E&Y Awards Three Kansas City-area CEOs for Entrepreneurial Excellence

Posted June 24, 2024

Three Kansas City-area executives have been named winners of the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur of the Year awards for their entrepreneurial impact.

Ernst & Young (EY) announced Friday that Brad Batz, president and CEO of Fike Corporation; Marco Assis, CEO of Propio Language Services and Gayle Packer, president and CEO of Terracon were among the 2024 Heartland honorees. The regional award selects company leaders from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.

The Heartland Awards selected 13 recipients from 10 companies as its honorees.

Batz became CEO of Fike Corp. in 2017. The company, headquartered in Blue Springs, is a global supplier of industrial safety solutions. Fike ranked No. 66 in the 2024 Ingram’s 100: Kansas City’s Top Private-Sector Companies. The company generated $348 million in revenue in 2013, a 16.72% increase compared to 2022.

Assis took the CEO role for the Overland Park-based Propio Language Services in 2019. The company earned the No. 7 spot on Ingram’s 2023 Corporate Report list thanks to an average annual growth rate of 191.17% and revenues of $96 million in 2022. Propio also was recognized in Ingram’s 2023 Best Companies To Work For in the large companies category.

Packer became CEO of Terracon in 2019. Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials and facilities services. Terracon placed No. 35 on the 2024 Ingram’s 100: Kansas City’s Top Private-Sector Companies. The company generated revenue of nearly $1.15 billion in 2023, a 13.12% annual increase.