Veni. Vidi. Vici. They came. They saw. They conquered.
Or quit or retired or moved or even served prison time.
For more than three decades, Ingram’s and its predecessor Corporate Report have featured innumerous executives, experts and entrepreneurs who, through talent, smarts, guts, creativity or charisma, have shaped the Kansas City that we know today.
So we pause to look back at several newsmakers who have made a splash on our pages and in our city’s history—to discover the answer to an intriguing question “Whatever happened to...?” We were eager—and frankly, curious—to find out and we think you will be, too.
Some of these folks were born here and have remained in the city for years, like stalwart columns sunk deep into our soil. Others came, made their mark, then left—like a strong but brief storm front.
Whether here or elsewhere, successful or regrouping, or to turn a phrase, whether their story is good, bad or ugly—all of the people featured are boldly accomplished. And they’ve each helped create a chapter of today’s Kansas City.
Tim Leiweke
When the Leiweke brothers came to Kansas City from St. Louis in 1981, professional indoor sports in this city hadn’t happened yet. Overnight, they made it happen. Tim, Tracey, Terry and Tod were the originating force behind the Kansas City Comets. As general manager of the city’s first professional indoor soccer team, Tim began filling Kemper Arena consistently and would ultimately come to leave an indelible legacy on the history of professional sports here.
Although the brothers Leiweke left the Comets in 1984, Tim was back as team president from 1986 to 1988 before bidding a tearful farewell to the city by the river’s bend. Of course, no one could foresee that he would be back even bigger and stronger in 2004.
As the president and CEO of Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Leiweke jumped back into Kansas City’s affairs when his firm pledged $50 million to complete the Sprint Center. The man strongly believes the city will have a new NHL or NBA franchise by the time the arena opens in the fall of 2007. “When the Kings were here, it wasn’t the city who failed the Kings; it was the Kings who failed the city,” he said during a recent visit.
Chris Clouser
“A major men’s tennis tournament in Kansas City is possible,” Chris Clouser told us recently. “If Memphis can launch a successful tournament, I don’t doubt that Kansas City could do it.”
This is typical of Clouser. Promoting Kansas City still comes naturally to him. Even as his career took him away from the heartland, his wife and children stayed behind in Kansas City for a number of years, during which time he found himself jetting cross-country frequently.
The former executive for Hallmark and Sprint who also successfully managed Senator Tom Eagleton’s re-election campaign in 1980, has risen to a pre-eminent stature in the business of professional sports. Clouser was a co-owner of the Kansas City Comets. In due time after leaving this area, Clouser served as president of the Minnesota Twins baseball club and is today the chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Executive Committee and a top promoter of men’s professional tennis.
What is Clouser’s favorite memory of Kansas City? “I worked for two excellent brand names in Kansas City and my two children were born in Kansas City.”
Gail Lozoff
Gail Lozoff prefers making her splash in commercial kitchens. Her name is synonymous with cutting-edge gastronomic concepts, and she has indirectly touched the palates of many Kansas Citians. It all started in the late 1980s in Brookside, where she co-founded the first of eight Bagel & Bagel shops.
The popularity of these casual restaurants catapulted Gail into the culinary spotlight. It seemed everyone was standing in line at Bagel & Bagel. “I have no formula for success,” she told us back then. “I just have my own philosophy—we are our own customers.”
After selling out of the bagel business, the Lozoffs packed up and left town for the Rocky Mountains. Yet destiny called them. Last year the Lozoffs again opened their own restaurant—this one called Spin! Pizza, located at 119th and Lamar, which specializes in authentic Neapolitan pizza for meat lovers and vegetarians alike in a fast-casual/casual environment.
They hope to repeat their little milestone of historic success.
Drue Jennings
In 1988, Ingram’s reported on the many industry observers that called Drue Jennings’ appointment to the presidency of KCP&L as a good omen. They hoped the embattled utility was ready to be more conciliatory in its attitude toward customers and regulators.
That’s exactly what happened. While he was at the helm for 14 years, KCP&L turned the corner on good customer relations and forged more open communication with utility regulators. In the meantime, he never veered from guiding the company by a simple truth: “Our job is to… keep the lights on and keep people comfortable.” It wasn’t easy, but Jennings made it seem so.
In 2001, he stepped away from the life of a busy executive in Downtown but didn’t slow down. In 2003, after some cajoling, he accepted the post of interim athletic director at the University of Kansas. His mission was to find a new head coach for the men’s basketball program as well as a permanent AD, both of which he completed gracefully.
Today, Jennings is back Downtown as of-counsel attorney for Shughart, Thomson & Kilroy, where he advises business leaders facing complex issues.
Joel Hyatt
Joel Hyatt did for law what Charles Schwab later did for investors: delivered it to the masses for cheap. In 1977, he founded Hyatt Legal Services to provide accessible legal services to middle- and lower-income families. By 1981, Henry Bloch had invested in the idea and Hyatt supervised 60 legal clinics in the Hyatt Legal Services network by the end of that year.
In 1982, Hyatt spoke to then Corporate Report in an exclusive interview: “Why shouldn’t people choose a lawyer on the basis of an advertisement? They choose everything else on that basis….”
Eventually the company was sold to Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., thereby drawing to a close his 20-year effort in developing a nationwide chain of legal clinics. Under MetLife, the company morphed into Hyatt Legal Plans, a service provided to MetLife’s corporate clients.
Joel went on to become active nationally in the Democratic Party and founded San Francisco-based Current TV with Al Gore. He also teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford Business School. BusinessWeek magazine once recognized him as among the top 50 business leaders in the country.
Diane Graham
For lack of a better phrase, Diane Graham grew up with this magazine. Our readers first saw her name back in early 1982, then a 27-year-old female CEO of a chemical engineering firm serving the oil & gas industry.
Diane’s father, Ward Graham, bought controlling interest of the company where he worked in 1978 and planned to take Stratford-Graham Engineering, Inc. in a new direction. Unfortunately, both her parents passed away less than two years later. “My brothers and I had a choice of whether to liquidate the company or get involved. My father believed he was meant to own this company and to make it profitable, and you just don’t walk away from a dream like that,” she told us then.
With a man’s grit and determination—and a woman’s sensitivity—she has steered the company forward for twenty-five years. Today, she manages STRATCO Global from Scottsdale, Ariz. The company specializes in rubberized asphalt.
Although she has moved to the Southwest, she still maintains operations in Kansas City. From time to time, Diane “comes home” on business trips. “I am a third-generation Kansas Citian, so I love K.C,” she says. “My four children and me are proud to be from Kansas City.”