Ingram's November 2022

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MEDIA TRENDS AND MARKETING IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE Borrell, Bettis and the Power of Print and Integrated Media

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2022 INGRAM'S MAGAZINE '

NOVEMBER 2022 • VOLUME 48, NO. 11

Talk of the Town 7 In the News/Correspondent Business News and Legislative Updates Perspectives 4 Editor’s Note The Price of Progress by Joe Sweeney 9 Between the Lines

Long-range planning, in itself, is fine. Ignoring current realities that shape those plans isn’t. by Jack Cashill

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11 Reflections

Kansas City companies invested in operations or markets in China might want to reassess recent developments. by Dennis Boone

Features 14 Ingram’s Best of Business and Corporate Report 100 Back in business after two years, Ingram’s celebration of business success and excellence returns. 16 Toasting the i250 The stars of Kansas City’s executive community turn out with this tribute to the 2022 class of Ingram’s 250. 18 Election Perspectives 20 Media Trends and Market ing in an Uncertain Future In a world of disruption sparked by the digital revolution, advertising executives and media buyers gain powerful insights from experts in the field.

12 In a Nutshell

Special Reports 25 WeKC – Women

With the elections over, good news is bad news and bad news is good news. by Ken Herman

Executives Kansas City From the ranks of financial-services, health care, insurance, architecture, commercial realty and more, these women are setting standards for executive excellence. Development Report Leading off with coverage of the biggest development project in the history of Kansas, our Q4 report includes a cautionary tale on mega projects, plus our updated annual lists of the region’s biggest general contractors, commercial-realty and engineering firms.

Business & Commerce 50 Wealth Management

It’s been a tough year for equities, but some have withstood the challenges, and a few have even excelled. by Phil Kernen

54 Construction and

51 Financial Adviser

A down economic cycle calls for a top-to-bottom review of your financial planning efforts. by Abdur Nimeri 53 Small Business Adviser Reflections on a changing work force with a recession threat looming. by Clyde McQueen Leads & Lists 40 Top Area Women- Owned Businesses 42 Top Area Minority- Owned Businesses 58 Top Area General Contractors 60 Top Area Engineering Firms (ranked by Engineers) 62 Top Area Commercial Real Estate Firms (ranked by Space Managed)

25 WeKC 2022

Meet some of the region’s most accomplished women in excecutive leaership roles.

45 Power Couples: Better Together

These Kansas City area couples share their secrets for a successful work marriage balance. 48 Q&A With Stephen Penn KPMG’s office leader ponders inflation, labor issues, interest rates, election outcomes and more. 54 Panasonic Energy Officials break ground on the $4 billion

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EV battery plant in DeSoto, Kansas hailing the dawn of a transformative era for Kansas City’s economy.

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1900 DIAMOND PARKWAY ∙ NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO 64116 MJEWELRY.COM (816) 453-1111

E D I T O R ’ S N O T E

by Joe Sweeney

The Price of Progress

Civility took a beating in October and November.

to serve their communities. These are American Heroes that deserve our respect. They do it out of a commitment to making their neighborhoods, cities, counties, states and yes, our nation, a better place to live. They’re proud of the system that, in most cases, has helped them achieve a good portion of the American Dream, and they engage civically as a way of paying forward what many of them see as a debt to the rest of us. They sure as hell don’t deserve the beating they took, and neither do we. More broadly, none of us deserve the level of vitriol that marked electoral campaigns this season. It’s to the point where I’m ready to boycott broadcast television entirely—at least every other October to get away from the nastiness and disrespect. Here’s one example: Laura Kelly and Sharice Davids in Kansas had plenty to boast about with their own records in their respective races for governor and the 3rd District congressional seat. Instead, they allowed party handlers to go negative by trying to tie their opponents to . . . Sam Brownback?!?! This man has been out of office for going on four years, and the best this year’s candidates can do is to inject division into their campaigns? Do better, please. It’s reached a point where a sitting president maxxes out on the divisive rhetoric by declaring that opposition to his party is the funcational equivalent of domestic terrorism. That democracy itself might go away if you don’t vote correctly. Before the smoke even starts to clear from this election, there’s already talk about a 2024 presidential rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. I can’t imagine a pairing that could do more harm to our prospects of a civilized election than getting that Oldies band back together again. It’s way past time for some new figures to step up, candidates who understand that America became great because we could work with each other to resolve differences, understanding that those differences would always be with us. Where is the collaboration candi date? Where is the inspiration candidate? Where did decency and civility go?

Well, it’s over. The congressional and state elections are done. I’ve lived through too many election cycles to count, but I don’t think I can recall an election season that has left me quite as dispirited as I am now. What a brutal, pathetic and petty display of American civics we just conducted. From races for the U.S. Senate, the House, governor’s offices and state legislatures, this one seemed to be particularly ugly. Combined with a personal experience involving a hearing just a week after the election (more on that soon), and I’m more frustrated with the electoral system than ever. They said democracy itself was on the ballot this year. I think it lost bad and I’m not sure we’ll get it back. My Dad was recruited by a much different Democrat party and he was voted in as the last elected assessor in Jackson County in 1968. Back in those days, politicking was inordinately different: Door to door and meeting one group after another as well as rallies, potlucks and parades. Having recently experienced our own contentuous hearing in front of the Camden County Planning & Zoning Commission, regarding plans that Michelle and I have to build a boutique resort with a modest bar and grill on the site. It never occured to us that people who live at the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri’s vacation capital and the largest recreational lake in the nation, would be so opposed to the notion of a very nice high-end neighborhood resort and dining venue. I’d like to share a few observations about that process. First of all, I respect anyone’s opinion so long as it’s legitimate and their opposition is communicated in civil fashion. More than 50 opponents attended the P&Z hearing with a docket including nine pretty heated arguments over a variety of matters. Ours was the sixth of nine cases and our case alone lasted well in excess of an hour. We thought our case was indisputable, though we faced well organized opposing campaigns comprised of neighbors who do not want to be exposed to excessive sound from a commercial development being built closeby. That’s a fair and reasonable point and we genuinely share the same concern, and one we’re happy to address through mutually respectful conversation. The last woman to address the commission and pose opposition is an unbearable menace who happens to lives in a small association of Cottages at Old Kinderhook, where we own several homes. She represented herself on behalf of our small HOA association, then lied through her teeth in an attempt to disparage Michelle and me. Fortunately, the Camden County P&Z Commission agreed with our presentation and approved our application and we’ll do our part to keep the music managable and abide by such hours as promised. Now, a case for a conditional use permit in the middle of Missouri and elections for America’s Congress might not seem to have much in common, but I found a disturbing commonality between them. Specifically, the loss of civility in public discourse. I think now about the volunteers who help make our system work. The people who show up at the polls on voting day to help make democratic voting a reality, or members of boards and commissions who, as with our own experience, were ridiculed and verbally abused during our case and even moreso on a previous one that evening. We think about elected officials who contribute their time and talent

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

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HeroesWelcome Here’s to all the soldiers, sailors and airmen returning from overseas deployments, alongwith their fellowservicemen andwomen standingwatch around the globe and here at home. The teamat Ingram’s thanks you for your dedicated service, and for the sacrifices you’ve made on the nation’s behalf. Wehopeyou’ll call theKCareahomeandbecomeengaged inour community. As these dedicated servants re-enter the civilian work force, we encourage employers throughout Missouri and Kansas to consider the unique skills they canbringtoyourorganization.Hireamilitaryveteran—it’stheright thingtodo.

The Kansas City area is the proud home of Whiteman Airforce Base and FortLeavenworth.AlsoinKansasisFort Riley (Junction City) and McConnell Airforce Base (Wichita). Fort Leonard Wood is located in St. Robert, MO.

Editor-in-Chief & Publisher Joe Sweeney | JSweeney @ Ingrams.com Editorial Director Dennis Boone | DBoone @ Ingrams.com Senior Editor Jack Cashill | Editorial @ Ingrams.com Columnists Ken Herman Phil Kernen Clyde McQueen Abdur Nimeri Director of Sales Michelle Sweeney | MSweeney @ Ingrams.com Art Director Traci Faulk | Production @ Ingrams.com Copy Editor Nancie Boland | Editorial @ Ingrams.com

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I N T H E N E W S

Tidbits of Business News from Around the Region

MISSOURI BUCHANAN COUNTY Fiber Expansion

Study Set for I-670 Cap Hometown HNTB will conduct the preliminary design and environmental analysis services for a proposal to create the South Loop Link, which would fill the space between the Central Business District and the Crossroads by building a cap over Interstate 670. Supporters hope to push the $170 million project into a fast track for completion ahead of the FIFA World Cup games in 2026, creating a 5½-acre park and space linking the two sections of Downtown between Wyandotte Street and Grand Boulevard, with I-670 traffic in the tunnel below. Adieu, Nutter After seven decades of promoting The American Dream, James B. Nutter & Correspondent News Updates from the Capital cities

Co. has announced that it is exiting the mortgage business and will sell all its assets. Nutter Home Loans stopped originating new loans in late October, and a workforce that had reached 125 will be laid off.

High-speed broadband options in St. Joseph will be getting a $50 million boost as Savannah-based United Fiber expands its fiber network for a city with 36,000 customers. The expanded network will offer phone and television services, as well as Internet, extending the company’s footprint in northwest Missouri.

PLATTE COUNTY Southwest Expanding

Proponents of a new terminal design at Kansas City International Airport had long argued that a better facility would boost f light options, and the biggest tenant, Southwest Airlines, is fulfilling that prophecy: It has announced new nonstop flights come next spring after the new facility opens in early March. They include direct flights to Albuquerque, and Indianapolis, plus additional flights starting in April to Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego

CASS COUNTY Max Keeps Adding

Harrisonville-basedMaxMotors Dealer- ships, one of the region’s biggest and fast- est-growing companies, has acquired HMH Autosport of Lee’s Summit, extending its reach across the region with a 14th location.

CLAY COUNTY End of a Cerner Era

Washington | VA Hits Brakes on Legacy Cerner System The Department of Veterans Affairs will extend by an additional six months the delay it imposed for upcoming deployments of the Oracle Cerner electronic health record system until next June to address issues with its functionality. Secretary Denis McDonough had announced in July that VA would pause deployments until January 2023 to ensure that the system’s issues had been resolved. During VA’s subsequent investigation, additional technical and system issues were identified, including challenges with performance, such as latency and slowness, problems with patient scheduling, referrals, medication management, and other types of medical orders. Jefferson City | Parson Signs Historic Tax Cut Gov. Mike Parson has signed two pieces of legislation that came out of the recent special session of the General Assembly, setting in place historic income tax cuts and extending key agriculture tax credits for a minimum of six years. Among other things, the tax measure reduces the top individual income tax rate from 5.2 to 4.95 percent, which should lead to a 5 percent decrease in the tax liability of most residents. It also eliminates the bottom income tax bracket, exempting the first $1,000 of earnings from income taxes, and allows an additional .15 percent top income tax rate reduction to 4.8 percent when net general revenues increase by $175 million. Topeka | Jobless Rate Ticks Back Up The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched up slightly in September to 2.6 percent, state labor officials say, a small increase from the August rate of 2.5 percent but a year-over-year decline from the 3 percent figure in September 2021. Labor Secretary Amber Shultz said the state’s jobless rate continued to be lower than it was before the onset of the 2020 pandemic. Total nonfarm payroll employment, which includes private sector and government employers, increased by 500 from August, while private-sector jobs increased by 1,600 over the same span. Government jobs fell by 1,100. Labor officials said the largest gains came from manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities industries.

Nearly 30 years after Cerner Corp. est- ablished its headquarters in North Kansas City. The company that acquired it is vacating the 1.53-million-square-foot prem- ises. Oracle Health has announced that it will dispose of all but the newest Innovations Campus assets in the region. That includes the Clay County headquarters purchased in 1994 and the former Marion Labs site, Cerner’s Realizations Campus in south KC, with 606,000’bof Class B office space. Last year, Cerner placed its 605,000’ Continuous Campus in Wyandotte County for sale. Royals chairman John Sherman has issued a letter outlining the goal of building a Downtown stadium after half-century of playing at Kauffman Stadium in the Truman Sports Complex. It didn’t specify a site, but did suggest a $2 billion price tag, which he said would not include additional taxes on Jackson County residents. Further attempts to renovate Kauffman, he wrote, would likely cost as much or more than a new facility, without generating the economic benefits of a Downtown location. JACKSON COUNTY Royals Pitch New Stadium

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I N T H E N E W S

Tidbits of Business News from Around the Region

and St. Louis. In June, more flights will be added to Las Vegas, Pensacola, and Orlando. KANSAS DOUGLAS COUNTY Feds Tip Farm & Ranch Scale When Tractor Supply Co. announced early this year that it would acquireMissouri based Orscheln Farm and Home, consumers in Lawrence anticipated losing one of the two competing stores that both operate on 23rd Street. Now, federal regulators have ordered Tractor Supply to sell 73 Orscheln stores to Bomgaars Supply to limit the number of monopoly markets. And one of those 73 is the Orscheln store in Lawrence, so that the city will retain competing stores. JOHNSON COUNTY Coming: Merriam Grand Station Overland Park-based Drake Develop ment has acquired the site of a former Kmart at Shawnee Mission Parkway and

Antioch Road, where it will build a 362-unit apartment complex called Merriam Grand Station. Demolition is expected to start soon, clearing the way for a $136millionmixed-use project that will include a pair of restaurants and about 3,300 square feet of retail when the work wraps up in 2025. KCAS to Add 175 Jobs KCAS Bioanalytical and Biomarker Services has opened a $28 million laboratory in Olathe, which is expected to create 175 new jobs. KCAS is a fast-growing contract research organization with multiple appearances on Ingram’s Corporate Report 100. It serves biotech, pharmaceutical, and drug-development programs in animal health, and the 70,000-square-foot lab will conduct discovery, preclinical, and clinical studies.

to be demolished for a replacement and realignment of the Polk-Quincy Viaduct in Downtown Topeka. The department engaged with owners of six buildings, has reached preliminary agreements on two others, and is processing paperwork for a final acquisition. That would clear the way for the $355 million project to replace an aging roadway, remove a sharp high-speed curve and improve traffic flow through Down- town Topeka. WYANDOTTE COUNTY Urban Outfitters Site Opens The Kansas City region notched another logistics win in October with the opening of Urban Outfitters’ $403 million distribution center in western Wyandotte County—the company’s first facility of its kind in the U.S. The 880,000-square foot center near State Avenue and 118th Street is expected to employ 2,000 people. Various brands being shipped include Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement, Menus & Venues, Terrain, and Nuuly.

SHAWNEE COUNTY Viaduct Rerouting

The Kansas Department of Trans portation says it’s batting 19-for-28 in its quest to acquire buildings that will have

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B E T W E E N T H E L I N E S

Pointed Perspectives & Penetrating Punditry | by Jack Cashill

Where the ‘KC Spirit Playbook’ Goes Wrong An immersion in feel-good jargon completely overlooks what really matters to residents. The good people in Kansas City’s Planning and Development Department are putting together a 20-year comprehensive plan in an evolving document called “The KC Spirit Playbook.”

Tuesday, we could not get reservations for 7 p.m. The place was packed. I live within walking distance of the Country Club Plaza and prefer to eat nearby, but I understand why other people don’t. At Mission Farms, I could pull right into one of the plentiful parking spots and walk 50 feet to the restaurant door in complete confidence that I would not be mugged, and that my vehicle would not be ransacked. In its 10 “goal statements,” the playbook authors make not a single reference to safety or security—not even obliquely. Have they not spoken with anyone over 30 who lives in metro Kansas City? I suspect not. Instead of shaping the city to satisfy the needs of the ordinary

By asking us all to “weigh in on the future of KC,” they gave me, an otherwise shy and retiring KCMO resident, the green light to do just that. I’ll try to be diplomatic. Almost 20 years ago, the late author and doctor Michael Crichton spoke at the famed Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Organizers had handed Crichton a weighty assignment, namely, to address the most important challenge facing mankind. The one he chose was unexpected: “distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda.” Without the ability to make these distinctions, Crichton argued, it was useless to try solving more tangible problems. The authors of the KC Spirit Playbook have been handed

a weighty assignment as well, namely, to address the most important challenges facing Kansas City. So far, at least, they have failed to separate reality from fantasy and have been hung up on propaganda right out of the gate. “Equity” is the propagandist’s word du jour . In their two-sentence mission statement, play-book authors use this guilt inducing word or one of its derivatives three times. They envision Kansas City as an “equitable” city. They plan to “address past and current inequities.” And they will do so “by fostering equitable community and economic development.” Young readers may not know this, but the word “equity” has insinuated itself into common parlance only in the last five or 10

citizen, they try instead to reshape that citizen to satisfy their own ideological needs. Even Pol Pot couldn’t make that formula work. When it comes to reality, the play book’s “Big Ideas” have precious little grounding. Consider, for instance, “Achieve a Carbon-Neutral, Equity-Focused, and Resi l ient Kansas City by 2040.” The draconian s teps needed to satisfy this

We are not supposed to notice the semantic shift from the concept of ‘equality’ to ‘equity,’ but it is tectonic. History has shown that only tyrants can assure equal outcomes—and not pleasant ones, either.

years. It has largely replaced the concept of “equality,” which had a healthy run in America of more than 200-plus years and is still honored in some cultural backwaters. We are not supposed to notice the semantic shift, but it is tectonic. The playbook authors suggest that “equal opportunity,” given its failure to produce “equal outcomes,” has passed its sell-by date. It is time, they tell us, for a more muscular approach toward producing those outcomes. Voila: “Equity!” “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings,” Winston Churchill reminded us. “The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” Good democratic government can assure equal opportunity. Only tyrants can assure equal outcomes. Recently, I met some Kansas friends for dinner at a restaurant in the Mission Farms development near I-435. Although a routine

big idea, we are told, will enable this city to “adapt to flooding, extreme heat, and other climate-change impacts we are already facing.” “Already facing?” This is pure propaganda. Until the summer of 2022, Kansas City had not experienced a day over 100 degrees in the previous 10 years . (And we surpassed that mark on a single day this year, by a single degree.) By way of comparison, had 53 days of 100 degrees or above in the summer of 1936, with a peak of 113. We have not had a catastrophic flood of the Missouri River since 1951, nor on the Plaza since 1977.

Jack Cashill Ingram’s Senior Editor P | 816.842.9994 E | Editorial @ Ingrams.com

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B E T W E E N T H E L I N E S

Better still—or worse, depending on your perspective—the area is experiencing a “tornado drought,” Kansas having had only one strong tornado in the past three years. City planners are as keen on “density” as they are on “equity,” all the better to create “a thriving, equitable, and sustainable economy.” They believe that if more people live in smaller spaces and use public transportation to get where they are going, we will improve our “environmental health.” What we will not improve is our personal health, physical or mental. Nowhere in the “Environmental Health and Resiliency” section or any other section did I find a single reference to the phenomenon that deformed our lives for the past three years. This is a head-scratcher. How could any city planner create a multi-thousand word playbook in 2022 without mentioning “COVID?” Ours could, and did. New York City, which is as dense as cities get, emptied as a result of the pan-

demic. My neighbor’s son moved back in with his mother in KC. He was one of the hundreds of thousands to clear out. People are still avoiding the city subways, and not

boxed themselves in during COVIDmania. Some complexes barred housekeepers, handymen, and even friends of the residents. For the more sensitive, an elevator ride held as much terror as the Detonator at Worlds of Fun. Through Ingram’s , I have participated in scores of sessions with city planners. Almost to a person, they hoped to model Kansas City on their favorite equitable, sustainable, livable city—yes, Portland, Oregon. Here are some recent headlines from Portland: “More businesses announce they’re leaving downtown Portland;” “Portland Sees Surge in Violent Crime Over Last 3 Years;” “Rampant homeless population is driving residents out of North Portland.” Small idea: How about if we start the KC Spirit Playbook over with a section called “Pot holes”? The views expressed in this column, which is also published online in the Heartlander, are the writer’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Ingram’s Magazine. Jack Cashill , Senior Editor, Editorial @ Ingrams.com

just for fear of getting pushed onto the tracks—although that’s a consideration, too. Public transportation is, after all, “public.” Even in Kansas City, those who lived in condos or apartments regretted having Planners here have long looked to Portland, Ore., as a model for what we should be. A fair reading of recent headlines there suggests another strategy may be warranted.

You’re Invited Please join us to recognize the

2022 Philanthropist of the Year, Peggy and Terry Dunn, as well as our Corporate Champions and Local Heroes. WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 11:30 am – 1:45 pm WHERE: Mission Hills Country Club 5400 Mission Dr., Mission Hills, KS 66208 Reserve your seat or table for 10 at this unique Awards Event: We have two options available: (both include free parking) • Individual Seats at the awards luncheon are $65 each • Corporate Table Sponsor for the event (10 seats) : $650 Includes recognition at the event, in the program and signage at event and your table

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R E F L E C T I O N S

by Dennis Boone

At the Intersection of Business and Life

What Happens When Markets Just … Vanish?

What’s happening in China today could compel U.S. companies to re-assess domestic markets. You don’t have to make automobiles, raise hogs, grow soybeans or churn out microchips to appreciate what it means to have a market of 1.4 billion potential customers across the Pacific in China. Folks who are in those spaces already understand the promise and potential of that market. For the rest of us, it should be good enough to know that—pre-pandemic anyway—nearly 19,000 Missouri jobs were tied to exports bound for China. The value of those goods rose 20 percent between 2007 and 2016, twice as fast as they did to the rest of the planet. And services? The value there rose $829 million in that span—up 410 percent over the previous decade, while growth in Missouri exports to all other nations was a more modest 56 percent. China, in fact, became Missouri’s No. 1 export market for services during that decade. In Kansas, the value of the Beijing Connection wasn’t as big in dollars, but it had a more pronounced relative impact. While exports of goods to China were up 73 percent in that decade, Kansas shipments

to accomplish, moving from agrarian economies to industrial and tech-based ones. A process, by the way, that absolutely obliterates large-family dynamics. It’s too late for Beijing to fix that now. Even if Xi instituted mandatory-pregnancy camps today, the first educated workers from them wouldn’t punch a clock until 2044. Young generations, as Zeihan has eloquently argued in his work, are the consumers in an economy; those of retirement age are largely past their consumptive stages and often are net drags on an economy. In one very real sense, it doesn’t matter, beyond some short-term pain, if Xi Jinping nabs Taiwan before the collapse comes— before long, there won’t be a China as we know it to exercise his authoritarian vision. And does anyone believe we won’t see wide-scale ostracization, perhaps even state-planned starvation with a Great Leap Forward II, to help thin China’s graying herd within the next generation? It’s a problem America doesn’t have, thanks to the rise of its biggest genera tional cohort ever, the Millennials. More numerous than even the Baby Boomers, they will help sustain some semblance of normal consumption patterns while the rest of the demographically challenged planet writhes in de-globalization agony between now and 2065. As work forces shrink globally, labor costs are already soaring. Adjusted for productivity, the cheap-labor markets of the world are losing their biggest competitive advantage, the reason for U.S. off-shoring in the late 20th century. With that, the ability to produce things like computers, cell phones, laptops, and smart TVs represents an opportunity for America to restore its manufacturing muscle. So … let’s bring all this back to the business owners in Missouri and Kansas today. What’s your long-term vision? Are you building your company around a market that might not exist in another generation? Or are you looking for markets that can offer some sense of stability? A lot is riding on the answers to those two questions.

to the rest of the world actually declined by 21 percent. Services were up 292 percent to China but only 36 percent elsewhere. At $1.2 billion, China was the Sunflower State’s third-largest export market in both goods and services, supporting 13,300 Kansas jobs. So say data points from the U.S. China Business Council, anyway. But forget data points for a second. Suppose you own a business in Missouri or Kansas with significant ties to Chinese markets. What would it mean to know that, thanks to overcounting in the most recent Chinese census, the population you’re serving today

What would it mean to a business owner here to learn that his target market in China is smaller, by 130 million, than he thought it was?

is 130 million smaller than you thought it was just this morning? And what would it mean to know that, perhaps as early as 2050 (and certainly by 2100, when your kids or grandkids have the business) your company’s target market could be less than half what it is today? Demographers who understand the economic blowback of national fertility rates that fall below 2.2 per couple—the bare minimum needed to maintain a population and work force—started ringing alarm bells about China back in 1990, when the one-child policy was enacted. Flash forward 26 years and the loss of half an entire generation; the majority of those losses involved females, further compounding the replacement challenge. It’s easy to understand why Beijing lifted the one-child sanction in 2016. And easy to see the panic driving the three-child authorization put in place this year. Anyone following Chinese metrics on COVID since 2019 knows the abysmal quality of any data that nation discloses to the world, so color me shocked to read that China had overcounted its population in its latest census. At 1.3 billion instead of 1.4 billion, it has ceded the world’s Most Populous Nation title to India. Put it all together, say deep-thinking geopolitical strategists like author Peter Zeihan, and it’s clear that China is a failed demography. It crammed into a single generation the type of economic growth that most western nations needed four, five, and six generations

Dennis Boone is the edito rial director at Ingram’s. E | DBoone @ Ingrams.com P | 816.268.6402

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I N A N U T S H E L L

by Ken Herman

Good News Is Bad News; Bad News Is Good News

Conditions long-considered positives may prompt the Fed to keep raising rates. But will easing inflation alter that plan? The job market was strong during October. Job openings increased as the quit rate rose, but job growth continued. The unemployment rate also rose, but not outside of the extraordinarily low range it has been in since March. Generally good news all around, except for the folks at the Fed intent on taming inflation. Considered from the Fed’s perspective, positive job reports may be frustrating, providing more of the same thing they have seen all year. During the news conference that

one-day decline in more than a decade, with the rate on the 10-year Treasury falling 32 basis points to 3.82 percent. Driving the sentiment: Core and headline consumer infla tion were weaker than expected in October, fueled by a decline in used car and truck prices, cheaper airfare, and health insurance costs. The U.S. Labor Department reported a 0.3 percent month-over- month rise in October’s core Consumer Price Index, compared to forecasts for 0.5 percent, marking the

followed November’s meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee, Chairman Jay Powell made a big deal about how much rates have risen so far this year—albeit from near zero. But he also insisted that rates had not risen enough, citing recent inflation and employment reports. Part of the Fed’s plan to contain inflation is to boost the unemployment rate, but consistently solid job growth is so far preventing that from happening. Powell is intent on acclimating the public to much-higher rates, but doing it gradually to avoid a financial shock. The proof? Start by thinking how expectations have changed. In January, the market expected 2.25 percent peak Fed funds, and the December 2021 forecast

softest reading since September 2021 for core CPI (it came in at 6.3 percent on an annualized basis). The headline CPI figure, which factors in volatile food and energy prices, climbed 7.7 percent from a year earlier, vs. expectations of 8.0 percent, and compared to an 8.2 percent clip seen in the previous month. The moderation in prices could give

Core and headline consumer inflation were weaker than expected in October, fueled by a decline in used-car and truck prices, cheaper airfare, and health insurance costs.

confirmed these expectations as entirely reasonable. Guid ance to 4 percent would have been shocking in January. Now, Fed funds are at 4 percent, and few seem to think they are all that high. While that in itself proves nothing, think about how and why the concept of a reasonable peak rate has changed since January.

the Fed more breathing room in terms of slowing down the pace of its aggressive rate hikes. Some Fed officials even hinted at a downshift following the data, like Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, who said, “while I believe it may soon be appropriate to slow the pace of rate increases so we can better assess how financial and economic conditions are evolving, I also believe a slower pace should not be taken to represent easier policy.” According to the CME’s FedWatch Tool, the markets are now pricing in an 80.6 percent probability of a 50-basis-point hike, rather than one of 75 basis points, when the central bankers gather for their policy meet- ing next month.

An Impressive Rebound

And now for the crazy day the capital markets had on Nov. 10. “Explosive,” “shock,” and “relief” are some of the adjectives being used to describe the rally as stocks recorded their best session since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. When all was said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed out the session up 3.7 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index skyrocketed 7.4 percent. U.S. government bond yields also recorded their steepest

Ken Herman served as the Managing Director of Bank of America Global Capital Markets and was the Mayor of and served on the City Council in

Glendora, Calif. E | Editorial@

Ingrams.com

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Midway Ford is consistently one of the best Ford Truck dealers in North America. It is also one of the largest Employee-Owned companies in the Kansas City Area. Serving Customers For Over 60Years Pillars of Philanthropy OMING IN DECEMBER:

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It’s an opportunity for no -profits to tell the stories of the impact they are bringing to this community at a time of unprecedented need. For companies to show case philanthropic strategies for a new generation of employees seeking to serve a greater good. And for employers to recognize its exemplary commitment to serving the needs of the community and for board ser vice and volunteer efforts by their members and teams. We’ll offer display opportunities in increments of one page for the discount price of $2,992 net.

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Most of us have separate accounts for money we earmark for specific purposes. We open checking accounts, money market accounts, 401(k) retirement accounts and 529 college savings accounts, so it is natural that we would open a separate charitable giving account, known as a donor-advised fund, for making donations to the causes that are most important to us. You can establish a donor-advised fund at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Whether you have $10,000 or hundreds of millions of dollars to set aside for charitable giving, with a donor-advised fund, your charitable dollars grow tax-free, and you can distribute those dollars in ways that are meaningful to you, your family or your business. Define Your Mission and Legacy The Community Foundation works with individuals, families, and employers to help define and execute philanthropic plans. That could include researching local charities to find the best match to accomplish a charitable goal, working alongside a family’s financial planner, or bringing together multiple generations to establish a legacy of giving.

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For information, please call 816.842.9994 Advertising @ Ingrams.com

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HIGHLIGHT | 2022 BEST OF BUSINESS / CORPORATE REPORT 100 AWARDS CELEBRATION

Back Together ... at Last

You couldn’t ask for much better weather than a cool, sunny afternoon in late October, and neither could you ask for better company: Executives from the fastest-growing and companies regarded as the best at what they do by Ingram’s readers. And you couldn’t have a better reason to celebrate: The annual Best of Business Kansas City/Corporate Report 100 awards event returned to the Crossroads with smiles all around after a two-year interruption by the Virus That Will Not Be Named. Familiar faces again reunited in celebration, some new players made their way to the table; the glasses clinked, the plates filled with delectables from Inspired Occasions; song filled the neighborhood. It was a salute to all things good about business in Kansas City—and one too long in coming back.

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1. Fire pits helped set the mood as award winners and guests began to gather outside the magazine’s offices in Downtown’s Crossroads district. 2. Rob Hill of Platinum Realty, center, connected with CrossFirst Bank’s Kristin Tyson and husband Jeff . | 3. Scott DeNeve of Platinum Realty and United Mortgage with his wife, Erin , and Platinum’s Veronica Nothnagel . | 4. Dessert, anyone? | 5. Brett Suddreth of Seismic Digital, with Nick Barkman and Jim Henderson . | 6. Linda Falk , COO, and Kim Romary , marketing director at the Kansas City Zoo. | 7. Union Station’s Michael Tritt , with Mary Holland and Lauren Kovarna . | 8. Brian Clyne and Ken Kantner of Minsky’s Pizza caught up with Jake Scarbo of North American Savings Bank. | 9. Arielle Nash , with Michelle Sweeney of Ingram’s and Dad— Troy Nash of Newmark Zimmer—and Julia Patterson of JLP Advisors. | 10. Becky Wilson with Jy Maze of Maze Freight Solutions. | 11. 20 in Their Twenties honorees included Kurt Jensen of KessingerHunter, left, and Jake Durham of Brush Creek Partners, right, flanking Blake Marshall of Erickson Living. | 12. Kristi and Greg Bynum , president of Lead Bank. | 13. Mary Young , Maddie Kaiser , Caitlin Capuana and Carrie Plummer were on hand to represent Burns & McDonnell. | 14. Small business and non-profit strategist Greg Baker (on the left) along with Union Station’s George Guastello , and Janet Baker of Shepherd’s Center, with Ingram’s Jack Cashill and Joe Sweeney . | 15. Jeff French of Inspired Occasions, on the serving end and the receiving end for the Gold Medal winner in the Best of Business Kansas City catering category.

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