Greg Graves graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1980 and moved straight to the headquarters of Burns & McDonnell in Kansas City. Twenty three years later, the Sioux Falls native has a wife, three children, an MBA, and the title of President and CEO of the 105 year old firm. "I've been lucky that here you can change jobs several times and never have to change careers, plans, or companies," he says.

Most recently president of the Energy Group, one of nine global practices of the highly diversified company, he previously served in other capacities as well. "I've had seven entirely different jobs here," he says, "but this one takes me from 300 to 1,600 employees in an employee-owned firm--and there's been only six presidents in its history. It's a track record that I think speaks well of the company."

"Also, I follow Dave Ruf. Many know what that means. We have duplicate visions for the company but our personal styles of achieving it are very different. And I'm the new guy now and have to prove that I can ‘bring home the bacon.' I will do that. I have to create a plan for the future of the entire firm versus one piece of that business. It's a different outlook with different requirements. In the process, we're creating a culture, making sure people know they can succeed."

Graves notes that the biggest challenge right now for the firm is the economy but says their diversifi-cation really mitigates its effects. "If Environmental Sciences is down, then Energy is up. And so on. Our future looks bright." The Burns Mac web site lists nearly 40 specialties, far beyond the typical engineering firm one might expect, everything from fire protection to meteorology and archeology. With such a large company, he says, "We have to make sure that we retain and motivate our best people. If we do that, things will work out really well for us. And I love the success of helping to create success!"

Jim Moffett lives in Missouri and works in Kansas; invests internationally but never leaves the country; has an undergrad degree from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford, but wanted to come home 30 years ago and hasn't left since; takes minimal risks with client money even in volatile international markets, yet invests himself in regional art of the 30's and 40's, which is quite an esoteric collection he admits.

Not entirely a contrarian, he does have some of those tendencies, he will agree. He's pretty sure that not visiting the foreign investments he makes for his clients lowers their risk and makes them money. As President of Scout Investment Advisors, the Chief Equity Strategist, and the Lead Manager for the UMB Scout WorldWide Fund, UMB Scout Stock Fund, UMB Scout WorldWide Select Fund and UMB Scout Stock Select Fund, he finds himself exploring the world, or at least its financials, from his desk in the same office he's had for decades.

Those funds have done remarkably well. The UMB Scout WorldWide Fund (UMBWX), celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, recently was featured in Money magazine's Top 100 Mutual Funds list. Moffett has managed the fund since its inception which has outperformed its benchmark (MSCI EAFE Index) by more than 5% (average annual total return). "My philosophy, and the bank's, is a low risk one," Moffett says. "We've stayed away from many of the dangerous bullets over the years, high profile investments in the Pacific Rim, Mexico and the like and have remained conservative, consistent . . . and successful."

A banker with over 30 years' experience, he went to Commercial National in Kansas City, Kansas after a stint with Boatman's where he began his career. When United Missouri Bank bought CNB in 1993, his initial expertise in international funds was recognized ("‘Let Jim run it,' they said." He chuckles about that somewhat inauspicious start), and now there are 60 people in his department, accounting for some $12 billion in investments. "It gets to be a fairly complex business," he understates.