Interview

Ex-CEOs launch CEO Academy in KC to cultivate next generation of leaders | Preview

By Leslie Collins – Specials editor, Kansas City Business Journal
Aug 19, 2024

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Retired CEOs Bill Zollars and Dan Hesse talked fondly about the business community support they received when they moved to Kansas City years ago.

In 2005, Hesse had only been in town a week when David Lockton of Lockton Cos. invited him to a dinner party at his house with other local CEOs. A few weeks later, JE Dunn Construction’s then-CEO Terry Dunn invited Hesse to dinner with another group of local executives.

“It was, ‘Welcome to Kansas City, and you’re part of our community,’” former Sprint Corp. CEO Hesse said. “I got so much value from that as a new CEO in town.”

But through the years, that tight support network that existed for rising leaders has experienced an “obvious decline,” said Zollars, former CEO of YRC Worldwide Inc. He credits part of the reason to companies being acquired, going out of business or moving out of town.

“But the fact is, we’ve still got a lot of really good talent in Kansas City,” Zollars said.

He wants to cultivate that talent, building the next generation of strong CEOs. That desire sparked the idea for CEO Academy of Kansas City, an educational program led by retired CEOs that’s tailored for aspiring, new and developing CEOs. The “faculty” includes 9 local powerhouse executives: retired CEOs Hesse, Zollars, Beryl Raff (Helzberg Diamonds), Dave Dillon (The Kroger Co.), Greg Graves (Burns & McDonnell), Brent Shafer and David Feinberg (Cerner Corp.), and Brent Stewart (United Way of Greater Kansas City), along with Mark Donovan, current president of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The program kicks off Oct. 17 with a two-day event in Kansas City at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, which is providing administrative support. Registration and an application is required.

The event includes speakers and panel discussions covering topics such as owning the strategy, how to become a CEO, personal characteristics of the most successful CEOs, succession planning, and transforming the board into an asset.

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