Ingrams September 2023

Lenora Payne CEO, TGS

Cliff Pemble PRESIDENT/CEO, GARMIN

Once upon a time, all “IT” meant to most people was the number you called when your desktop computer misbehaved. Now, it’s the umbrella term for tech that handles vast networks of data, and Le nora Payne’s TGS team specializes in all of it. They provide IT backup for in-house computer needs, but offer consulting, cloud services, data-center design, office cabling, internet-based phone systems, and more.

Only five other people were on the payroll when Cliff Pemble joined Garmin in 1989, and two of those were founders Min Kao and Gary Burrell. In the years since, including more than a decade in the role of CEO, Pemble has helped turn that starry-eyed startup into a global tech powerhouse with $4.86 billion in revenues—and more than 19,700 employees in 35 countries who are behind him on the corporate roster.

ENTREPRENEURIAL DNA: “I never thought I’d be a tech CEO,” she wrote in an on-line post at upshot.com. “Then I looked back on what my mother achieved. My mother had only an eighth-grade education. She used to clean houses and she would outfit me in expensive, brand-name, hand-me down clothes. One day she got the idea to resell these items and opened her own store. That business became her primary source of income. Eventually, we moved to a new house, and she kept the previ ous property for rental income. She had an entrepreneurial spirit, and I must have gotten some, too.” SISTERLY ADVICE: “I tell local female entrepreneurs: If you’re starting a business, reach out to the Women’s Business Center. I didn’t know about P&Ls, operations agreements, or licensing, and they helped me find my feet. Were it not for Sherry Turner and her staff helping me all those years ago, I wouldn’t have realized as much success.” CIVIC: “There is so much support in KC. I want to give back and do my part to expand opportunities.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Mathematics and Computer Science, MidAmerica Nazarene University UP THE RANKS: In 2007, after 18 years with Garmin, Pemble became chief operating officer. In December 2012, he was named CEO. On his watch—there’s a pun in there, somewhere—the company has pivoted from its original focus on GPS systems for vehicles to become an industry leader in smartwatches, wearable tech, and other devices that operate with satellite connections. TOUCHING LIVES: Since the first GPS products rolled out the door 34 years ago, Garmin has shipped more than 266 million products to customers worldwide. QUOTABLE: Pemble was quite prescient—and humble—when he addressed the company’s innovation DNA at a KC Tech gathering a few years ago: “If you’re not following and changing with the markets, then you’ll probably quickly be obsolete. And our goal is to not be obsolete. … A lot of our great ideas have come from our people. Very few of the ideas that I have for products or markets get realized because CEOs’ ideas just aren’t that good.”

Stephen Penn MANAGING PARTNER, KPMG

Laura McConnell Perin CEO, LABCONCO

Stephen Penn is the personification of a trait that has long distinguished effective executive leadership in the KC region: engagement with outside organizations, whether civic or non-profit. To that end, he has amassed a long service record that includes the finance council for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas: Finance Council, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas (he’s a past chairman there), the Economic Club of Kansas City, the KCADC’s board, and United Way’s influential Alexis de Tocqueville Society.

After more than 20 years in sales and managerial roles at this na tional supplier of sophisticated laboratory equipment, Laura Perin succeeded her late father in the role of chief executive. What she has learned about leadership over the course of that career, Perin told us, is the value of persistence and discipline. Those qualities paid off in 2022 with year-over-year revenue growth of an impressive 19.2 percent, making hers the region’s biggest woman-owned company.

KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “Stabilizing and renewing the Country Club Plaza.” SALUTING MENTORS: “My mentors all believed and taught me to have lots of mentors—it provides diverse perspective and avoids the echo chamber. I appreciate all of them: Brad Sprong, Dave Fowler, Jeff Dobbs, Charlie Peffer, Dana Foote, and especially Monsignor Tom Tank.” MORNING READ: “Usually it’s my inbox … “ EMPLOYEES: “400,” he says. “We’re growing and always adding to our team.” AUDIT PRO: That’s the field of his accounting path, which has taken him to Detroit, St. Louis and Kansas City, where he was named office managing partner in 2019.

2022 REVENUES: $134.3 million COLLEGE: B.S., Biology, and B.A., dance, Denison University BEFORE SALES: Perin, in an earlier phase of her career exercised, her passion for ballet, dancing professionally in Chicago. AT LABCONCO: Her father had been the long-time chief executive at the company, and she joined its board in 2016. LEARNING EARLY: Board service with the company was not her introduction to it; even as a child, she would accompany Dad to the office on weekend mornings, and the business was frequently a topic of family dinner conversations. “Every dinner,” she once told us, “was an executive MBA session in the McConnell household.” HONORS: In addition to ranking at the top of Ingram’s list of the Top Women-Owned Businesses in the Kansas City region last year, she was one of our 50 Kansans You Should Know in 2021.

Mike Perry PRESIDENT/CEO, HALLMARK CARDS

Tim Petty MARKET PRESIDENT/KANSAS CITY-OKLAHOMA, U.S. BANK When economic times are uncertain, bankers like Tim Petty and crew step up for the people they serve. And he’s quite happy with recent results, overseeing this regional market for one of the nation’s big gest banking systems. “In times of great change, it is so important to be in a position of strength,” he says. “Our clients have grown to expect that from us, and we have been able to help them navigate whatever comes their way.”

Mike Perry began steering the ship for one of KC’s most iconic brands in June 2019, just in time to navigate COVID. And he looks at that experience with pride: “I think the most significant achievement lies in the resiliency of our people—emerging from a global pandemic and experiencing the macro-economic and other broader challenges that affect us all. This transformation wouldn’t be possible without our ability to lean on one another, to care for one another, and to embrace change.”

2022 REVENUES: $3.8 billion COLLEGE: B.A., Business Administration, University of Missouri–Kansas City

COLLEGE: B.S., Accounting/Finance, Kansas State University RECESSION ODDS: “We still anticipate some pull-back in mid-2024. Right now, we see that being milder than what was predicted a few months ago.” NEXT BIG THING: “Improving our transportation systems to all key areas of the city will bring our city closer together and allow all people access to jobs that will be meaningful to their families’ success for years to come.” SALUTING A MENTOR: “Mark Jorgenson hired me over 23 years ago. As an active person committed to the success of the region, Mark said to look for opportunities that align with your passion and that the family can enjoy too. That has been a great formula for success; it keeps the right focus on work/ life balance and teaches young people the importance of giving back.” MORNING READ: I always want to start out with quiet time in prayer or reading the Bible. It has the answers to everything. I have not had a challenge or topic that I could not rely on God giving me the right answer.”

ON THE NEW KCI: “I’ve had the chance to travel through the new airport a few times this year and continue to be impressed by how sleek, modern, and easy to navigate it is. I’ve especially enjoyed the art installations; they’re a nice reflection of the creativity that lives here in Kansas City and help give our visitors a warm welcome.” LEADERSHIP HIRE PRIORITIES: “To me, the most important part of being a leader is understanding the need for a strong culture to be effective—those behaviors and values that are foundational to fulfilling your purpose and vision—and knowing how to drive action from the right culture with your team. Hallmark and Crayola are purpose-driven brands, so we always start with the ‘why?’ as the inspiration for what we’re trying to do. But it’s just as critical to share and model the beliefs, values, and behaviors that it will take to get there.”

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September 2023

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