Ingram's April 2024

CLASS of 2024

VERONICA FORD In her 13 years with Honeywell’s Federal Manufacturing & Technology division, which oversees the Nuclear

firm, as an intern, came back after finishing at K-State, and has been an award-winning rock of professional and civic engagement for nearly 20 years. Without a doubt, she says, going from intern to co-owner of the firm is her career highlight. “My dad was a laborer, my mom stayed at home to raise kids, neither finished college, and there was a point in time where we didn’t have a place to live,” she says. “But I now own a successful service business where I get to help our staff and our client families to achieve their definition of success.” Since acquiring her first slice in 2018, she’s steadily added to her partnership level, and “we have increased the number of client families that we serve by 30 percent, and we Security Campus for the Department of Energy, promotions have come Veronica Ford’s way roughly every 36 months. It’s not hard to see why. She was recognized as a Honeywell Outstanding Engineer in 2013 (the same year she won the Black Achiever in Business and Industry award), she secured certifications for Six Sigma Green Belt and Lean professional, she’s a certified Missouri Quality Award Examiner, and she secured a master's degree in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas—while working full-time. As lead project manager/engineer, she’s making a bottom-line impact. “In 2023, I saved my company over $1 million in continuous improvement projects and managed a portfolio of over $46 million,” she says.

have increased our revenue by about 50 percent. Since 2020, we’ve created five new positions, which has helped us to grow and to more effectively serve clients.” Her professional success has allowed her to give tens of thousands of dollars to favored charitable causes, and thousands more donated as a firm, mainly to arts and education, as well as serving on the Starlight Theatre board of directors. She also owns a piece of her family’s farm, “including a house that my great-great-grandfather built, that has been in my family for five generations,” says Guerich, 39. “My dream is for this property to be a hub for extended family and a place that we can enjoy, where we can relax, unwind, and celebrate our heritage.” “I'm also very active with our employee resource network, the Black Employee Network, and have served on the leadership team for over 10 years.” Her efforts with the latter have yielded a pair of $20,000 engineering scholarships to local students. The 39-year-old describes herself as “Southern born and Midwest raised,” values that drives her community service to various org anizations, including Evangel Church, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Nat ional Society of Black Engineers, Honey- well Black Employee Network, and Black Achievers Society of Greater Kan sas City, which recognized her as Black Achiever of the Year in 2018. In addition she has devoted time to a number of industry groups and charities.

AMY GUERICH Talk about career focus: Amy Guerich started there at Stepp and Rothwell, the Overland Park wealth-management

Ingram’s 20 in Their Twenties awards program has thus far identified 300 entrepreneurially minded business owners and young executives who dare to dream big—and act on those dreams. We welcome you to nominate accomplished leaders to be considered for our 2024 class.

In a recent ranking of America’s best cities for young entrepreneurs , Under30CEO placed Kansas City second among U.S. metropolitan areas for their start-up environments. Yes, assets like the Kauffman Foundation contri- bute to this distinction, but something else is at work here. We see it in those who have hurled themselves into their own business ventures, and in others who bring entrepreneurial skills to their jobs. And in Ingram’s upcoming annual installment of 20 in Their Twenties, we bring you a score of those high achievers.

in their twenties

To nominate candidates for Ingram’s 2024 Class of 20 in Their Twenties, please email Editorial@Ingrams.com | Coming in October

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Kansas City's Business Media

April 2024