Ingram’s September 2022

Tom Wagers PRESIDENT/CEO, NORTH AMERICAN SAVINGS BANK As it barrels ahead toward its 100th birth at the start of 2023, North American Savings Bank will have a new chief executive on hand to blow out the candles. Wagers was named to succeed Paul Thomas earlier this year, and he brings to those duties a deep understanding of the bank, after nearly a decade there, and the careful calculation of numbers one might expect from a Certified Public Accountant.

Marc Warrington HEAD OF FIELD SALES, SUN LIFE

Marc Warrington was serving as president of Assurant Employee Ben efits when Canadian-based Sun Life came calling with $940 million in hand and acquisition on its mind. And the new owners decided that Warrington, who had overseen a workforce of 1,700 serving 30,000 clients nationwide, would become a vital cog in their success here, designating him as head of field sales. His work helped produce an in crease of 64 percent in 2021 income for Sun Life, hitting nearly $4 billion.

COLLEGE: B.A., Business/Managerial Economics, Cornell University ABOUT SUN LIFE: One of the largest public companies in Canada, this financial-services giant focuses on helping clients with fiscal and physical health, the former by targeting financial secu rity, the latter through living healthier lives. MONETARY MIGHT: The Kansas City office is primarily engaged with the benefits side of the company’s insurance products, but the parent is also a wealth-management monolith, with more than $1.3 trillion—that’s with a ‘T’—in assets under management. DOWNTOWN FIXTURE: The sign above may have changed following the Assurant acquisition, but Sun Life is a significant Downtown employer, with 440 people attached to that office.

COLLEGE: B.A., Accounting, East Tennessee State University NEW DUTIES: He’s now responsible for providing mortgage and banking products and customer service with the executive and senior leadership team. He’s overseeing a workforce of roughly 525 for an institution with nearly $2.5 billion in assets and $1.4 billion in deposits. BEATING THE INDUSTRY: For most banks, a 1 percent return on assets is considered a sign of healthy financial performance; publicly owned NASB exceeds that threshold by half again, according to FDIC data. BEFORE NASB: Wagers worked in banking leadership roles at Atlantic Coast Bank in Jackson ville, Fla., including nine years as CFO and a stint as interim CEO. LENDING POWER: NASB offers traditional banking and mortgage products, including convention al, FHA, and VA loans, plus non-recourse and bank-statement loans for self-employed borrowers.

Rick Weller CFO, EURONET WORLDWIDE

Pat Whalen CHAIRMAN/ MANAGING PARTNER, SPENCER FANE

At one of the region’s biggest law firms, long-time chairman Pat Whalen continues to exert an outsized influence on the business community and civic life in Kansas City—he’s that engaged. That’s the local angle. On a national scale, the firm's managing partner is regarded as one of the top legal minds in matters of cybersecurity, cybercrime, and intellectual-propertylaw.

It takes a sharp CFO to keep an eye on the finances at a company like the one Rick Weller works for. Money needs to move fast in this day and age, and Euronet is providing technology and tools to make that happen. With $3 billion in 2021 revenue, the team is quite successful at it. Euronet processed 7.6 billion transactions in 2021, reached 3.7 billion bank accounts, as well as 439 million mobile wallet accounts. Plus, it owns and operates 48,000 ATMs worldwide.

COLLEGE: B.S., Accounting, Central Missouri State University TRULY WORLDWIDE: Euronet serves 190 countries (that’s most of them on this rock, by the way). RESILIENCE: 2021 revenue represented a 21 percent increase over the previous year, de spite the continued heavy impact of COVID. GROWTH: With increasing demand for Euronet’s REN payment technology solutions, the company has signed agreements expected to deliver $78 million in revenue over the next six years. PRODUCT OF VISION: The company was founded by Mike Brown, who foresaw an opportu nity to meet increased demand for access to cash upon the downfall of socialist countries in the 1980s.

COLLEGE: B.A., Economics, University of Kansas; J.D., University of Texas School of Law; MBA, University of Texas Graduate School of Business; C.M.E., Harvard Business School BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: “Retaining and recruiting top talent in an increasingly competitive environment.” RECESSION OUTLOOK: “Regrettably, a national recession is at least somewhat likely in the next 12 months.” COVID IMPACT: “We have been much more intentional in how we foster social connection, a sense of belonging, and pathways for collaboration inside and outside the firm.” CIVIC-MINDED TIMES TWO: In addition to board roles with the Civic Council of Greater Kan sas City and the Kansas City Area Development Council, he’s served on the Heartland Civic Col- laborative Committee and in the St. Louis Regional Chamber.

Debbie Wilkerson PRESIDENT/CEO, GREATER KANSAS CITY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Debbie Wilkerson’s job is to help some of Kansas City’s most fortunate residents do good for others. “Our team helped donors make over $691 million in grants last year,” she told us. “That’s the most in our history.” Pretty good results in these days of economic uncertainty for so many, and that’s largely because Wilkerson gives great advice.

Chad Williams CHAIRMAN/CEO, QTS

You have to credit Chad Williams for his commitment to the enterprise: A lot of us would be on a Caribbean beach if we’d negotiated a $10 billion sale, as Williams did last year when the investment powerhouse Blackstone came calling. He’s still there, though, overseeing one of the nation’s biggest and fastest-growing data-center service providers, where he had led the strategic investment in product and asset acqui sitions, site selection, design, development, and construction initiatives.

COLLEGE: B.A., Psychology, J.D., University of Kansas, KU Law School ADVISING THROUGH A DOWNTURN: “What we do is prepare philanthropists for economic downturns,” she said. “Donors contribute to their donor-advised funds during good economic years, so they can continue granting to charities during bad economic years.” ABOUT THE FOUNDATION: With more than $5 billion in assets at last count, Wilkerson’s charge is the largest non-profit organization in the Kansas City area by far. HUMBLE START: The foundation was formed when civic leaders passed the hat and raised the princely sum of $200 to start a philanthropic fund. BEFORE GKCCF: Wilkerson practiced at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, specializing in charitable-giving and estate planning services.

ELITE LEADERSHIP: Williams is a member of the Potomac Officers Club—and no, that’s not a sailing thing. It’s a collaboration of corporate leaders whose companies are in the government contracting sector, largely with federal agencies in D.C. TOUGH START: While he was still in high school, Williams was thrust into business leadership, stepping in at the family’s auto-salvage business when his father ran into health issues. BEFORE QTS: Williams brought CEO-level experience to his new venture after leading QGC, the Quality Group of Companies. That holding company’s interests included commercial real estate, design-build development, commercial interiors, and vehicle and technology leasing. ABOUT QTS: The company operates more than 6 million square feet of data-center space combined at 25 sites. That’s a long way from a single, 35,000-square-foot facility Williams started with in 2005.

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September 2022

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