Ingram's April 2023

CLASS of 2023

JEFF STOLPER His background as a tax CPA and certi fied financial planner, says Jeff Stolper, “provides me with a strong foundation

Group,” says Emily West, the Overland Park firm’s head of wealth planning. And that was no small task: FCI is among the region’s top 10 wealth managers, manag ing $12.8 billion in assets across nearly 13,900 client accounts. “Historically, in an investment management and trust ser vices firm, introducing financial plan ning as a discipline was somewhat of a paradigm shift,” West says. “I had the opportunity to build the line of business from scratch, designing the client-fac ing deliverable along the way. I continue to lead this team as our services evolve and reach expands across our client base while also maintaining a book of cli ent accounts in my role as a portfolio manager. In recent years, I’ve also taken on the role of writing content for pub to impact people in a positive way. That expertise, paired with a passion for lead ership, led me to my role at Creative Planning, where I can improve the lives of both clients and my team members.” At 36, he’s director of financial planning for Creative Planning, the region’s larg est wealth-management firm. Since tak ing that role in 2018, the firm’s advised and managed assets have grown from about $36 billion to more than $200 billion, and his team has expanded from 55 to an enormous staff of more than 250 financial planning professionals. “I recruit, train, teach, and advise on technical aspects of financial planning,” Stolper says. “I also guide team members in their careers and get great satisfac- tion as they achieve their career goals.”

lication and speaking at many clients' events.” Philanthropically, she’s most proud of her work with KCinfertility. “Along with a group of women I met through the organization while we each worked to build our families, I took over for the founding board members, serv ing as only the second president in the organization’s history,” West says. “We were able to introduce many founda tional structures to provide the organi zation stability and scale going forward while increasing fundraising and com munity reach significantly.” That work had a deeply personal aspect to it. “I’m extremely proud of the family my hus band and I have built together,” West says of husband Josh, their 7-year-old twins and 2-year-old son. The roots of his servant leadership run back to K-State, planning fund-raisers for a local food pantry and seeking leadership roles with campus organizations. More recently, his service has included several non-profit boards in the Kansas City area, and he’s the incoming board President of Jewish Family Services, which serves over 10,000 local individuals of all faiths every year. “Part of the reason that I feel a duty to serve my community,” Stolper says, “comes from my parents and grand parents, and I want to pass that priority on to my children,” ages 2 and 5. “Setting an example that is caring, passionate and present is important. I see these charac teristics in my wife Lisa, a public-school administrator, and how I try to live each day with our kids.”

EMILY WEST “Professionally, my biggest accomplish- ment has been building and leading FCI Advisors/Midwest Trust’s Wealth Planning

WeKC—A Salute to High-Achieving Women Honoring women executives who, through a combination of talent, determination and passion for what they do, have scaled the high est peaks of their professions. In the November edition, Ingram’s will honor these women with our annual WeKC tribute. Nominees should be women in executive or senior-level management positions at organizations in the greater Kansas City region. Please include a brief statement on why a particular woman executive should be considered for this prestigious lineup. Tell us who you think has truly crushed the glass ceiling!

Nominations may be submitted to Editorial@Ingrams.com

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April 2023

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