Five high-profile KC startup, business leaders slated for Junior Achievement hall of fame

April 23, 2020  |  Startland News Staff

Davyeon Ross and Bruce Ianni, ShotTracker

A program that connects Kansas City business leaders with classrooms is giving high honors to a handful of startup veterans whose efforts to build global companies has already impacted a new generation of entrepreneurs.

Sandy and Christine Kemper; photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

Sandy and Christine Kemper; photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

Bruce Ianni and Davyeon Ross, co-founders of ShotTracker; Christine Kemper, founding chair of Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy, and Sandy Kemper, founder, chairman, and CEO of C2FO (both are founders of YEPKC, an organization focused on nurturing entrepreneurship in high school students); and Peter Mallouk, president of Creative Planning, have been selected for 2020 induction into the Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame.

ShotTracker and C2FO both were featured on multiple lists of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch.

“Our 2020 laureates inspire Kansas City’s students by showing them how an innovative spirit combined with hard work can leave a lasting impact on the community,” said Kathy Rhodes, chairman of the Junior Achievement board and lead managing director at CBIZ. “I am proud to honor these business leaders for their role in making Kansas City a hub of creativity, entrepreneurship, and a fantastic place to work and live.” 

Editor’s note: C2FO and the Kemper Family Foundation are financial supporters of STARTLAND, the parent organization of Startland News. Christine Kemper sits on the board of STARTLAND. Davyeon Ross is a former board member for the Kansas City Startup Foundation, now STARTLAND. This report was produced independently by Startland News.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2020, the annual Junior Achievement hall of fame event has previously recognized such entrepreneurs as Ewing Marion Kauffman, Dave Cummings, Barnett and Shirley Helzberg, Gary Fish, and Henry Bloch

A luncheon celebration of the 2020 honorees is planned for Nov. 6 at The Gallery Event Space in Kansas City.

Click here for more in-depth bios of the honorees.

Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City aims to bring business back to the classroom by connecting students to mentors and programs that promote financial literacy, inspire entrepreneurship, and prepare students (K-12) for success in a 21st century workplace.

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