Ingram’s September 2022

Brad Hewlett DEALER PRINCIPAL, BOB ALLEN FORD

Bob Jacaway PRESIDENT/CEO, MAX MOTOR DEALERSHIPS

As Brad Hewlett’s boss, Bob Allen, used to say, “All Fords are cre ated equal; it’s the dealer that makes the difference.” It also helps if a dealer loves what he does. Having been around cars his entire life, Hewlett comes by his love of cars honestly and has held many titles in the business, from service assistant to general manager and now Dealer Principal. If you’re not a car guy yourself, he also loves to talk sports, especially when it comes to the Chiefs.

“Growth” has been the watchword since Bob Jacaway and his team set out in 2006 to be the premier quality vehicle retailer in the Midwest. And the past year has been no exception. Nevada (Mo.) Auto Mall is now Max Ford of Nevada, Max Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM of Nevada. Swafford Ford in Richmond, Missouri, is now Max Ford of Richmond. HMH Autosport of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is now Max Pre-Owned Superstore Lee’s Summit.

DUAL DUTY: Hewlett is also behind City Rent a Truck, a booming business whose success he credits in large part to a team that includes his brother-in-law, Jeff Schuetz, and nephew, Shaefer Schuetz. City Rent A Truck has four locations in two markets and is rapidly growing. “We would be in a few more markets,” Hewlett said, “but we can’t get enough vehicles.” BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: “We have grown our fixed department to one of the region’s largest and Top 10 in mobile service in the nation..” CHALLENGES AHEAD: “Shortage of inventory, chips, parts, logistic issues, and transporting in ventory have been problematic. All the above are huge challenges in the auto industry. Rising in terest rates, gas prices, hiring good people, and retaining them are very impactful for my business.” RECESSION OUTLOOK: “A national recession is somewhat likely. Raising interest rates will slow the economy down. An important initiative we will undertake is to adapt to the times.”

ON TALENT: “We believe in the value of education and on-the-job training for growth and reten tion. Max Motors also launched our Degrees @ Work program. Max Motors Dealerships provides our employees with a no-cost, no-debt college degree for our employees and their families.” COVID PERSPECTIVE: “Since 2020, Max Motors Dealerships launched Max Transit Delivery Service, where you can buy from the comfort of your home, and we deliver the vehicle to your doorstep. Also, we offer pick-up and delivery service for our service customers’ automotive needs. Our customers can schedule appointments online to service their vehicle (all makes, all models) from home or work within 50 miles; we pick up, service and repair, then deliver the vehicle back completed.” NEXT BIG THING FOR KC: “Due to Kansas City’s central location and great cost of living, we feel the population growth will be positive exposure in the years to come, and with that, many more businesses will move to the Kansas City area.”

Roy Jensen DIRECTOR, KU CANCER CENTER

Bill Johnson GENERAL MANAGER, KANSAS CITY BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES Consumers aren’t the only ones feeling the pain of inflation; higher utility bills don’t necessarily reflect the higher costs of goods—even power, says Bill Johnson. “We are absorbing the price increases,” he said at the start of the current inflationary spike, “but a continuation of higher prices will at some point affect our maintenance and capital improvement budgets.” Words of caution, then, for 65,000 electricity customers and 53,000 water customers in Wyandotte County.

There’s no question that Kansas City is a destination for world class medical care. Over the past year, Roy Jensen’s team has repeatedly proven it by winning recognition as a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Care Center. No small honor in the medical world. How has such an effective team been built? “Our focus,” Jensen says, “has been on de veloping and nurturing a culture that focuses on our mission of achieving the best outcomes for our patients.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Business, MBA, Ottawa University TAKING THE REINS: Johnson, who has been with the utility for nearly 43 years, became general manager in April 2019. He previously managed the electric operations and technology unit for a public enterprise with $318 million in annual revenue. OTHERGUIDANCE: “Wesometimesexperiencedouble-digitpriceincreasesoncommonlyusedmaterials. There are also longer lead times for items and sometimes an increase in delivery costs. If these trends continue, this could cause a drawdown on our stock reserves and affect our utility operations.” SUPPLY-CHAIN WOES: Compounding the inflationary pressures—and, in fact, contributing to them, are challenges with the BPU’s supply chain. “Some of the supply chain constraints have already affected some of our engineering design decisions and project schedules,” Johnson said. “We have had to sometimes look beyond some of our normal supply chain vendors and are still evaluating other options.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Chemistry, Pittsburg State University; M.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: “Cancer doesn’t give a rat’s patoot whether there is an economic downturn or not. We have to be prepared for that fact no matter what the economy is doing.” BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “Talent acquisition. It is always our most important activity and the major determinate of our success.” NEXT BIG THING FOR KC: “Downtown baseball?” KC CHIEFS PREDICTION: “12-5, they have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL.”

Jani Johnson CEO, SAINT LUKE’S HOSPITAL

Russell Johnson PRESIDENT/CEO, LMH HEALTH

Jani Johnson assesses the impact of a pandemic on one of Kan sas City’s biggest hospitals, she thinks about how it tested—and continues to test—the resiliency of more than 3,300 employees. “Personally,” she told us earlier in the crisis, “I felt an obligation to be visible, but to also keep the leaders and staff instilled with hope, optimism, and confidence that we could manage this situa tion. In fact, we were doing that every day.”

Russ Johnson grew up in Merriam, one county east of Lawrence, where he’s the chief executive for LMH Health and its flagship Lawrence Memorial Hospital. He came on board in 2016, bring ing three decades of senior leadership in hospitals and health systems. LMH serves a market that is part college town, part bedroom community for commuters in the Kansas City and Tope ka areas, and admits roughly 8,000 patients a year.

COLLEGE: B.S. Nursing, Methodist School of Nursing and Webster University; M.S., Nursing, UMKC LEADERSHIP STYLE: “I lead with calm confidence and transparency of information. We have a wonderful team, and together we are successfully managing through each surge of this pandemic.” UP THE LADDER: Johnson started with the system in 1985 as a staff nurse assigned to the hospi tal’s Mid America Heart Institute. Following several management roles, she became vice president of cardiovascular services in 2002, then president and CEO at Saint Luke’s South in Overland Park in 2012. She came back to lead the mother ship hospital near the Country Club Plaza in 2015. HONORS: On Johnson’s watch, Saint Luke’s South made U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hos pitals list, and she was listed among Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know by Becker’s Hospital Review.

COLLEGE: B.S.,Management/Economics,UniversityofTulsa;M.A.,Health-CareAdministration,Wash- ington University ECONOMIC MIGHT: With $1 billion in annual revenues and 1,500 employees, the health system plays a major role in the city’s business stage. THE TASK AHEAD: “Workforce is our No. 1 concern and will be for the next three years. It is challenging to meet the needs of the patients we serve with a workforce that is already strained, frustrated, and weary. We have had to provide cautious constraints on our ability to accept pa tients from outside of our primary service area as other hospitals around us have sought to move patients to other hospitals.” PREVIOUS STOPS: Johnson started his career in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and did eight years with Saint Luke’s Northland back in his hometown before moving on to Texas and, later, Colorado.

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September 2022

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