Ingram's May 2024

CHARLIE SUNDERLAND ASH GROVE CEMENT

HUGH ZIMMER ZIMMER COMPANIES

For the better part of a century, Ash Grove Cement was owned and operated by the Sunderland family, with fourth generation member Charlie Sunderland

For nearly half a century, Hugh Zim mer helped bring business to life in Kansas City—not just his own, but those of owners for whom he developed

Ingram’s editors have been fortunate over the years to have encountered many of the 50 extraordinary people included in this feature. Some have been sources for our continuing enterprise coverage of vital business sec tors throughout the Kansas City and bi-state region. Some have attended our Industry Outlook roundtable series over the past 25 years, sharing executive insights on matters of regional concern. Some we’ve chanced to meet at business events, awards celebrations, charity auctions and countless other events and venues. In each case, we consider ourselves indebted to those who have helped us in our mission at the magazine to promote the Kansas City region as a great place to live, work and do business. Your personal achievements, and the successes of your organizations, earned you a place in this special report. We’re honored to have known you, to have worked with you, and to have benefited from your leadership. Thank you. Sincerely, Michelle and Joe Sweeney ( Ingram’s owners and operators since February 1997)

the last in line before its 2017 sale to Irish construction giant CRH for a tidy $3.5 billion. Under Charlie’s leadership, Ash Grove had grown to become one of the Kansas City region’s biggest private companies. It had annual sales of more than $1.3 billion and more than 2,650 employees churning out Portland cement and other materials for the construction sector. The company, originally founded in the small town for which it is named (near Springfield, Mo.), was acquired by Charlie’s great-grandfather, Lester, who acquired it after coming on board in 1909. Charlie and brother Kent led the company from 2000 until its sale, which elevated the family foundation to one of the region’s largest. As its secretary/treasurer, he helps steer hundreds of millions of philanthropic dollars nationwide.

the projects that would become their homes. During those 45 years, he’s credited with developing more than 2,900 acres of busi- ness parks and more than 30 million square feet of commercial buildings. His impact wasn’t limited to the Kansas City area; Zimmer also developed investment properties in Atlanta, Dallas, Louisville, Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and St. Louis. He was a Kansas City native who earned a finance degree at Mizzou, then focused on real estate studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He was 88 when he died in 2019, four years after turning over the reins as chairman of Zimmer Cos., which included Zimmer Dev elopment Co., Zimmer Management Co., Newmark Grubb Zimmer and various project development and investment entities.

Shaping the Future of Commercial Real Estate

Newmark Zimmer is a leading commercial real estate advisor and service provider to institutional investors, developers, global corporations, and other owners and occupiers

nmrkzimmer.com

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Kansas City’s Business Media

May 2024