Ingrams September 2023

Mike Poore PRESIDENT/CEO, MOSAIC LIFE CARE

Jeanette Prenger FOUNDER/PRESIDENT/CEO, ECCO SELECT

Mike Poore’s health-care leadership career has taken him all over the country, so he speaks with experience when he talks about the KC region: “What’s not to like? It’s the heart of the Midwest, and the people here are hard-working,” he says. “And we’ve got the Chiefs!” He added, “I tell people who want to relocate here to just jump in. Dive in and get involved in the community—there are so many opportunities and great things happening here.”

You hear a lot about tough times for business, but that’s just a rallying cry for Jeanette Prenger and her team. “The most significant achieve ment was having a record-breaking year in 2022, despite facing sig nificant headwinds with rising costs, declining customer budgets, and early contract terminations,” she said. “We were able to leverage our diversified service portfolio to continue our growth momentum all while ensuring that our associate base remained invigorated as we continued to navigate the volatile economic environment.”

2022 REVENUES: $1.5 billion COLLEGE: B.S., Health Services Administration, Auburn University; MBA, Business Administration and Management, University of South Alabama EMPLOYEES: “We employ 4,100 caregivers in my organization and in many instances, those caregiv ers’ whole family works for our organization,” Poore says. ABOUT MOSAIC: The largest employer in St. Joseph, the health system’s reach goes well beyond the city limits: It serves 35 counties in northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas, southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. FLAGSHIP CARE SITE: The 352-bed main medical center is one of the Kansas City region’s Top 10 in patient volume, with more than 15,000 patient discharges last year, and nearly 73,000 patient-days.

2022 REVENUES: $72.2 million COLLEGE: B.S., Management Information Systems, Park University RECESSION ODDS: “The IT staffing industry has been in a recessionary environment for at least the last 12 months. The industry has experienced a decline in customer demand of nearly 3 percent, year over year, with some publicly traded companies claiming that they have experienced more than dou ble-digit sales losses during that same time period. We are prepared to endure a similar environment for the next 12 to 15 months.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “I’d love to see investments to provide children of families with limited means an early-education experience.” THE NEW KCI: “Extremely impressive. It has provided visitors to our city a great first impression. It’s aes thetically beautiful, easy to navigate and with many amenities that this airport provides, time there is a more pleasant experience. There is an issue when too many planes are arriving and the pickup lanes are congested.”

Kent Price PRESIDENT, PRICE BROTHERS

Mike Rainen PRESIDENT, RAINEN COMPANIES

Take them at their word: “No project is too large or too small for the team at Price Brothers,” the developer declares on its Web page. Walking the walk, this Overland Park firm continues to transform southern Johnson County with its massive, $1 billion BluHawk, one of the biggest projects in this region’s history. This past year saw groundbreaking of a $750 million multi-sports complex, the crown jewel of that project.

As business people nationwide watched the ground shift under them in recent times, Mike Rainen has been proudly watching his people’s “ability to respond to the challenges of the disruptive office market and creatively adapt as a team.” He has a clarion call focused on what can easily be called the heart of Kansas City: “Locals should step up and redirect the vitality and safety of the Plaza,” he said. “It is a national, historic gem that has been managed by out-of-towners to their own detriment and recent loan default. Now, Kansas Citians need to return it to its old luster.”

SECOND CENTURY: The firm was founded in 1922, and is now in its third generation of family lead ership. Over that span, Price Brothers has executed ground-up and redevelopments of multi-family, commercial and mixed-use projects, land development, single tenant and large-scale residential, commercial and mixed-use developments. TRANSFORMATIONAL: The 300-acre BluHawk, at 159th and U.S. 69, is anchored by the 450,000- square-foot AdventHealth Sports Complex, adjacent to the health system’s South Overland Park hospital. The project includes residential developments, numerous dining options, services such as spas and beauty stores, retail stores, office space, a hotel and other amenities.

RECESSION ODDS: “I am expecting a move downward in the stock market by the end of ’23 because fundamentals are showing weakness. The office market is going to trigger large defaults and will cause balance sheet disruptions in banks and insurance companies. This could trigger a LOT of ugly.” THE NEW KCI: “Clean, functional design that grandly glows at night. It will serve KC well for decades.” SALUTING A MENTOR: “At the beginning of my career, Miller Nichols suggested I join the Greater KC Chamber. I got involved, and it paid off significantly.” MORNING READ: “ The Wall Street Journal. ” LEADERSHIP HIRE TRAIT: “Enthusiasm—it is the most contagious disease there is.” DREAM CHARITY MISSION: “Curing basal cell skin cancer. That is where our energy has been for 25 years.” EMPLOYEES: “Approximately 220, overall,” Rainen says. “We plan to hold at current levels.”

Joe Reardon PRESIDENT/CEO, GREATER KANSAS CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Randy Reed PRESIDENT, REED AUTOMOTIVE

With four vehicle dealerships between the Missouri River and St. Joseph, and two more on the other side of the state line in Merriam, Randy Reed hits a business trifecta of sorts: Family owned, locally owned and veteran-owned. From those qualities, the group says, purpose, mission, and values, “which guide us in honoring God while serving our customers and team members.”

The product of a dynastic family in Wyandotte County politics, Joe Rear don—himself the former mayor of the Unified Government in Kansas City, Kan., moved into the intersection of public policy and business advocacy by taking the reins of the chamber in 2016. In that capacity, he serves the interests of more than 2,250 companies, with a combined 300,000 employees, in a 15-county region spanning the state line.

COLLEGE: B.S., Political Science, Rockhurst University; J.D., University of Kansas School of Law MAYORAL RECORD: His watch at the UG produced a continuation of the transformative change that began under his predecessor, Carol Marinovich. Reardon helped his constituents become Google Fiber’s first ultra-high speed customers in the country; what is now Children’s Mercy Park (home to Sporting Kansas City) was completed, the $300 million Hollywood Casino came to Village West, and General Motors invested $600 million in plant upgrades. FAMILY TRADITION: No stranger to how the sausage is made, Reardon hails from a family of public servants. His father, Jack, served as mayor of the city before its unification with Wyandotte County. His uncle, Bill, served in the Kansas Legislature for more than 30 years, representing a district in KCK. PATH TO POLITICS: Reardon started his law career with one of that city’s largest firms, McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips.

COLLEGE: B.S., U.S. Air Force Academy; MBA, Troy University GROWTH KEYS: Auto dealers were in for a pretty bumpy ride starting in 2020—wasn’t almost ev eryone?—but Reed was able to keep things on stable footing, elevating staff morale while reducing turnover. Pay adjustments in an inflationary stretch gave employees fewer reasons to look elsewhere, and Reed moved aggressively to hire talented folks when the opportunity presented itself. ON STAFF RETENTION: “We always make the priority for leadership, creating and maintaining a positive and healthy culture on our teams. We have been building new facilities for our dealerships to have the most functional and Team Member-friendly places to work.” STATED PURPOSE: “Serve our customers by providing the region’s best dealership experience.” WHEEL APPEAL: The dealerships combine to offer new model Chevrolet, GMC, Jeep, Hyundai, Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram selections, plus used vehicles, parts, service and financing.

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September 2023

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