Ingram’s September 2022

Wesley Fields MANAGING PARTNER, BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER The legal complexities of public and corporate finance, corpo rate transactions, and general business aren’t all that complex to Wesley Fields, who came from a family of lawyers and fol lowed their lead. In addition to his legal savvy, Fields is tasked with executive duties overseeing the Kansas City office, with more than 60 lawyers in a firm that boasts 1,200 in 30 offices nationwide.

Dave Flickinger PRESIDENT, KIEWIT POWER CONSTRUCTORS

Dave Flickinger is no stranger to big project wins as an engi neering-sector executive, and this year has proved no excep tion: among them was Kiewit Power’s Equipment designation as the engineering, procurement, and construction lead for the massive Gemini solar-plus-storage installation in Nevada, one of the nation’s biggest solar arrays. The Lenexa site accounts for more than a fourth of the Omaha-based parent’s $10.3 bil lion in annual revenues.

COLLEGE: B.S., Political Science and African-American Studies, Yale University; J.D., Univ. of Virginia. BUILDING INFLUENCE: Fields has left his fingerprints on a significant number of regional develop ment projects, having served as lead counsel to Kansas City’s Tax Increment Financing Commission for more than 15 years. His duties included assisting in drafting the legal framework for more than 100 development and infrastructure projects. ACTIONS, NOT WORDS: Civic and philanthropic causes fill much of Fields’ time outside the office. His service record includes the boards for Research Medical Center, Harvesters-The Community Food Network, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Friends of the Zoo, and on a national level, with orga nizations that include the Southern Christian Leadership Conference through its local chapter. He also made Ingram’s 40 Under Forty in 2000, and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association designated him, Young Lawyer of the Year in 2006. The SCLC weighed in with the Black Achiever Award in 2002.

COLLEGE: B.S., Civil Engineering, Pennsylvania State University POWER PLAYER: On his way to the executive offices, Flickinger honed his engineering skills in projects that entailed air-quality-control upgrades, transmission and distribution, and fossil-fuel generation. TRANSFORMATIVE WORK: The Gemini project in Nevada, with 1.8 solar modules covering 6,500 acres, is expected to be a $1.2 billion project; that in itself is nearly as much as the combined $1.5 billion value of renewable and alternative energy projects the company tackled over the previous 15 years. KEY EMPLOYER: The Lenexa site has more than 1,500 of Kiewit’s 27,000-member workforce.

Mike Frazier PRESIDENT/CEO, REECENICHOLS REAL ESTATE

Cameron Garrison MANAGING PARTNER, LATHROP GPM

Selling homes couldn’t have been easy during days of lockdowns and social distancing, but Mike Frazier can happily say, “I’m most proud of our company’s ability to not only survive but thrive while still enduring a pandemic over the past two years,” he said. “That couldn’t have happened without an extremely high level of buy-in from our 225 employees and 3,000+ agents. They kept clients safe and navigated constantly changing rules and regulations.”

Next year marks the sesquicentennial for Lathrop GPM, the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi River and one with a significant history in the evolution of Kansas City business. As managing part ner, Cameron Garrison is the steward of that legacy, overseeing nearly 125 of the firm’s 350 lawyers. Lathrop GPM, formed in 2020 with the merger of Lathrop & Gage and Minneapolis-based Gray Plant Mooty, has offices in 13 states.

COLLEGE: B.A., William Jewell College COVID PERSPECTIVE: “I believe COVID actually helped our culture because our team had to work together in situations where they weren’t meeting face-to-face. Not only did it force us to find creative ways to collaborate, but it also allowed us to explore new avenues to connect with clients.” RECESSION PROBABILITY: “I believe we are likely already in a recession, but I don’t think we’re looking at a long or deep downturn. The housing market already appears to be stabilizing, and demand will stay strong even if there aren’t as many homes sold in 2023.” DEFENSIVE POSTURE: “We’re focusing on getting back to the real-estate basics as the housing market changes. Our fundamentals became less critical during the frenzy in the housing market over the last couple of years. Now we’re trying to use the turmoil in the market to sharpen up those skills.” CHALLENGES: “Talent acquisition and retention are still significant priorities for us moving forward.

COLLEGE: B.A., Government and History, University of Virginia; J.D., Washington and Lee School of Law IMMOVABLE OBJECT: Garrison, who became managing partner in 2017, came to the firm straight out of law school nearly 20 years ago, and he spent 15 years as a partner. MORE THAN LAW: “Our lawyers and staff understand that it is no longer enough to only provide exceptional legal services. We must also do so in a way that reflects a thorough understanding of our clients’ business pressures and adds value at every opportunity,” Garrison said when he was promoted. BUSINESS FIRST: Garrison has defended clients in trials dealing with false advertising, as well as copyright, patent, and architectural infringement.

Bill Gautreaux PARTNER, MLP HOLDINGS/KC ROYALS

Lisa Ginter CEO, COMMUNITYAMERICA CREDIT UNION

Philosophy and history? On a college tennis scholarship? And then Oxford? Bill Gautreaux had “refined” written all over him before that word took on a new meaning in a spectacularly successful career built around petroleum products. After nearly 30 years in that space, most notably with Inergy LP and MLP Holdings, Gautreaux ventured into sports ownership when his longtime energy-sector wingman, John Sherman, assembled the partnership that ponied up $1 billion to buy the Royals.

“Community” isn’t just built into the brand for Lisa Ginter and her team at the region’s biggest credit union. “We recently opened our first Community Access Center in Hickman Mills,” she says, “with a goal of offering more opportunities for financial peace of mind.” CACU will partner with other organizations to offer financial-litera cy resources. “It wouldn’t have happened without the team we have in place,” she says.

COLLEGE: B.A., History, William Jewell College; Oxford University MORE REFINEMENT: Gautreaux, along with his wife, Christy, is also considered among the most astute art collectors in the Kansas City region. Again in 2021, they made ArtNews.com’s list of the world’s Top 200 collectors. They don’t simply frequent the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; they’ve actually loaned the museum pieces from their personal collection. HUMBLE START: After college, Gautreaux tended bar and picked up a few bucks on the side teaching tennis. His entrée to the energy sector came with a part-time telemarketing job at Ferrellgas, where he met Sherman. The rest is entrepreneurial history. FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TOY: “A ping-pong paddle.” ULTIMATE DESSERT: “Ice cream.” BOARDS: Gautreaux has a record of board service on behalf of education, including William Jewell, Pem broke Hill School, and the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship. He’s also active with the 16th Circuit Court Judicial Commission, Nelson-Atkins and Kemper museums, Greater KC Community Foundation and Civic Council.

COLLEGE: B.S./B.A., Accounting, Rockhurst University ON RETAINING TALENT: “We’re very proud of our family-like culture and place the well-being of our employees front and center. We are consistently named a best place to work in Kansas City, and a large part of it is because we genuinely care about our employees. It’s one thing to say it, but it’s another thing for employees to feel it, and we work hard to make sure they do.” COVIDPERSPECTIVE: “It proved the culture we have in place is fantastic when we’re under the same roof, but it also proved we can work in a variety of different capacities. We have kept our core values and mission as the driver of everything we do and will continue to ensure we’re bringing financial peace of mind to people all over our community.” BIG THING: “KC is going to be on the map in a bigger way than it already was. This will drive more opportunities for us to be a host city for more events in and out of the sports world. With all of this ex posure across many platforms, I genuinely believe the world is about to see that KC really is amazing.”

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I n g r a m ’ s

September 2022

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