James Hailey

As far back as the seventh grade, James Hailey, 39, knew he wanted to be an architect. When he was 13, his father bought him a drafting table. Today, he keeps the table in his office. Hailey is vice president and principal at BRR Architects, the firm where he started as an intern fresh out of K-State. As leader of BRR’s remodel teams, he manages a team of 30 in adapting existing spaces and buildings to the requirements of his clients. He takes special pride in the accomplishments of his employees. “I have had people working for me their entire careers who are now licensed architects,” he says. “I am proud of the folks who achieved that.” When he began at BRR, Hailey was the firm’s 17th employee. Today the firm employs 185. “It’s the relationships that we’ve built with our clients that are responsible for our success,” he explains. “Most of our clients have been on-board for ten years.” At home, Hailey coaches soccer and volunteers with the Girl Scouts and the Cub Scouts. “I have had a blast working with kids,” says the father of two.

Robb Heineman

Robb Heineman, 33, purchased the Kansas City Wizards with several associates in September of 2006. “I’ve had a family investment since 1994 in an NBA development league team called the Sioux Falls SkyForce,” he says. “Characteristics of soccer led me to believe that investment in a major league team would be a good thing.” In 2005, Heineman founded Rock Island Capital with four colleagues he had known since he graduated from Notre Dame in 1996. Rock Island Capital supplies middle market companies with equity and mezzanine capital. “As partner and president, I’m involved in deal origination and client relationship management. I go out and meet referral sources and companies directly.” Of all his successes in business, Heineman is most gratified by the collaborative spirit of his organization. The five-man team has been together under a number of different brand names, including Vine Street Partners and Hall Brothers Holdings, for more than ten years. “I am most proud of being with the same set of guys for ten years through ups and downs,” he says. “Team building has always been an important thing to me, in business and at home.”

Brian Hoban

“Business decisions take on a whole new meaning when you’re talking about a family,” says Brian Hoban, 33. “It becomes a lot more personal and real.” Hoban, a Kansas City native, graduate of Rockhurst University, and the oldest of five boys, has been with Enterprise Bank & Trust since 2001, most recently as senior vice president. At Enterprise, which was founded to serve the lifetime financial needs of privately-held businesses and their owners, Hoban manages commercial relationships locally. “I’m at the front end of the cycle. When our clients need to expand their businesses, I’m there with services that will help them grow revenues so they can grow their net worth.” Working with family and private business owners interests Hoban because of the direct effects their decisions have on their local communities. With two young daughters and a brother in junior high, he’s especially tuned in to the needs of youth in Kansas City. Hoban has given his time and energies to Children’s Place, the MS Society, and Boys Hope Girls Hope.

Jeff King

As a high school student in Albany, Missouri, Jeff King, sold ad space for a local free publication and edited the high school paper. Today, at 37, he’s president of Barkley, the largest employee-owned advertising agency in the country. “From very early on, advertising was an interest,” he says. He first walked into Barkley in 1991, as a summer intern and undergraduate journalism student at the University of Missouri. Within a year, he was a full-time associate. He worked his way through account management, spent time at firms in Austin and Atlanta, and by 2003, he was president of Barkley’s Atlanta office. In 2005, he returned to Kansas City to become president of the entire agency. He says he wants to build a future for not just Barkley, but the entire advertising industry In Kansas City. “I see Kansas City becoming recognized as a hotbed of agencies and creativity. My vision for Barkley is to continue to support and enhance that.” Of his community involvements, which include YPO and Impact KC, he is especially fond of his experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters. “I spent three years with a kid who is now a young man,” he says. “I was able to shape his upbringing, focus and commitment to school. It was a wonderful experience.”