ICAD President and Board Members Among Most Influential in Corridor

ICAD President Joe Raso and 3 ICAD Board Members on CBJ List

By John Kenyon, Corridor Business Journal

This year’s Most Influential list comes with a caveat: because the list is limited to people, the top influence in the Corridor didn’t make the rankings.  That, of course, is the flood, which continues to dominate the news. An issue of the Corridor Business Journal hasn’t appeared yet since mid June that didn’t include at least one story about the disaster and its impact.

Look closely, however, and you’ll see that the flood is all over this year’s list. A quick overview of this year’s 25 most influential people finds at least 19 who were affected by the disaster, and a case could be made that the rest surely felt its impact.  There are those who dealt with it directly, from University of Iowa President Sally Mason, who tops the list, to Mercy Medical Center President and CEO Tim Charles, who oversaw an evacuation of patients as floodwater surrounded the facility.

Mike Hodge, president of Hodge Construction, stood shoulder to shoulder with building tenants in Coralville — including Corridor Business Journal staffers — to build sandbag walls to keep floodwaters at bay. Cedar Rapids Downtown District President and CEO Doug Neumann dealt with his own displaced office as he also worked to aid member businesses that battled the water.

Others on the list dealt with the flood’s aftermath. Kirkwood Community College President Mick Starcevich made sure his institution was at the ready to assist several businesses and organizations that needed to relocate to dry office space, while CRST President John Smith was tapped to lead the board of the new Cedar Rapids Area Economic and Redevelopment Planning Corp. to help with economic challenges resulting from the flood.

Whether the flood influenced the way Corridor Business Journal subscribers voted for this year’s list is difficult to say. What is clear is that those who have played a prominent role in the recovery have secured higher spots on the list than in the past. Mr. Smith, who was No. 25 last year, vaulted to No. 5 this year. Mr. Hodge rose a few spots from last year as well, while Joe Jennison, executive director of the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance, an organization that helped arts and culture organizations deal with the flood, made the list for the first time.

There are significant changes from last year’s list. Some people are no longer on the list, such as departed UI Hospitals and Clinics CEO Donna Katen-Bahensky and former Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President Lee Clancey, who retired earlier this year.  They join 10 others who were on the 2007 list that didn’t make it this year. Four of those missing are women; only two made this year’s list, the lowest total since the list’s inception in 2004.

With these changes, the number of people who have made the list in each of the past five years is dwindling. They are Rockwell Collins Chairman, President and CEO Clay Jones, Gazette Communications CEO Chuck Peters, Hall-Perrine Foundation President Jack Evans – all of whom have made the Top 10 every year – and Aegon President Pat Baird.

Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth and West Bank Vice President Tom Cilek missed the list for the first time. Rep. Dave Loebsack, who replaced former Congressman Jim Leach on the list last year – a year after replacing Mr. Leach in the U.S. House – failed to make this year’s list.

Some people returned to the list after missing it last year, and 10 newcomers joined them. Some joined the list because they’re new to the area, such as Marion City Manager Lon Pluckhahn and Iowa City City Manager Michael Lombardo, while others likely made the list because of their work on flood recovery efforts. These include Coralville Assistant City Administrator Ellen Habel and Diamond V Mills President and CEO John Bloomhall.

Mr. Hodge and Kyle Skogman, both leaders in the Corridor construction trade, made the list for the second year in a row. RSM McGladrey Managing Director Mike Stallman missed this year’s list, replaced by fellow RSM McGladrey Managing Director Dean Price.  Things tilted in favor of Linn County this year, with 15 people making the list compared to 10 from Johnson County, perhaps another reflection of the severity of the flood in the northern end of the Corridor.

The public sector had 11 and the private sector 12, with two straddling the sectors: Brian Fagan as Cedar Rapids mayor pro-tem and an attorney with Moyer & Bergman, and Kraig Paulsen as a state representative and an employee with CRST International.

This was the first time since 2005 that someone from the UI has topped the list. Former UI President David Skorton was at the top of our first two lists, dropping off entirely after his exit to become president of Cornell University in 2006.  In the intervening two years, Rockwell Collins President, Chairman and CEO Clay Jones was at No. 1. Each year until now, Mr. Jones was at No. 1 or No. 2. This year he dropped to No. 4.

ICAD Board Members and Staff

Chuck Peters, Ronald Reed, Michael Lombardo, and Joe Raso.