Ingrams September 2023

Bill Gautreaux MANAGING DIRECTOR, MLP HOLDINGS

Bill George CEO, WHC WORLDWIDE

Bill Gautreaux’s career in the energy sector has been something of a work of art. His longtime affiliation with John Sherman, current majority owner of the Royals, produced monster success in the energy sector, first with LPG Services Group, then Inergy, LP. With the proceeds from sales of those companies, Sherman turned to pro baseball, while Gautreaux, still managing an energy-focused enter prise, has amassed one of the world’s top private art collections.

Bill George has long been a leading figure in regional ground trans portation with his Kansas City Transportation Group, but the evolution of his taxi, coach and on-demand services has taken on global pro portions with WHC. This past year, he says, WHC acquired its 30th operating city, and exceeded $100 million in revenues. He’s been in the business for 35 years, owning and selling various entities, before forming WHC Worldwide in 2018.

COLLEGE: B.A., History/Philosophy, William Jewell College; Oxford University FOLLOWING HIS PASSIONS: Gautreaux brings the type of business savvy and resume that would make him a slam-dunk for selection on any non-profit or corporate board. With but 24 hours in a day, though, chooses carefully. He’s been on the board of trustees for his alma mater since 2009 and on the boards of both the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (since 2014) and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (since 2015). ON THE CIVIC SIDE: Other board services on his record include stints with the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, the Kansas City Police Foundation, and the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City. MASTER COLLECTOR: Along with his wife, Christy, Gautreaux has built an art collection impressive enough to put on public display; they have loaned various pieces to the Kemper and Nelson-Atkins, as well as the Venice Biennale.

RECESSION OUTLOOK: “I am very concerned about the commercial office real estate market and what kind of drag it could be on the banks and overall economy.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “We need a metro-wide response to the lack of mental-health facilities and rising violent crime. It makes no difference how many wonderful attractions we have unless people feel safe to venture outside and enjoy them.” SALUTING A MENTOR: “My father is my most important mentor. He has taught me so many lead ership lessons over the years. The first one I remember was at age 6, when he picked up some trash on one of his car lots. He told me to never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.” MOST-ADMIRED CEO: “I am a huge admirer of Richard Branson and the way he has created an enduring and trusted brand.” BOOK: “ Freakonomics —It taught me skills on how to look differently at many accepted beliefs and norms.”

Lisa Ginter CEO, COMMUNITYAMERICA CREDIT UNION

Doug Girod CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

Lisa Ginter is beaming about what her team of nearly 700 has been up to lately. “Over the past year, we returned a record-breaking $9.5 million to our members,” she said. In addition, CommunityAmerica also became a preferred lender for women- and minority-owned businesses and launched a new concept—Community Access Centers. Ginter reports they’ve se cured two new locations for these centers “where we’ll provide access to innovative products and services that improve financial peace of mind.”

Goodness: At this rate, every architectural, engineering and construction firm in North America is going to be jockeying for Doug Girod’s ear. Two major initiatives over the past year foretell major infrastructure for KU: The larger one is the $300 million makeover announced for the football team’s Memorial Stadium; perhaps the more long-term significance for the re gion is with the $100 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation to build a world-class cancer center on KU’s medical school campus in Kansas City.

2022 REVENUE: $273.49 million COLLEGE: B.S./B.A., Accounting, Rockhurst University MENTOR: “My mom is, without a doubt, my most important mentor in life and leadership. She lived by the simple principle, ‘When you do right by others, they will do right by you.’ I lead with this principle in every aspect of my life. And it has been instrumental in the way I fulfill our mission at Communi tyAmerica.” ON THE NEW KCI: “I use KCI frequently. I am so proud of the way our business community came together to support the need for this new airport. It has already proven to be a difference-maker in bringing more visibility—and revenue—to Kansas City. The new KCI is a wonderful reflection of the vi brant and progressive city we have become, showcasing the pride we have in so many of our local gems.” BIG THING: “I don’t know if I can narrow it down.’ The new airport, the NFL Draft, the 2026 FIFA World Cup are all leading indicators that we have so many exciting opportunities ahead. Focusing on im provements to our transportation infrastructure and reducing crime will be important for us to tackle.”

COLLEGE: B.A., University of California-Davis; M.D., University of California-San Francisco, surgical residency, University of Washington TRANSFORMATIONAL: The stadium design was unveiled in August as part of a larger Gateway Dis trict concept that will include a conference center and multi-use facilities to encourage year-round use and spark economic activity. “The Gateway District is a once-in-a-generation project to transform our campus and drive economic development throughout the region,” Girod said. COMBATTING CANCER: With some funding already secured, the Sunderland gift brings to $143 million the total pledged for the cancer center in Wyandotte County. It will build on the successful designation of The KU Cancer Center as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and will aggregate research efforts, treatment, and patient-care teams, in what officials say will dramatically elevate cancer care in the region.

Don Greenwell PRESIDENT, THE BUILDERS, A CHAPTER OF THE AGC After more than 20 years in the president’s chair, Don Greenwell is heading into a well-deserved retirement at the end of 2023. His plans for the rest of the year are centered around helping his yet to-be-named replacement learn the ropes of the organization and get acclimated to leading a 136-year-old construction trade association that serves hundreds of member companies employing more than 25,000 people in mid-America.

John Hazlin PRESIDENT, HILL’S PET NUTRITION

In more than 25 years with Colgate-Palmolive, John Hazlin has seen the world. Well, a big chunk of it anyway: From New York to New Zea land, Malaysia to Ireland, Africa, Switzerland, and New York again, this well-traveled executive has provided plug-and-play leadership to one of the world’s largest consumer products companies. The latest stop brought him to the Kansas City region at the Hill’s Pet Nutrition oper ating unit, one of that city’s biggest employers.

COLLEGE: B.A., Finance, University of Missouri-Columbia; J.D., UMKC School of Law RECESSION ODDS: “With strong employment and lots of money in the economy, I think it is more likely that we will not have a recession in 2024.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “Sports as an image for our city! We have the world champion football team, as well as major sports venues under construction and in the planning stages. And, of course, we have the World Cup for 2026.” THE NEW KCI: “I have used the new KCI, and it is wonderful. It is an amazing new front door for KC.” MORNING READ: “ The Wall Street Journal .” LEADERSHIP HIRE TRAIT: “Relationship-building is the most essential skill I look for.” DREAM CHARITY MISSION: “The mission would be in line with my current role at our non-profit trade as sociation. That is to help people find their professional/vocational passion and to build skills to be successful.” EMPLOYEES: “27,” he says, and “the staffing level should remain about the same.”

COLLEGE: B.A., History, Duke University; MBA, Marketing/Finance/International Business, Stern School of Business, New York University 2022 REVENUES: $3.73 billion RELOCATING: The company announced in January that it would move its global and U.S. headquar ters to the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park, formerly home to Sprint, later this fall. The digs might be new, but the company won’t change its strategy of investing in its global science, technology, and manufacturing sites in the Topeka area. CHANGING CONSUMERS: As American consumers have opted for smaller dogs in recent decades, the task for Hill’s and other pet food makers changed—animals with small stomachs do more grazing throughout the day, whereas the big dogs eat just once or twice. That meant reformulation and resizing the company’s feed lines, as with the $20 million upgrade to its Topeka plant not long ago.

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September 2023

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