Ingram’s January 2023

E D I T O R ’ S N O T E

by Joe Sweeney

Excellence at the Top

When we acquired Ingram’s 26 years ago, we quickly assessed the publication’s editorial programming, including a few competitions and recognition programs. Two programs existed when we took the reins in February 1997: Corporate Report 100 , which is celebrating its 38th year in 2023, and the Best of Business Kansas City , now enjoying its 35th, albeit with a rebrand in 1997. We’re proud to have established other programs over the years and nearly all remain active today. Other notable recognition programs include 40 Under Forty (25 years), WeKC—Women Executives Kansas City (22 years), Hereos in Healthcare (20 years), Icons of Education and 20 in Their Twenties (16 years), Ingram’s 250 (8 years), Philanthropist of the Year (7 years) and the most recently, Executive of the Year (3 years). So why do we do it? We believe excellence matters. Com- panies and individuals performing at exceptional levels create organizational and personal wealth, which flows back into the broader community and elevates all. More than that, they set standards for and inspire those who would follow their lead. Merit matters, and we make it a point within our editorial mission to showcase it. In 2023, we’re pleased to expand the Executive of the Year program to incorporate the C-Suite Awards . We had hoped to launch the C-Suite Awards concurrently with Executive of the Year in 2021 but the pandemic hindered our plans. We opted to be patient and debut the C-Suite Awards when business trends normalized. Of the competitions and recognition programs we administer, the C-Suite Awards are perhaps the most relevant to Ingram’s readers. About 18 months after we purchased Ingram’s, Portland-based Pulse Research conducted a thorough readership study and found that KC-based Ingram’s had the highest reader profile of any business or other magazine or daily or weekly newspaper in the nation. I remember evaluating our strategy when purchasing Ingram’s and we opted to focus our content primarily on the interests of top business executives. Today, Ingram’s has more readers than all of the Business Journals in Missouri and Kansas combined and a significantly higher executive reader profile. Responsibility Within Subjectivity Inevitably, a number of our recognition programs entail some level of subjectivity, so we try hard to establish strong and viable metrics in our qualification and selection process. We also value the input of our readers who make nominations. Not all nominations are created equal, and it’s worth mentioning: a nomination from the executive offices carries more clout than from the PR person, and nomination “campaigns” usually work against the nominee. Ingram’s is an independent media property. While we value relationships with many businesses and their associates, we have no affiliation with any groups, companies or individuals that that would skew our judgment to consider the most qualified candidates, especially when subjectivity is a factor in recognition programs. Being independent eliminates obligations to groups, trade organizations or others. We know we’ll run into some level of challenges associated with administrating the C-Suite Awards, particularly regarding the

variance in titles. A CMO at a law firm, for example, is considerably different than one at a medical center. We’ve established several standard categories: Executive of the Year (typically CEO) President (often times also the CEO)

Chief Operating Officer Chief Financial Officer Chief Information/IT Officer

Chief HR/People Officer Chief Marketing Officer Other titles will include a variety of Many colleagues throughout North America administer an Executive of the Year or CFO recognition award. We dis- cussed the uniqueness of developing a small but relevant portfolio of C-Suite awards, and we’ll report back at our 2023 conference about the reception of this program. We’re in no rush to develop more competitions or recognition programs. I feel the mix of those Ingram’s has developed over the years is solid. Our most important criteria is to have a program that will be sustainable. On a related theme, 22 years ago this month, Terry Dunn of JE Dunn Construction chaired the first Industry Outlook Assembly with fellow construction industry professionals. I remember having a conversation with Terry following the assembly and asking him if there would be enough developments to sustain an annual assembly. More than two decades later, we can still guarantee it. We hope our readers will suggest ways we can better refine the C-Suite Awards and who from around the region we should consider for our 2024 class. We’ve enclosed nomination information on Page 29 and hope you’ll take a minute to submit your recommendations at Ingrams.com. We’re pleased and proud to serve as a steward of business throughout the bi-state area, to be able to archive the rich history of our region, and to recognize compan ies celebrating asignificant milestones (as with the feature beginning on Page 39). We feel connected to so many com panies, and we’re honored to play a small part in the career paths of many extraordinary leaders. industry- and company-unique titles.

Joe Sweeney Editor-In-Chief and Publisher E | JSweeney @ Ingrams.com

4

I n g r a m ’ s

January 2023

Ingrams.com