Ingram's August 2022

Shawn Burcham PFSbrands Holts Summit Born in Columbia and raised in

Richard Barohn University of Missouri Columbia

The irony is not lost on Richard Barohn, who headed to medical school at 17— not long after UMKC launched a six-year program combining college and medical school classes. “At 17, your brain isn’t even fully formed yet,” says Barohn,

Farmington, Shawn Burcham headed off to Springfield for his business degree at Missouri State University, then immersed himself in operations for both a big business and a small one—the

who, as it turns out, would go on to make a career in neurology and an understanding of the science of the brain, even as so much about it remains a mystery. Over the past half-century, he’s established himself as an authority in neurological clinical work and education at two major venues: The University of Kansas School of Medicine, and since 2020 at MU as dean of the School of Medicine and executive vice chancellor for health affairs. He came to Columbia to put a capstone on his career, overseeing the final construction and start-up of the $214 million NextGen Precision Health Institute. “With this one-of-a-kind building in the U.S., and the financial resources to hire talent from around the country, it’s almost too good to be true,” Barohn says. “We’ve been hiring like crazy—amazing talent.” It means a lot that this Creve Coeur native can wrap up his career with a project of such importance for his home state as the ultimate leader for a health-care system and its academic instruction. “I’m able to bring together the clinical side, with the hospital and outpatient clinic, and the education and research side,” he says. “It’s my dream job, to be honest.”

bigger being what is now Dairy Farmers of America; the smaller one a Nixa-based company, where he managed sales of equipment and branded chicken products. In 1998, he decided it was time to apply his real-world education by working for himself. That’s when he launched Pro Food Systems, now PFSbrands, with more than 1,500 branded food-service and retail locations. That performance has put his company on the Inc. 5000 list of fast-growth firms for nine straight years. “I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship, and I always wanted to be my own boss,” Burcham says. “I’ve also always been an avid goal setter and was never scared to take risks.” He developed his love for the food business while still a junior at MSU, working for what is now DFA. “I’m a warped entrepreneur and I love starting, and investing in companies,” says Burcham, who is also the author of “Keeping Score with GRITT; Straight-Talk Strategies for Success.” “Missouri offers a good pro-business environment. Cost of living, cost of labor, cost of land and buildings, and utility costs could be reasons to locate or start up companies in Missouri.”

Brett Carolus Hillyard, Inc. St. Joseph Seven generations deep in family

Arvan Chan Centene St. Louis

Think Globally/Act Locally is a mind- set that closely describes Arvan Chan. A Hong Kong native raised and schooled in Southern California, he came to St. Louis for graduate school at Washington University, works as

ownership, Hillyard, Inc. is now working on a second generation of the Carolus family in its leadership ranks. That would be with Brett Carolus, chief administrative officer, following his father’s footsteps to the St. Joseph company who retired as

COO-International for the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care organization, has his own consulting firm, and is a member of the World Economic Forum, comprising thought leaders addressing some of the planet’s thorniest challenges. St. Louis and Centene, where he worked as a graduate intern while launching his own company, kept him here with what he calls a “mission driven, entrepreneurial culture, along with the vibrant St. Louis entrepreneur scene.” Chan’s interest in health-care policy stems from his background—he was raised in a family of doctors—and what he discovered after majoring in biology at UCLA. “I noticed that my passion lies in the intersection of business and health care, particularly on how we can transform our health-care systems to improve affordability, access, and quality,” he says. An MBA and master’s in health administration at WashU, he says, “helped me to pivot into my new business career after years of doing HIV and cancer research.” He’s also a model of civic engagement, with a service history that includes board roles with for-profit and non profit organizations, as well as advisory and selection committees, including his alma mater, Arch Grants, United Way, and others.

its president after 45 years there. So Brett is no stranger to the mission, whose only extended time out of St Joseph took him to the University of Kansas. Still, Carolus says, “I didn’t know I’d be working for Hillyard until after graduating from KU. I assumed I’d go the public accounting path, but an opportunity with Hillyard became available, and I took it.” His path to leadership included work with an ERP implementation team that took him to each of the cleaning-products company’s 24 distribution centers nationwide, where he absorbed the finer points of operations and met hundreds of Hillyard employees. St. Joseph has always prided itself in being a “tweener” city, not too big, as with Kansas City, and not constrained by small-town challenges. “Our city, county, and chamber have worked hard to create an environment that helps grow our existing businesses and attract outside businesses,” Carolus says. That’s one reason the company is committed to expanding its footprint there, with a 140,000-square-foot distribution center opening in the fall of 2023, a move that not only helps the company, but adds to redevelopment of the city’s historic downtown.

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