Ingrams September 2023

Philip Straub MANAGING DIRECTOR-AVIATION, GARMIN

Erin Stucky PRESIDENT/CEO, BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF KC What’s new, Blue? Continued success, it seems. “Blue KC was honored to be ranked #1 in Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Heartland Region,” says Erin Stucky. That’s based on the results of the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Commercial Member Health Plan Study. “While industry averages have declined in many regions since 2022,” she added, “Blue KC’s score increased by 17 points, highlighting our continued focus on prioritizing our members.”

His boss, Cliff Pemble, was one of the first hires at what is now Garmin, but Philip Straub wasn’t very far behind: He signed on with the company just four years after it launched. Its GPS-enabled tech nologies proved immediately popular for road vehicles; Straub helped deliver an impact on the aviation side. He’s in charge of all global aviation business activities: engineering, marketing, sales, flight op erations and customer support.

COLLEGE: B.S., Electrical Engineering (magna cum laude), University of Missouri BOOM: Along with the outdoor and marine segments, the aviation segment under Straub generated record revenues last year—$793 million—as the company’s top line surged to $4.86 billion. TAKING FLIGHT: He came to Garmin after working as a pilot and flight instructor at Executive Beechcraft and Baker’s Aircraft Center, and holds a transport pilot certificate for multi-engine aircraft. He’s also a certified flight instructor for single-engine and multi-engine craft, as well as instru ment-controlled flight. GROWING GARMIN: The success of his operating units has helped Garmin expand both locally and globally; most recently, it expanded its Olathe headquarters campus to accommodate a work force of more than 5,000.

KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “I would like to see the Kansas City region work toward destigmatizing be havioral-health conversations and care. … We need to promote behavioral health awareness, coverage, and solutions, and Blue KC recognizes this and is working to address it.” ON THE NEW KCI: “I love it! The artwork is stunning and the food options are fantastic. I also love that it features art and food from local artists and establishments.” SALUTING A MENTOR: “I don’t think it will come as any surprise when I say Danette Wilson, retired Blue KC President and CEO, was my long-time mentor. I learned so much from working closely with her for more than 20 years. One of the many lessons I learned from Danette and use daily is the importance of building and maintaining relationships.“

MORNING READ: “I scan the local and national news headlines each morning.” LEADERSHIP HIRE TRAIT: “Emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.”

Patrick Stueve PARTNER, STUEVE SIEGEL HANSON

Greg Swetnam PRINCIPAL, KESSINGER/HUNTER

Let this number sink in for a minute: $2.5 billion. That’s the aggre- gate value Patrick Stueve has secured through jury verdicts, arbi tration awards and settlements in his career. Often working in high stakes cases—the legal vernacular is “Bet-the-Company” litiga tion—he’s a nationally known figure in commercial litigation, serving entrepreneurs, private companies and publicly traded Fortune 500 corporations.

Asked to point to a big accomplishment of the past year, office bro kerage specialist Greg Swetnam says industrial was the 2022 champ: “I would have to say the recent sale of ground at the Astra Enterprise Park—formerly known as the Sunflower Ammunition Plant—in De Soto, Kan., was probably one of the most notable transactions within KH, the City of De Soto, Johnson County, and the State of Kansas.”

COLLEGE: B.A., Economics, Benedictine College; J.D., University of Kansas School of Law SPECIALTIES: In addition to high-stakes cases, his expertise covers matters involving antitrust and disputes in the food and agribusiness spheres. DIFFERENTIATOR: Rather than serve clients through the traditional law-firm model of billable hours, Stueve operates on a contingency-fee basis as he pursues clients’ interests in federal and state courts, often staring down legal teams from some of the world’s biggest companies. RECENT SUCCESSES: A year ago, he secured a $55 million settlement against a dairy-industry robotics manufacturer, then followed that up as part of a legal team in a similar case for more than double that amount: $121 million, on behalf of 400 dairy farmers. TEAM APPROACH: Stueve credits his football-playing days at Bishop Miege and Benedictine—as a running back, he was team captain for each—with teaching him how to organize teams around individual strengths.

COLLEGE: B.A., Agriculture, University of Missouri RECESSION ODDS: “I think it is still a real possibility, given all the spending by the feds and the out-of-sync costs of materials, labor, interest rates, and energy, there seems to be a huge disconnect and disparity around what things formerly cost including how business was conducted as compared to today. Depending on how all this plays out, we could have mild recession sometime in 2024, but from what you read a soft landing could also be in store.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “It looks like a new baseball stadium may be in the cards!” ON THE NEW KCI: “It is a fantastic ‘first impression’ of our city.” MENTORS: “First of all, I had a ton of folks that helped me in learning leadership, morals, and how to conduct myself in business and my personal life. From my former Scoutmaster to my head football coach, I learned a lot by living and growing up in a small town (Richmond, Mo.). My work ethic is totally attributed to my dad.

Jonathan Thomas PRESIDENT/CEO, AMERICAN CENTURY INVESTMENTS The biggest changes at American Century? That’s an easy one for Jonathan Thomas: “The rapid success in exchange-traded funds we’ve achieved over the last five years to become a Top Four active ETF issuer, new advancements in our personal advisory offerings that include digital advice and one-to-one sessions this year, and, this September, our expansion into private markets with the addition of our new Private Investing team.”

Paul Thompson CHAIRMAN/CEO, COUNTRY CLUB BANK

Shoring up the human capital department was a particularly significant achievement of the past year, says Paul Thompson. “We have seen some key retirements during the past couple of years. It’s hard to fill the shoes of people who have such long-term institutional knowledge and who exem plify our culture and our values to both customers and associates.” And so, a succession plan was developed to bring in a third generation of Thomp sons who have earned positions of leadership, along with other highly qualified people committed to the KC community and the bank’s values.

COLLEGE: B.A., University of Massachusetts; MBA, Boston College NEW LINES: “We’ve also seen tremendous growth in Avantis Investors, our approach that combines a philosophy based on financial science with expert implementation aimed at increasing expected re turns and managing risks,” Thomas says. “Bottom line, ongoing transformation and innovation are keys to our success, and I’m incredibly proud of our talented teammates who deliver these daily for clients.” A CHARITY YOU’D START: “We are actually already structured to fund the mission of one of the most pres tigious non-profit medical research organizations in the world—the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. This amazing relationship makes us an incredibly unique firm, in fact I like to call us a ‘universe of one.’” GIVING: “Our founders, Jim Stowers Jr. and his wife, Virginia, did something nearly no one ever does—they gave away their wealth while they were still alive to fund biomedical research dedicated to defeating life-threatening diseases. They also ensured funding for this crucial research going forward. Delivering investment results to clients enables American Century to distribute over 40 percent of our dividends to the Stowers Institute.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Finance, Creighton University; MBA, Rockhurst University BOOM: “During the nearly 40 years since my late father, Byron Thompson, purchased Country Club Bank, the bank has grown from $45 million to $2.2 billion.” MORE THAN A BANK: “In addition to the bank itself, Country Club Trust Company administers nearly $3 billion in assets, and we’ve added a mergers and acquisitions division and a capital markets group.” RECESSION: “Between now and the end of 2024, less than 50 percent; however, that’s still higher than I would have predicted a year ago for a recession by the end of 2023. The continuing higher interest-rate environment impacts the underlying value of assets, particularly real estate. Because of that higher rate environment, some investments that might have been made are now not as probable, and that will have a negative ripple effect throughout the economy, which could cause a recession by the end of 2024.” NEXT BIG THING: “The World Cup. KC will have the biggest beam of light we’ve ever had shining on us.“

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September 2023

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