GREG KRATOFIL

Ten years ago, Kansas City was taking its first uncertain steps toward life-sciences and high-tech prominence. At that time, the firm known today as Polsinelli Shughart—and soon, Polsinelli PC—had exactly zero attorneys with practice concentrations in science and technology. Greg Kratofil was among the first to take on those new duties, and today, that practice group and its team of nearly 40 lawyers is a reflection of just how far the firm—and Kansas City itself—have come in that realm. Two of the technology areas he specializes in were naturals in this market—information security and health-care information technology. Kratofil, 39, has also assisted local tech clients in their efforts to raise capital, not just within the Kansas City market, but in major population centers with bigger investment fish.

His commitment to the transformative power of technology has most recently been on display with the Google Fiber project; Kratofil is the lead local counsel for the “Fiber for Communities” initiative, working with municipal leadership on each side of the state line. He’s also a co-founder of KC Next-The Technology Council of Greater Kansas City. “I love working with technology entrepreneurs,” Kratofil said after being named Service Provider of the Year by Silicon Prairie News. “Quite frankly, they inspire me. Technology entrepreneurs envision the world as a better place. They envision it faster, more efficient, more entertaining and more secure. The technology entrepreneur puts his time, talents and resources on the line every day, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to help.”

LESLIE KOSTNER

What does field hockey have to do with successful insurance brokerage? Allow Leslie Kostner to connect the dots. “I believe the coaches who motivated me to always be better are the cornerstone to my personal and professional success,” says Kostner, senior vice president and producer for Lockton Companies—and former Division I field-hockey player for the North Carolina Tar Heels. “Having a competitive nature and loving to win, while learning from loss, continues to fuel my passion to achieve success through teamwork.”

She’s not doing too badly with individual stats, either. Since moving into sales in 2008, her annual performance at the world’s largest privately owned independent insurance brokerage has beaten her established revenue goals every year—including 30 percent growth over the past sales year. In addition, she says, “I have mentored three new producers and continue to serve in a strategic role, consulting clients and collaborating with associates.” She also serves on the boards of the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired and Girl Scouts, and has held leadership positions with Harvesters, Operation Breakthrough, Ronald McDonald House and Children’s TLC. But “more than anything,” says Kostner, 39, “the fulfillment and joy I have from being a wife and mother of three amazing children provide me with the momentum to cherish and make the most of all the experiences in my life.” She and husband Tim are parents of 9-year-old Lucy, 7-year-old Helen Kate, and Fritz, 4.

MELISSA LAVIN-HICKEY

If you want to be the best you can be, work with others who already are. For Melissa Lavin-Hickey, director of the Burns & McDonnell Foundation, it’s that simple. “I’m surrounded with world-class talent at Burns & Mac—they inspire me to help mentor the next generation of engineers, to teach youth to nurture and grow their own food, to provide for those less fortunate than myself and to encourage others to find the philanthropist within.”

Since moving from community relations to the foundation office in 2007—and assuming leadership of the engineering firm’s philanthropic wing in 2011—Lavin-Hickey, 35, has worked with CEO Greg Graves to refine the firm’s philanthropic strategy and align donations from its $16 million in assets with key community initiatives. That meant a focus on educational outreach, environmental responsibilities, human services, and arts and culture. It also meant building on a corporate culture that encouraged board service; members of the firm serve on more than 20 boards, such as those for Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics to March of Dimes, and Junior Achievement. Much of her drive is viewed through the prism of her daughters’ future. Lavin-Hickey says she wants them to grow up in a world with more female engineers, doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs and technology experts, drawn from the inner city as well as suburban schools. Husband Shawn and the girls, Kate and Claire, “inspire me every day,” Lavin-Hickey says. “They remind me that life is pretty simple: Love your life, believe in yourself, continue to learn and great things will happen.”

BRIAN LEITNER

Talk about hitting it off: Brian Leitner was in Kansas City to visit family in 2010, and a mutual friend helped arrange a 10-minute meeting with Marty Bicknell, CEO of Mariner Holdings. The meeting lasted four hours. “I knew that I wanted him on my team,” Bicknell says. Leitner immediately added firepower to the Leawood firm’s efforts to embrace holistic wealth planning, bringing an approach to building wealth influenced by two key factors: Jake, who’s not quite 4, and Cole, delivered earlier this year by wife Melissa. “The per-spective they bring into my life helps me understand what’s truly important,” Leitner says, “and makes me want to help others through my work.”

He began his career with a Wall Street private bank. Then came the epiphany. He “quickly realized that the best investment returns in the world cannot ensure the most important thing—an individual’s ability to live the life he or she wants.” People, he said, need wealth partners, not just investment advisers. At Mariner, the 37-year-old Leitner is
senior vice president whose charge includes driving that particular client focus across the firm by mentoring younger advisers. With Mariner’s acquisitions of four more wealth advisory firms in 2012, Leitner has no shortage of new people to bring into that culture, and Bicknell credits his work for helping Mariner achieve Top 10 Advisor status from Barron’s. A board member for Giving the Basics, Leitner is also an active supporter of the MS Society and the Mariner Foundation, the firm’s philanthropic wing.