In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady on the midwest’s powerhouse CEOs—and the rise of St. Louis.
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Good morning. The first thing I noticed in Enterprise Mobility CEO Chrissy Taylor’s house in St. Louis was the art. These were large, evocative paintings, with backstories shared by curator Abigail Ross Goodman and Taylor’s husband, Lee Broughton, co-founder of a triennial art exhibition called Counterpublic.
The second thing I noticed when we co-hosted a Fortune CEO Initiative dinner at Taylor’s home last week was the nature of the companies and business leaders represented around the table. During a conversation focused on optimism, growth, innovation, and community, I learned that each of them had a compelling story, too, often stretching back generations.
There was Kyle Chapman, for instance, a third-generation leader at industrial conglomerate Barry-Wehmiller Group, and Todd Schnuck, who leads the Schnuck Markets grocery chain founded by his grandmother Anna in 1939. Taylor herself is a third-generation CEO of the car-rental giant that her grandfather Jack started in 1957, which she transformed into a $35 billion powerhouse.
St. Louis is a place where roots run deep, and it’s a region on the rise. The city has the nation’s highest rate of per capita personal income growth and is one of Zillow’s Top 10 hottest housing markets.
It’s also home to some powerhouse companies. We were joined by the CEOs of Centene, Hunter Engineering Company, Clayco, Nestlé Purina PetCare, and MTM Inc. The chancellor of Washington University joined us, as did out-of-town CEOs from Qualtrics, ONEOK and Alto Ingredients.
In Taylor’s view, many of the business leaders at her home and in St. Louis “want nothing more than to see this community continue to grow and thrive.” I believe her. My heart goes out to the people of that city right now as they recover from a devastating tornado that struck the region a few days after our event.
We’re hosting these in-home dinners around the country—and soon, the world—as part of the Fortune CEO Initiative. Reach out to sarah.worob@fortune.com if you are interested in joining us.
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
