First Class of Ingram’s 250 Celebrates

An all-star cast of executive leadership in the Kansas City region turned out Thursday night as Ingram’s magazine paid tribute to the inaugural Ingram’ 250, recognizing the most powerful and influential business leaders in the Kansas City region. Among them were some of the region’s leading lights in banking, legal and professional services, manufacturing, technology, higher education and various other business sectors.

The venue for that gathering was the glittering Grand Hall at Power & Light, a new Downtown event space anchoring the office tower that has been transformed into a luxury apartments. The event was co-sponsored by KPMG and Stinson Leonard Street.

Over the course of two hours, nearly 200 people, most of them honorees, showed up in a celebration that featured a stellar collection of high-level CEOs, presidents and managing partners of firms large and small. Following a brief welcome from Executive Editor Jack Cashill, Ingram’s publisher Joe Sweeney offered a few observations on how the Ingram’s 250 came to be and what it represents for the Kansas City business community.

Mark Hinderks of co-sponsoring Stinson Leonard Street, and KPMG’s managing partner, Brad Sprong, offered a few remarks on legislative reform and the prospect of a tax-code revision that could dramatically affect businesses, and honorees were treated to personalized bottles of wine specially engraved to commemorate the evening and their recognition.