Ingram's April 2023

CLASS of 2023

EMMA BROOKE Emma Brooke doesn’t just work for a B Corporation; she lives the mission of those elite companies that voluntarily set

high standards for social and environ mental performance. “I measure success and achievement by the impact I have on our Global Prairie team, our commu nity, and the world,” she says, “and so my proudest accomplishments are those that change lives.” Brooke, 35, is the managing director of insight and strategy for marketing firm Global Prairie, a firm organized around the belief that corpo rations are much more than the sum of their income statements. “I’m proud of our innovator status as one of the very first B Corps in Kansas and Missouri, now ranked among the top 1 percent among more than 6,500 B Corps around the globe,” she says. Brooke leads a team uncovering solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges and has work ethic to Columbia to secure his master’s in accounting, tacked on his CPA, spent three years in the audit practice at KPMG and three more in transaction services at BKD. So he had all the tools in the kit when C3 Capital—now CPC—came calling in 2016. The private-equity firm invests $50 million to $100 million buying controlling interests in a wide range of promising companies, and Butler, 36, brings a passion for lower-mid dle market businesses to the task. He came on board to help invest three funds totaling $450 million in capital and was responsible for help ing manage 16 of 40 portfolio com panies—originating six of them. He now serves as a member of multiple

P&L responsibility for the fast-growing business, where she helps drive con tinued revenue and profit growth for the firm’s employee owners. Result? A year-over-year surge of 205 percent in the firm’s ESOP share price. In addi tion to leading the insight and strat egy team, she manages and mentors a cross-functional team of 20 employee owners, fostering an environment of col lective and individual growth. Outside the office, Brooke co-founded Project Homeless Connect Kansas City, a non profit that has served more than 2,000 people, providing access to vital care and services. She’s also on the board of Pawsperity, formerly The Grooming Project, which helps break the cycle of poverty by teaching pet grooming skills. company boards, monitors financial performance, and is involved in com pany strategy and developing manage ment teams for each of these compa nies. “I’m a relationship guy and big believer that people are a company’s biggest asset,” Butler says. “I also oversee CPC’s marketing function, hiring our first marketing manager in 2022.” He’s lived in Kansas City for a dozen years and calls himself a proud brother, son, uncle, friend, and BBBS “Big.” “When not working, you can usually find me working out, at a lake water skiing, or playing volleyball or basketball—where my “Little” and I met and became fast friends almost a decade ago. He now plays basketball at Washburn University.”

ANDY BUTLER Andy Butler’s career path is a study in what it means to be intentional: He carried the storied Missouri farm-kid

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