Ingrams September 2023

Brent Blake PRESIDENT, ACENDAS TRAVEL

Mike Boehm MAYOR, CITY OF LENEXA

Sitting at the helm of a corporate travel company gives Brent Blake a unique perspective on the economy. “Business travel is a leading indicator of the economy as it reflects how companies view their future,” he said. “Our future bookings are strong, and thus we do not anticipate a ‘recession’ in 2024.” That makes him especially glad his group managed a dramatic post-COVID return of business while re-building their 80-strong work force and company culture.

Before he leaves office after this final term, Mike Boehm can beam about record growth in Lenexa. “Year-to-date for 2023, through Aug. 31, the city has issued building permits in excess of $500 million with in vestments distributed across the city and representing all industry seg ments,” he says. That includes both housing and commercial properties. “This is an all-time record for the city with four months of permitting remaining in 2023,” says Boehm, who’s day job is with Commerce Bank.

COLLEGE: B.S., Marketing and Administration, Oral Roberts Univ. 2022 REVENUES: $239.1 million KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “A new baseball stadium that can vitalize another portion of downtown and enhance our image as a major league city.” ON THE NEW KCI: “The new airport is outstanding. It has lots of people space, great lighting, excel lent food/beverage options, and an efficient security process. Big time success.” MENTOR ADVICE: “I’ve had several mentors in my business career. Early on, I observed both great and poor managers and was able to see the huge difference it had on their companies. I chose to follow the great ones. I saw two themes in them: 1) Truly care for people and 2) Lead by example.” MORNING READ: “ The Morning , a daily email from The New York Times .” WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN LEADERS: “Humility.” DREAM CHARITY MISSION: “Helping disenfran chised children. If we could improve their life’s start, we could have a better world.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Business Administration, University of Kansas NEXT BIG THING: “Isn’t a single infrastructure project but an event—the 2026 World Cup. It will take significant regional investment and cooperation to showcase Greater Kansas City—the Midwest, really—to the world both in terms of visitors on the ground and the international television audience. Kathy Nelson and her team have worked a remarkable plan to win the opportunity; it’s all of our responsibilities to ensure a positive experience for the city and our visitors that lasts beyond 2026.” MENTORS: “Former Kansas State Rep. Steve Cloud introduced me to the world of politics in 1985 and provided me with a high-level appreciation for our democracy and the rewards of getting involved and making a differ ence. Former Lenexa Mayor Joan Bowman refined those experiences with a focus on local government and ser vice. Both showed me the importance of surrounding yourself with intelligent people, compensating them fairly, and trusting them to be both a part of the goal-setting process and then allowing them to execute the plan.”

Tony Bowen CFO, H&R BLOCK

David Brain CEO, ENFINITE CAPITAL

Tony Bowen is not your grandfather’s idea of a chief financial officer. In interviews with Forbes and Fortune over the past year, he has of fered insight into how that role is changing—perhaps not everywhere yet, but certainly within this global financial services firm. More than just crunching numbers or signing off on some others’ crunching of numbers, Bowen preaches the need to engage employees in driving innovation, cutting costs, and strengthening the culture.

A computer. Two phones. Rented cubicles. That was all David Brain had on hand for the fishing expedition that eventually boated a whale: EPR Properties, an entertainment REIT that surpassed $5 billion in market cap. He resigned as CEO there in 2015, looking for something new, and might have found a bigger whale with Enfinite Capital, which helps industrial, commercial, and technology clients worldwide se cure renewable-energy systems.

2022 REVENUES: $3.47 billion COLLEGE: BS/BA, Finance/Money & Banking, University of Missouri

COLLEGE: B.A. in Economics, MBA, Tulane University QUOTABLE: “The Myth of Entrepreneurship is that it is working for yourself or being your own boss,” Brain said when he was inducted into the UMKC Business Hall of Fame. “The reality is that you work for your customers, and they are the boss. To be successful, you need to focus on meeting a need or solving a problem. By doing that and creating value, you create entrepreneurial opportunity.” KEEPING IT SIMPLE: Brain has said that EPR’s success could be attributed to two factors: One, the ability to identify a market need. Two, pairing that with simple problem-solving. ON VENTURE CAPITAL IN KC: “It’s a little difficult, I have to confess, because of the highly conser vative nature of the business community, but it’s getting better. It used to be that no one talked about early-stage investment, but it’s now more popular, and there is more tracking of it. It’s … not the best, and we still have a little way to go, but it has become more of the landscape. I’m pretty excited about it.”

UP THE LADDER: Bowen worked for the investment bond firm Geo. K. Baum & Co. then spent four years as a portfolio analyst for American Century Investments before joining H&R Block as a treasury analyst in 2004. It wasn’t long before he was moving into roles of increasing responsibility: VP of finance for the U.S. Tax Services division, VP and general manager of the DIY Tax business (a $200 million-plus in revenue), and managing digital tax-preparation products. He was named CFO in 2012. RETURN TO GROWTH: After breaking the $3 billion revenue mark in 2014, H&R Block hit a stagnant period that became worse with the pandemic’s onset, dipping to $2.4 billion. Since then, however, Bowen and the leadership team have righted things to the tune of 31 percent growth over the 2020 low. OFF CLOCK: A chartered financial analyst, Bowen served on the board of the GKC Chamber since 2016.

Mark Brandmeyer CEO, BRANDMEYER ENTERPRISES / KC MONARCHS If you weren’t paying attention, you probably thought winning baseball was something Kansas City lacked. Those who were dialed in with Mark Brandmeyer’s Kansas City Monarchs did, in fact, see champion ship-level play as the minor-league team won the American Associa tion title this month. Brandmeyer led the group that bought the former T-Bones franchise in 2019, adding to his duties with Brandmeyer En terprises, a holding company with multiple interests.

Pamela Breuckmann PRESIDENT/CEO, FERRELL CAPITAL

In aviation terms, Pamela Breuckmann would be Jim Ferrell’s wing man—wingwoman?—as a financial services ace. She’s running the show for Ferrell Capital, which was created to manage the financial, business, and personal affairs of the family that owns Ferrellgas Partners. That includes asset management and investment services for the family’s broad suite of investments in real estate, banking, wealth management, and private equity, among other functions.

COLLEGE: B.A., Business, University of Kansas BRAND LEVERAGE: Changing the team’s name to the Monarchs was a savvy strategic move that connected today’s franchise with Kansas City lore: The original Monarchs of a century ago were the longest-running franchise in the history of the Negro League. The team won the inaugural Negro League World Series and, over its 37-year run, featured future major-league stars like Jackie Robin son, Satchel Paige and Ernie Banks. OTHER DUTIES: Brandmeyer has various holdings in health-care investment, property investment/ management, and prefabricated construction services. OFF THE CLOCK: A father of nine, Brandmeyer has deep ties to organized youth sports; for nearly 15 years, he’s been a director of the Mokan Basketball Club, which draws elite high school players who can hone their skills and potentially attract attention from collegiate recruiters.

COLLEGE: B.S., Business Administration and Accounting, University of Kansas; M.A., Accounting and Information Systems, University of Kansas THE ROAD TO FERRELL: Breuckmann entered the financial services world as an auditor with Deloitte & Touche in 1998, then was accounting director for three years at Kansas City Life Insurance before taking on executive roles with specialty finance organizations. She came to Ferrell in 2007. RECOGNITION: Breuckmann was one of Ingram’s Women Executives-Kansas City honorees in 2016. SHARING THE WEALTH: It’s been 25 years since the parent company introduced its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, making it one of the 20 largest companies in the country to be owned at least in part by those who work for it. BACK ON TRACK: After 10 quarters of consecutive revenue declines, Ferrellgas Partners saw things level out in 2018 and resumed the climb past $2 billion in revenues, not far from the historic peak of $2.4 billion in 2011.

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September 2023

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