Kauffman taps financial exec to help foundation invest in ideas, collaborations that expand opportunity
November 3, 2025 | Startland News Staff
A newly named addition to the leadership cabinet at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is expected to play a crucial role in fostering equitable, inclusive, and sustainable prosperity, said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, announcing Ben Clouse as the organization’s chief financial officer.
“Ben brings a proven record of strategic financial leadership and a deep commitment to community,” said Burns-Wallace, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. “His experience guiding organizations through growth and transformation will be invaluable as we continue to invest in ideas and collaborations that expand opportunity.”
The executive joins the Kauffman Foundation after more than 25 years working in top leadership positions across multiple industries. Most recently, he served as CFO for CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc., where he led accounting, analytics, financial planning & analysis, investor relations, and treasury functions, and played a key role in strategic growth initiatives. His previous leadership roles include serving as CFO at Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., and executive positions at Airshare and H&R Block.
As CFO at the Kauffman Foundation, Clouse is expected to oversee the organization’s financial management, planning, and reporting functions, ensuring resources are effectively aligned to support programmatic and strategic priorities. He will also play a critical leadership role in building systems that promote transparency, accountability, and impact across the organization.
His new role is effective Nov. 11.
“I am honored to join the Kauffman Foundation and contribute to its mission of empowering communities and entrepreneurs,” Clouse said. “Strong financial stewardship is critical to advancing the Foundation’s work, and I look forward to collaborating with the leadership team and associates to extend the Foundation’s impact.”
Clouse holds a Master of Accountancy and Bachelor of Business Administration from Kansas State University.
He also brings deep community engagement experience, the Kauffman Foundation said, noting Clouse serves as board chair of the Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas and as a member of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas Finance Council.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Serial entrepreneur leverages past success for Bridge Space coworking project
Bridge Space will be more than a coworking office, Ben Rao said. He hopes it will be the heart of Lee’s Summit’s blossoming entrepreneurial ecosystem. “My No. 1 goal is to accelerate entrepreneurs’ success,” said Rao, Bridge Space founder and a serial entrepreneur himself. “It’s an opportunity for me to build something that would make…
KC mom’s humble entrepreneurial journey draws on healing power of creativity
Huddled in her parents’ basement, between the cribs of her crying twin babies, Keliah Smith began to draw. She was unemployed and feeling emotionally drained. The relationship with her children’s father had soured. Her escape: the stylus and smartphone in her hands. The Kansas City mother drew what she didn’t see in the mirror, she…
Harvard University recognizes KCMO digital inclusion map
Kansas City’s geographic work to illustrate the area’s digital divide earned high praise from a prestigious university. Harvard University recently highlighted the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s Digital Inclusion map, a tool that — at a block-by-block scale — detail residents’ access to internet connectivity overlaid with poverty levels. “This visualization was chosen as Harvard’s…
Study: Women angel investors more likely to give back to female-led startups
Women support women, a new study of 13,000 North American angel investors says. As more female entrepreneurs have entered the business field in the past few decades, women have begun to reshape the nature of angel investing, according to a report by the Overland Park-based Angel Capital Association. “Being an entrepreneur is one of the…