Ingram’s January 2023

2023 • Executive of the Year

of public-sector inaction on that goal— Burns & McDonnell stepped forward, just months after he’d taken on duties as CEO, with a bold proposal: A new single-terminal airport design that would cost taxpayers not a dime. The firm outlined a vision for designing and building the new airport termi nal with private financing, drawing on its expertise in that discipline—it had, after all, designed the original KCI. In a city with no shortage of back benchers and back-biters, the offer elicited howls of protest from organiza tions that felt they were being denied seats on a construction gravy train. Eventually, City Hall chose another path, another designer, and another construction partnership to begin the work, which is expected to be complet ed in April. Burns & McDonnell didn’t reap the benefits of contracts for the KCI project, but because it took the risk, the process moved off dead-center and construction began in 2019. Former City Manager Troy Schulte offered a

concise reply at the time to those who had found sudden motivation to get in volved by complaining about a lack of competitive bidding for the work. The team at Burns & McDonnell, he said simply, “are the ones who stepped for ward” to get the ball rolling.

popular,” Kowalik says. “You have to believe in your decision-making that you are doing the right thing long-term for your company and your employ ee-owners.” A lot of leaders, he says, pay too much attention to addressing the con

“The unintended consequences are always something I’m thinking about. When I spend time with our leadership, those are the points I try to make. In the end, if you promote the right people, the company will continue to thrive and grow.”

It would be hard for any executive to live through an experience like that without a sense of bitterness. Kowalik, however, is too dignified to address the way things played out. What’s past is past. But the takeaway from that fits neatly within his broader worldview of what it means to lead. “Leadership is about making the right decisions, which aren’t always

cerns of those who are most vocal, a practice that leads to poor decisions for the health of the company. “The unintended consequences are always something I’m thinking about,” Kowalik says. “When I spend time with our leadership, those are the points I try to make. In the end, if you promote the right people, the company will con tinue to thrive and grow. Spend time with your stars!”

As designers and builders of critical infrastructure around the world, the employee-owners of Burns & McDonnell are proud to see our CEO honored as Ingram’s Executive of the Year. Congratulations, Ray Kowalik, as we work to strengthen our hometown and elsewhere. Building a better Kansas City and beyond.

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I n g r a m ’ s

Kansas City’s Business Media

January 2023