Ingrams September 2023

Jeff Laurendeau REGIONAL DIRECTOR, AMAZON

Michael Kulp PRESIDENT/CEO, KBP BRANDS

They’ve been building mega-warehouses so fast—and bringing folks so fast to staff them—that Jeff Laurendeau might be the king of hiring in this region. In a relatively short span of a decade or so, his employer has become one of the biggest employers in the Kansas City area. Fulfillment centers in Edgerton, Kansas City, Kan., and Lenexa have led the way to more than 6,000 jobs over that span.

When Michael Kulp jumped behind the wheel at what is now KBP Brands, it wasn’t long removed from its startup days, with $7 million in revenues. But it was poised for growth and goodness, did Kulp and Co. deliver: Its ever-growing collection of KFC, Taco Bell, and Arby’s fast-dining locations has push- ed those revenues up nearly 10-fold over just the past dec- ade.

2022 REVENUES: $1.45 billion COLLEGE: B.A., Marketing, University of Colorado-Mesa ON THE QUEST FOR TALENT: “We learned early on that to attract top industry talent to our orga nization, we would have to provide significant growth opportunities for our people,” Kulp says. “Our unwavering focus on how we can continue to deliver development to our people personally, profes sionally, and financially has become part of every decision we make.” INDUSTRY INFLUENCER: Kulp sits on the board for the National Advertising Cooperative, and he’s a par ty of one as the only U.S. representative on the Yum! Global Franchise Council. On top of that, he chairs the KFC National Operations Committee and is one of two U.S. representatives on the Brand Committee. PASSION FOR A CAUSE: It might be harder to find a better corporate friend than KBP has been to the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City on Kulp’s watch. Beyond stepping up to provide food for various fund-raisers, Kulp is a member of the group’s board of directors.

COLLEGE: B.A., Criminal Justice, Norwich University EXPANDED INFLUENCE: Laurendeau’s territory was recently expanded when he was assigned over sight of the company’s Southwest region. BORDER JUMPING: Just recently, the Missouri side got in on the act when Amazon opened a 1-mil lion-square-foot warehouse in Liberty dedicated to handling furniture and other bulky items. BEFORE KC: Laurendeau is a former active-duty Army officer who also spent time in the Reserves. He learned more than a few things about logistics while in Iraq, where he was responsible for $10 million worth of equipment in a combat environment. In fact, as a scout platoon leader there, he planned and executed more than 100 combat missions in the most dangerous parts of Baghdad. IN THE REAL WORLD: Laurendeau’s civilian duties have seen him take on roles at facilities in Middletown, Del., and Windsor, Conn.

Sandra Lawrence INDEPENDENT CORPORATE DIRECTOR

Carlos Ledezma CEO, CABLE DAHMER AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

Sandra Lawrence had a long career run as a senior health-care executive, building an extensive roster of corporate contacts. She has leveraged her skills in business and that network to secure a number of prominent cor porate board seats. Among them, Evergy, Brixmor, Delaware/Macquarie, Sera, and Recology. And she has been impressed by the acumen dis played among them. “Over the past year, their ability to listen and flex has been key to their continued, strong financial growth and staff retention.”

Carlos Ledezma is happy to share that Cable Dahmer has put 147 staff members through leadership training and will have another class ready by year’s end. The company, he says, wants “to help our people become better leaders of the people Cable Dahmer is responsible for.” In addition, Cable Dahmer has added a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Ram store to its family of dealerships and surpassed the 9-million mark in meals provided through Harvesters.

COLLEGE: B.A., Psychology Statistics, Vassar College; M.A., Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; MBA, Real Estate/Finance, Harvard University NEXT BIG THING: “Since the appointment of Mayra Aguirre as its President and building on the foundation laid by Bill Hall, the Hall Family Foundation has been focused on addressing the components of poverty, the fundamental problem that underlies the many symptoms we’ve been trying to attack for decades.” ON THE NEW KCI: “I’m a frequent flier. It represents an economic engine, creating the infrastruc ture to route larger planes through KC with greater frequency, making us a preferred destination and transfer point, bringing more businesses and tourists, and contributing valuable revenue to the assets and services that make KC great.” LEADERSHIP HIRE PRIORITIES: “Diversity of professional and personal experiences, combined with a sharp intellect, is critical to a leader’s ability to innovate and grow an organization.”

2022 REVENUES: $806.48 million RECESSION ODDS: “I believe this recession is the most-predicted recession in the history in our economy. The odds are very high for us to see this happen. If it does, we will be as prepared as possible. If not, we will maximize the opportunities that will be presented to us.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “With the 2026 World Cup coming to Kansas City, we should get our house LEADERSHIP: “A quote was quoted many times: ‘We will be influenced by the books we read and the sum of the five people we are around.’ We read books and do a book a quarter with weekly reviews.” ADMIRED: “There are so many people who have been successful in their own right. Recently we finished a book on hospitality by Danny Meyer. He developed leaders. He scaled. He is world-class in customer satisfaction.” in order to help present Kansas City as clean and safe as possible.” ON THE NEW KCI: “Only positives. We should be proud to be in KC.”

Brian Leitner MANAGING DIRECTOR, MARINER WEALTH ADVISORS Brian Leitner must have the move-tracking mental skills of a Russian chessmaster to follow all the moving pieces at Mariner, where he’s responsible for strategic growth of both Mariner Wealth Advisors and its Mariner Platform Solutions division. Just this past year, the firm made nine acquisitions, added more in 2023, and has seen assets under its control balloon past $114 billion.

James Lewis PRESIDENT/CEO, SECURITY BANK OF KANSAS CITY Only three other hometown banks control more deposit share than does Security Bank of Kansas City. That might entitle any chief executive to some bragging rights. But Jim Lewis is not just any chief executive. A pil lar of humility with a deep commitment to community service, Lewis was recognized by the KCK Chamber last year as its Person of the Year—but didn’t claim a place in the video celebrating his achievement: It was up to colleagues and beneficiaries of his work to praise his contributions.

COLLEGE: B.S., Business/Economics, State University of New York-Oneonta, M.S., Taxation, Fairleigh Dickinson University THE PATH TO KC: Leitner came on board at Mariner in 2010, after a decade split between UBS and Ernst & Young. He spent a decade as chief practice management officer for the firm before assuming the wealth-solutions leadership in 2022. RECOGNITION: Leitner didn’t take long to make a splash in local wealth-management circles, earn ing a spot the in Ingram’s 40 Under Forty’s Class of 2013. ABOUT MARINER: Founded in 2006 by Marty Bicknell, Mariner has established a national repu tation; Barron’s ranked it in the top five of its best independent advisory firms from 2016 to 2022.

2022 REVENUES: $124.77 million COMMITMENT: Lewis has been with the organization for going on 43 years, serving as president in some capacity for 33 of them—at Industrial State Bank and Security Bank prior to their 2016 merger. TRIBUTE: The Person of the Year video quoted banking and non-profit leaders who knew Lewis well, and they lauded his efforts to step out of the C-suite and engage with the underprivileged in Wyan dotte County. Among other efforts, Lewis had a long affiliation with a group that promoted literacy by inviting business figures to read to children. AGGREGATOR: That 2016 merger involved seven banks that were part of the Valley View Financial Group; Lewis played an instrumental role in orchestrating a seven-into-one union under the Security Bank charter, immediately creating one of the biggest financial institutions in the region.

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September 2023

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