Ingrams September 2023

Christopher Brink CEO, FAVORITE HEALTHCARE STAFFING

Katie Briscoe CEO, MMGY GLOBAL

Last year, Christopher Brink took the final leadership step in a journey that began as a controller with Favorite Healthcare Staffing back in 2000. From there, he steadily rose to become CFO, COO, and President before assuming the mantle of CEO. He’s been an integral part of the ride that has seen the company’s influence in the health-care staffing space mushroom while the staff there has grown to nearly 4,200.

Grass isn’t growing under Katie Briscoe’s feet, but MMGY certainly is. “Following an acquisition hiatus in 2020-2021, we turned our M&A machine back on, completing four successful acquisitions in the last 10 months,” she reports. “Three of those have been international deals.” Looks like smooth sailing for this travel-focused marketing group.

2022 REVENUES: $1.64 billion COLLEGE: B.S., Accounting, University of Texas-El Paso DESTINED TO LEAD: Brink tested the waters of leadership even before his career began—he was elected student body president while at UTEP. INDUSTRY HONORS: Favorite currently ranks No. 10 among the nation’s biggest health-care staffing firms and the eighth-largest for travel nurses. WHAT IT DOES: Health-care professionals and health systems look to the company for services with temporary and permanent employment options, local or travel contract assignments, and direct-hire job opportunities. Nursing roles account for much of that, but there are also placement services for advanced practice, allied health, and non-clinical professionals.

2022 REVENUES: $214.15 million COLLEGE: B.S., Journalism/Mass Communication, Univ. of Kansas RECESSION ODDS: “I’m certainly not an economist, but our business focuses on the travel economy, and the dynamics of that consumer demand continues to be strong.“ ON THE NEW KCI: “I am at our airport nearly every week for business travel, and the thoughtfulness that went into the design of the new terminal is incredible. I can’t think of a better welcome mat than our new airport for inbound travelers.” SALUTING A MENTOR: “MMGY Global’s former CEO, now Executive Chairman, Clayton Reid—he taught me that the most powerful thing you can do as a leader is to give your power away to others.” MOST-ADMIRED CEO: “Kathy Nelson, CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC.” BEST BUSINESS BOOK: “ Grit , by Angela Duckworth.” LEADERSHIP HIRE TRAIT: “Intellectual curiosity.” EMPLOYEES: Now at “600,” she says, “our global business will have another record-breaking year in ‘23.

Rob Broomfield CEO, UNITEDHEALTHCARE OF IOWA, KANSAS, NEBRASKA & CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Michael Brown CHAIRMAN/CEO/PRESIDENT, EURONET WORLDWIDE Last December, Mike Brown’s team rolled out a new brand strategy and visual identity. Mind you, this is in the middle of a year that produced record revenues of $3.36 billion—an impressive 12 percent increase over 2021. If a new public image can drive continued growth at Euronet, consider where this global financial services giant could be headed. Brown was a co-founder of the digital process payments firm in 1994 and became chief executive two years later.

Rob Broomfield doesn’t think Kansas City needs a “next big thing.” He’d prefer to see a series of smaller wins being strung together into major victories. “I think the work Tim Cowden and his team at the KCADC are doing to attract and retain industry to the area is one great example. For the region to continue to prosper, we need new investment that brings new revenue and more jobs.

MENTORS: “I like to think of my leadership style as a combination of the styles of many leaders I worked for and with as my career progressed. I took a little bit from each of them, modified it to fit the situation and my personality, and made it my own. I think the most important trait a leader can exhibit is flexibility. Every situation or encounter is unique, and you have to be flexible in your approach to be the most effective.” MOST-ADMIRED CEO: “Since I was born and raised in Nebraska, I have to say Warren Buffett. His leadership at Berkshire Hathaway over the past 50+ years is nothing short of remarkable. I love his pragmatic approach and his ability to clearly and simply define what makes a business successful over time. He bets on great leaders in industries that he understands. His track record shows he’s been right a whole lot more than he’s been wrong when he picks companies to invest it.” LEADERSHIP HIRE TRAITS: “Common sense and critical thinking skills. I’m not looking for them to have every answer; I’m interested in their ability to think through and problem solve.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia; 79 and a M.S. in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1997. ALWAYS INNOVATING: From the first ATMs in the former Soviet-bloc nations to digital wallets today, Euronet has been an innovator in the digital payments space. Case in point: Last year’s rollout of Skylight, a platform that monitors financial transactions to identify illicit consumer behavior. ENTREPRENEUR AT HEART: Brown’s history with startups dates to Innovative Software in 1979 (later merged with Informix). In 1986, he took that company to No. 1 in the Corporate Report 100, Ingram’s annual list of the region’s fastest-growing companies. He later launched Visual Tools, another venture that quickly drew interest as an acquisition target (by Sybase Software in 1996). STOCK SWING: After hitting a 52-week low of $74.01 last October, Euronet stock (NYSE: EEFT) surged to $120.90 at its peak before settling in at around $86 a share in early September.

Kevin Bryant EVP/COO, EVERGY

Owen Buckley PRESIDENT, LANE4 DEVELOPMENT

You think July 14 was a bad day at your house? If you were among the 186,000 people who lost power in the monster windstorm that hit this region, your experience was just a tiny piece of Kevin Bryant’s day. As executive vice president and chief operating officer for Evergy, he’s responsible for all utility operations, including generation operations, and generation services, transmission operations, transmission and delivery services, distribution operations and customer operations.

At a critical junction in the life-cycle of commercial real estate, Owen Buckley says his organization is mostly holding down the fort and taking care of their clients, customers, and properties. With a portfo lio like LANE4’s, that’s an impressive to-do list. “Real estate is a cycli cal business,” he says. “Acquisitions, leasing, and new developments are at a low. Things will change, and more opportunities will present themselves again. Perhaps sooner than we think.”

COLLEGE: B.A./B.S, Finance and Real Estate, University of Missouri-Columbia. MBA, emphasis in finance and marketing, Stanford University Graduate School of Business. On the for-profit side, he’s also an independent director on the board of Winnebago Industries. UP THE RANKS: Bryant signed on with Evergy’s predecessor, Kansas City Power & Light, in 2003, and his leadership history includes roles as vice president of strategic planning, president of the KLT division, vice president of investor relations, and treasurer. He joined the C-suite as executive vice president of finance and strategy and CFO in 2015. OFF THE CLOCK: You can also find Bryant engaging with the community through his service on the board of directors for the UMKC Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City.

COLLEGE: B.A., M.A., University of Kansas RECESSION ODDS: “So many variables. Anybody’s guess.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “Fighting crime. It’s not specific to Kansas City; it’s everywhere. But what if the Kansas City region can fight crime better than our peer cities?” ON THE NEW KCI: “Wonderful and essential asset for the city. Very optimistic about what it will do to spur more activity in our region.” LEADERSHIP HIRE TRAITS: “Trust and loyalty lead to a true team rowing in the same direction.” CURRENT EMPLOYEE HEADCOUNT: The firm has 25, he says, and will hold for the near term.

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September 2023

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