. “You don’t see success in business like I’ve seen unless you have a lot of really good people around you,” he said, crediting his teams and his wife, Trish, for their steady support. “I don’t want to run a company. 

I hate operations, but I love the company,” he added, emphasizing his role creating the vision for a company and hiring the best people to run operations.

You don’t see success in business like I’ve seen unless you have a lot of really good people around you.Phil Gisi, ’82

A passionate mentor and philanthropist, Phil has long supported UND students through scholarships, board opportunities, and personal guidance. “I think I have something to offer them… I want to see them be successful,” he said. His early investment in the student-run Dakota Venture Group included a student seat on the board of Edgewood REIT, giving them real-world experience in high-stakes business decisions. “They get a lot out of that — and I get a lot out of it too,” he said.

Reflecting on his UND education, Phil said, “It took me probably 15 years to look back and say, if I hadn’t done that, I don’t know what I would have been.” 

Today, his legacy is not just in the companies he’s built, but in the lives he’s shaped as a visionary and mentor.