20 Ann Dickinson

Ten years ago, when her husband Gary was tragically killed in a car accident, few would have expected Ann Dickinson to step up as she has. But she refused to sell Dickinson Financial Corporation, of which she serves as chairman, and has helped make it the largest fully family-owned financial institution based in the greater Kansas City region. Dickinson Financial is the holding company for Bank Midwest and a group of military banks. Dickinson is a force in local philanthropy
and Republican politics, serving as national committeewoman for Missouri. Though Ann Dickinson may not be known to throw her weight, she certainly has surrounded herself with top industry talent.

19 Michael Haverty

The chairman and CEO of Kansas City Southern, Mick Haverty is sufficiently powerful that Mayor Barnes solicited not him, but his political guy, Warren Erdman to the meeting of the twenty-three. Given its mission of opening up the NAFTA pipeline, Kansas City Southern is an intrinsically political player. In recognition of Haverty’s success in fulfilling that mission, the company awarded him compensation valued at more than $3.2 million in 2006. For the year 2006, Kansas City Southern posted total revenues of $1.7 billion, nine percent greater than 2005.

18 Tom Hoenig

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Tom Hoenig presides over a ten-state banking region. Although his regional power is somewhat circumscribed by the tight regulations under which the Fed operates, the extent of his local power became manifest when he initiated the move of 1600 employees out of the Downtown loop to its sparkling, soon-to-open office complex near Liberty Memorial. Look for more out of Tom Hoenig in the coming years.

17 Christopher “Kit” Bond

In October 2006, United States Senator Kit Bond showed proof of his exceptional power to get things done on the Missouri side of Kansas City when he dedicated the new 6,000-employee IRS service center. The project also involved the renovation of the historic Main Post Office and the construction of a new postal facility in Union Station. Bond had shepherded the project through the White House and Congress. GSA regional head Brad Scott worked for Bond, which helps. Both have become experienced hands at bringing home the federal bacon. Bond also enjoys close ties with Congress-man Emanuel Cleaver and other local Democrats.

16 Carl Schramm

The president and chief executive officer of the Kauffman Foundation and author of the impressive The Entrepreneurial Imperative, Carl Schramm has succeeded in making a national name for himself and the foundation. To do so, he had to reorient the foundation away from its social work drift and back towards its original entrepreneurial and educational mission. This was not easy. Now, having earned the confidence of the board and having $2.5 billion to work with, when Schramm talks, people listen.

15 Kathleen Sebelius

2006 proved to be a good year for the Kansas governor. She not only won reelection handily, but she also re-jiggered political power in Johnson County. She did so by persuading lifetime Johnson County Republicans Paul Morrison and Mark Parkinson that the grass was at least temporarily greener in Democratic pastures, with Morrison emerging as attorney general and Parkinson as lieutenant governor. The blowback from this maneuver, however, was that ousted Republican AG Phill Kline is now Johnson County DA. For better or worse, Sebelius also appears to have succeeded in bringing gambling to Kansas.

14 Gary Burrell

Burrell lent the first three letters of his first name and Min Kao lent the first three letters of his, and the result was Garmin. Now chairman emeritus of the world’s leading GPS enterprise, Burrell trails only Min Kao on Forbes’ list of local billionaires. A devoted Christian and philanthropist, the Stillwell resident remains remarkably discreet about his giving, but $1.6 billion still goes a long way in Kansas City.

13 Mark Ernst

On the challenges-met side, the bold move of H&R Block’s chairman, president and CEO, Mark Ernst, to relocate the company downtown helped to make the rebirth of the entertainment district possible. On the challenges-remaining side is the proposed sale of H&R Block’s Option One Mortgage business. As of this writing, the down turn in the sub-prime mortgage market seems to be making this sale more than a little difficult. Another challenge is the actual tax preparation segment, which H&R Block dominates, but which is nevertheless a mature market. Ernst appears to be the right guy to stare these challenges down.

12 Charles Sunderland

The chairman of Ash Grove Cement Company, a business his family has controlled for nearly a century, Charles Sunderland has grown the company to its current status as the largest American owned producer of cement. In November 2006, he was elected chairman of the Portland Cement Association. The civically active Sunderland serves on the boards of the Sunderland Foundation, The University of Kansas Hospital Authority, Trinity University, Western National Bank, and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation Real Estate Charitable Trust. Sunderland may be on the verge of creating what could become one of the largest charitable foundations in the region.

11 Cliff Illig

Cerner vice-chairman and co-founder Cliff Illig de-serves a goodly share of the credit for the Cerner Corporation’s extraordinary success. Not yet 30 years old, the company now has more than 4,000 employees just in Kansas City. Illig was particularly involved in the company’s initial public stock offering and its subsequent public offering and stock splits. He is also a partner in OnGoal LLC, the entity created to raise the visibility of pro soccer in Kansas City.

«April 2007 Edition