Friese is a graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, where he received degrees in Communications and Environmental Studies.  Friese, who grew up on a farm in Central Minnesota, began his career in agriculture as an Agronomy Manager and Certified Crop Consultant.  In 1998 Friese became the General Manger of a privately owned grain shuttle facility in West Central Minnesota.  In 2005 Friese joined the ethanol ranks as a Risk Manager and Commodities Manager for Granite Falls Energy and then for the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC).  Friese was hired as the General Manger of CVEC in the Spring of 2014.

Friese serves on the board at the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, American Coalition of Ethanol, Renewable Fuels Association, RPMG, and Guardian Energy Management.