Features Region: Midwest

Leadership across continents requires more than a clear strategy. It requires the ability to understand people, adapt to changing circumstances, and create an environment where teams can perform at their best. For Ruan Cowley, leadership is rooted in clarity, accountability and trust. His approach has been shaped by years of operating across different industries, markets […]

Mark Soucie never set out to run an iron foundry. He set out to do what he had always done — find the gap, size up the risk, and figure out how to make it work. That instinct, sharpened over more than 13 years as a business unit CFO at Koch Industries, led him to […]

Not long after applying to Collins Community Credit Union, Ben Wickum received what appeared to be good news: an email informing him he had made the final candidate list. There was just one problem — the message was meant for someone else with the same name. He flagged the mix-up to the recruiter and quietly […]

Not many aerospace executives can say their company gatherings happen in a 1950s diner — inside their house. But Jim Nelson isn’t most executives. Tucked into his South Dakota home is a full Coca-Cola-themed diner, complete with counter stools, a working kitchen, and enough nostalgia to make you forget you’re not in an episode of […]

A stack of metal discs sat on a workbench inside DCM Tech’s Winona, Minnesota, production facility, each polished to a finish most people would never notice. To Jen Rutz, the parts represented more than tolerances or production schedules. They represented a family company built over five decades, a team of employees (intentionally referred to as […]

Erica Seabaugh did not plan to build an 18-year career at a single organization, yet her professional life has unfolded alongside the growth and reinvention of CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions, where she now serves as chief operating officer. What began as a frontline social work role has evolved into executive leadership shaped by operational […]

When Adam Webber joined American Adventure Holdings in 2015, he found more than just a promising business — he found an opportunity to align his passion for the outdoors with a mission to help families create lasting memories. Having grown up camping and exploring the wilderness, Webber saw in the company’s model a reflection of […]

When Todd Willett became chief financial officer of Ebenezer in 2016, he stepped into a role that blended his love for numbers with a deep, personal respect for older generations. In the years since, his financial stewardship has helped the organization not only grow into Minnesota’s largest senior living operator but also expand its reach […]

For Tarra Enoch, CEO of Tom Smith Industries, the role was never a matter of if—it was always when. She doesn’t just lead a company; she carries a legacy. “I was born into it,” she says. “If you cut me open, plastic pellets would fall out.” That may sound like a punchline, but it’s an […]

Though he’s not from Kansas, Lorenz Hasan might relate to what Dorothy encountered in “The Wizard of Oz.”  His employer isn’t just in Iowa anymore, American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company riding the winds of an ambitious expansion agenda that has broadened its offerings in the past five years and stretched its outreach from the […]