KELLI GLYNN

The secret to Kelli Glynn’s success? “I’ve learned that the harder you work, the luckier you get,” says this Wisconsin native. That’s how she recently became the first female regional manager for M&I Wealth Management, where her new duties consist of being “spokesperson, cheerleader and business developer” for the Kansas City group. That’s a long way from typing loan documents for a Kenosha bank after earning her bachelor’s in finance in 1991. Now 39, she’s spent half a lifetime getting where she is, and relying on her values—and that work ethic—to get there. “I believe integrity and humility are traits of being a leader, and that leading by serving others is the best approach to a successful team,” she says. As with many successful professionals, Glynn discovered long ago how to balance career with other life interests: “I love what I do, so it really doesn’t feel like work”—a value she’s imparting on the three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, she’s raising with her husband, Janos. “I tell my kids they will find the greatest happiness in life if they seek the place where their talents and passions intersect,” she says. In her “spare” time, she serves as a member of the Central Exchange, and is a founding member of the Blue Valley Lacrosse Club in Johnson County.

BRAD HEWLETT

Now this is the mark of a successful car dealer: As America was plunging in to an economic abyss throughout 2009, Brad Hewlett was overseeing an annual sales increase of 40 percent at Bob Allen Ford in Overland Park, where he is the dealer principal. The values that helped bring the dealership to that point, he says, were instilled by his father, who began selling cars more than half a century ago and who taught him about hard work and always putting the customers first. “I try to take the time to meet every customer who walks in the door,” says Hewlett, who just turned 39. Building those relationships, he says, is one reason why nearly two-thirds of the cars sold at Bob Allen go to repeat customers. A native of Kansas City, Hewlett has built extensive ties to the community as a family man, a business man, and a man of faith. He and his wife, Rebecca, have three sons 8–12 years old, and Hewlett budgets his time to allow for coaching their little league baseball teams. He’s volunteered with fund-raising activities for SafeHome, Catholic Charities and his current parish, St. Michael the Archangel, and he has additional business ventures with a partnership in City Rent a Truck and H&W Associates, a real estate company.

ANDY HOMOLY

Not often will you find a 40 Under Forty honoree who can trace a career back three decades. But Andy Homoly, now 39, was just 10 when he started working for his father, carrying the family’s contracting tradition into a fifth generation. “I am,” he says by way of introduction, “the son of a carpenter.” Perhaps because it is so deeply ingrained in the family DNA, Homoly doesn’t define himself through his work, even though he certainly can take pride in tripling his company’s revenues in a year when many contractors are on the brink of insolvency. Instead, family is the prism through which he views life. He and his wife, Catherine, have four children ages 6–13, and Homoly has been more than just an after-hours fixture in their lives. Over the past decade, he’s coached more than 40 of their combined youth sports teams, and says that calling is a “special gift” that allows him to connect with the community around him. “We have won numerous championships,” he says, reflecting, “but more importantly, I have helped shape hundreds of kids.” Homoly Construction, founded in 1997, specializes in green construction, and the company does both residential and commercial work. “Green building,” Homoly declares, “is a great opportunity to change the world, and I plan to make it happen.”

HEATHER HUMPHREY

Some people make the move from St. Louis to Kansas City and never shake loose the notion that, somehow, they’ve traded down. Not Heather Humphrey. As managing attorney for litigation and employment at Kansas City Power & Light Co., Humphrey, 39 as of this writing, has wielded her legal career and civic involvement like an acetylene torch, constantly forging lasting connections between herself, her peers and organizations throughout the region. Much of that was through the Lawyers Association of Kansas City, where she’s served since 2003, and on the Centurions Alumni Board of Directors, since 2005. She’s held the title of board president at both, and is a board member as well with Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, the dance company’s support group. “Community service is very important to me,” Humphrey says. “I gravitated to the Young Lawyers section of LAKC because of its focus on community service.” She also met her husband-to-be, Jim, in Kansas City, and their son Jimmy is about to turn 4. “I am proud,” she says, “of the personal investment I have made in Kansas City.” The long-term commitment she and her husband have to the city, she declares, “has fueled our joint desire to invest in it to make it a better place for generations to come.”