Ingram's October 2023

PAUL GOERLICH GREENTECH RENEWABLES

EMILIE LAI NOTRE DAME DE SION

KENDAL SCHMIDT SPRING VENTURE GROUP

Leaders, not bos ses. Knowing the difference between the two has helped Paul Goerlich est ablish himself in both military ser vice and business.

She says her role isn’t that of a classic entrepreneur, but Emilie Lai is cer tainly helping create a few. At 27, she’s director of instruc- tion and engage

Seven years ago, as fast-growth Spring Venture Group was onboarding hun dreds of hires, Ken dal Schmidt got the marching orders: To create a company

ment for Notre Dame de Sion High School, one of the region’s most respected. There, she creates or leads programs that allow tomorrow’s female leaders to explore careers, various credentialing and certifications, and experience applied engineering with construction-site tours. In doing so, she says, they are “growing their entrepreneurial spirit in a student marketplace.” Her programs draw on past medical instruction to bundle global health, AP Literature, and environmental theology. “Rigorous experiential education goes beyond simply offering students a chance to gain practical experience,” Lai says. “It challenges them to think critically, analyze complex situations, and develop innovative solutions.”

culture that aims to attract, engage, and retain top talent. The director of employee engagement and communication set about connecting front-line workers to leadership at a company that provides online insurance comparison tools for consumers. She’s done that through her team’s creation of an award-winning intranet tool that just this year has produced 260,000 views and 585,000 searches, with an employee-recognition program that so far has produced 11,213 recognitions sent from managers to employees. She’s also helped implement a series of quarterly all-hands meetings and an executive communication strategy that has boosted employee engagement and company-confidence metrics.

The call to serve pulled him away from college in Pennsylvania, and during his time in the Marine Corps, he was still able to finish his degree in supply chain management. He leveraged that into a post-service role with Greentech Renewables as a management trainee. Now 27, Goerlich doesn’t mess around: He completed that two-year training regimen in less than half the time, helped establish the Kansas City foot print, and was tasked with opening locations in Little Rock, Wichita, and, soon, Springfield. He’s also still with the Marines in a reserve role, and if that isn’t enough, founded his own real estate investment company, PDIA, to buy, flip, and hold properties.

GROW WITH US

Accountability, Authenticity, and Innovation are at the heart of everything we do. Kendal creates a growth focused culture where these values can flourish. Congratulations Kendal Schmidt on being selected for the 2023 class of Ingrams 20 In Their Twenties.

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October 2023

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