Saluting Kansas City’s Business Elite

As power-player gatherings go, you won’t find many that will be packed with more influence than the crowd that gathered Nov. 1 at Creative Planning’s sparkling new headquarters complex in Overland Park.

There, members of the 2018  Ingram’s 250 convened for a reception and recognition ceremony, sponsored by the host firm and KPMG. More than 150 executives and spouses, dates, friends and colleagues turned out for a night of celebration and camaraderie.

After a welcoming message from Creative Planning’s president, Peter Mallouk, the firm’s Candace Varner provided some wealth-management planning insights. KPMG’s office managing partner, Brad Sprong, addressed the crowd with a few pointers on current tax strategies, especially with federal Opportunity Zone programming.

Cocktails, a remarkable view of Overland Park’s busiest commercial district and fall foliage, and a bountiful spread of culinary delights from the Brass Onion restaurant all helped set the stage for an evening of unparalleled  business networking.

It was an unmatched gathering in a relaxed setting—an incubator, in some ways, for cross-sector collaboration, or just getting to know others in executive leadership roles. And it was a core plank of the Ingram’s value proposition at work: Our belief that a business community tightly connected across disciplines and sectors is a healthier climate than one made up of disconnected silos.