The St. Louis Business 500 highlights some of the metro area’s most impactful, innovative, and inspirational leaders, from C-suite executives to under-the-radar entrepreneurs across an array of industries.
Beyond the brief bios below, we created a questionnaire to shed light on some of these leaders’ achievements, aspirations, and interests beyond the office. Click the names highlighted in blue for more interesting insights from some of St. Louis’ top business leaders.
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Executive Director, World Trade Center of St. Louis
As a kid, Nowak grew up listening to KMOX “day and night,” and he wanted to be on the radio someday. That didn’t happen, but he is boosting St. Louis’ voice in a big way with WTC St. Louis, an organization dedicated to making the region more competitive globally. Nowak has notched real results in the role, including helping to secure a direct flight between St. Louis and Frankfurt, Germany, the first of its kind in 20 years.
President and CEO, East-West Gateway Council of Governments
Under Wild’s leadership, East-West Gateway allocates more than $5 billion in state and federal funding annually for transportation projects across the metro area in Missouri and Illinois. The agency also oversees regional planning on emergency response, sustainability, government services, data analysis, and water and air quality. Wild convenes monthly board meetings with area leaders to drive regional collaboration and currently oversees two key board initiatives: Save Lives Now!, which works to reduce violent crime, and Housing First STL, which aims to address homelessness response by focusing on permanent housing.
Executive Director, St. Louis Mosaic Project
Cohen’s task is a big one: She’s looking to reverse the city’s population loss, the scourge of the region for the better part of a century. Growing the number of St. Louisans is a two-way street, she says. It’s crucial to educate new Americans about why St. Louis is an appealing place not only to go to university but also to live, work, and build a family. At the same time, local employers need to be educated about how to hire internationally. (Note: In early 2025, Cohen joined the national consultancy FutureGood as a philanthropic futurist, and Suzanne Sierra was named executive director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project.)
Pat Kelly
Executive Director, Municipal League of Metro St. Louis
Leaders across the region can better advocate for St. Louis when they all speak in unison. That is exactly what the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis is all about. In recent years, the league has lobbied, with success, to pass small sales taxes that lead to big advancements region-wide, including funding for parks, mass transit, and improvements to the countywide 911 system.
CEO, Great Rivers Greenway
When Trautman steps down from her leadership role with Great Rivers Greenway in May, she’ll do so having secured her legacy. During her 15 years as CEO, she’s doubled the number of greenway miles in the region and secured hundreds of millions of dollars for trail and park projects. Perhaps best of all, GRG has been able to synergize with the city, which has dedicated millions of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to bolster bike infrastructure. The Brickline Greenway is terrific in its own right, but it’s even better now that the city is building even more bike infrastructure to link the greenway with other bike paths across town.
Kory Mathews
CEO and Executive Director, AMICSTL
Much noise has been made about the disappearance of manufacturing jobs in the United States, though Mathews is helping reverse that trend in our own backyard. The former Boeing executive now leads the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis, which broke ground in 2023. Mathews is working to revolutionize the region’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem, collaborating with companies and colleges across the region.
Taulby Roach
President AND CEO, Bi-State Development
Bi-State Development oversees a dynamic, multi-faceted part of economic development in the region, including Metro Transit (MetroLink, MetroBus, and Metro Call-A-Ride), the St. Louis Downtown Airport, trams and ticketing at the Gateway Arch, the adjacent riverboats, and the St. Louis Regional Freightway, in addition to co-owning the Eads Bridge with the City of St. Louis. “Bi-State Development is embedded in the future of St. Louis,” says Roach, “and I like to think we are on the front line of a new future for our region.”
Managing Attorney, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
A sixth-generation St. Louisan, Hoffman started in 2018 as a single attorney helping neighborhoods use the court system to fix abandoned properties and put them back on the market. He now works with five other lawyers, two support staff, and many volunteers who have helped put more than 400 units back on the market and, in the case of another 400, intervened before they became vacant. This has generated approximately $20 million in new investment wealth preservation in the city.
Subash Alias
CEO, Missouri Partnership
Founded in 2008, Missouri Partnership is a public-private economic development organization focused on attracting new jobs and investment to the state and promoting Missouri’s business strengths. The organization works in partnership with the Hawthorn Foundation, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the State of Missouri, and economic development agencies across the state. A Missouri native with an MBA from WashU, Alias previously did similar work in the Pittsburgh region, as well as with the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association.
Susan Taylor
Port Director, St. Louis Port Authority
Taylor oversees the City of St. Louis Port Authority, which is part of the larger Port of Metropolitan St. Louis. Covering both sides of the river and stretching 70 miles, the PMSL is the nation’s busiest inland port and has the most cargo facilities per mile. It is vital to the nation’s shipping infrastructure: The PMSL boasts four times the tonnage per mile than the next largest inland port, with more than $1 trillion of goods floating by the Arch every year. It’s also the northernmost lock- and ice-free port on the Mississippi River.
Col. John Poole
Commander, 375th Air Mobility Wing, Scott Air Force Base
There is a reason that Col. Poole’s role at the base is akin to being “Mayor of Scott City.” The base is southwestern Illinois’ largest employer, the fourth largest in the metro area, and it contributes approximately $3 billion annually to the local economy. In total, 60,000 people are in one way or another associated with Scott AFB. Poole is well-attuned to the fact that the base’s mission is bolstered by the well-being of the surrounding community.
Alberto G. Musalem
President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Prior to chairing the St. Louis Fed, Musalem’s career and education spanned much of the globe. He was born in Colombia and lived in Argentina and Brazil before migrating to the United States. He holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Pennsylvania. A former economist at the International Monetary Fund, he was also once director of School the World, a nonprofit whose mission is to fight poverty through education.
Marvin Steele
President and CEO, Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce
Steele has an impressive résumé. Before founding and managing the clinical diagnostic laboratory Urban Testing Labs, he got his start in the corporate world with Aluminum Company of America, where he managed accounts totaling more than $40 million in sales. Now, Steele leads the Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce, which connects, promotes, and grows many of the most prominent Black-owned businesses in the region through counseling, support, development, training, and more.
President and CEO, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis
In her role with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Garcia Kampen helps build opportunities and programming to support Hispanic individuals across the local business community. The organization has had a lot of success in its 40-plus-year history, but Garcia Kampen admits there’s still much work to be done. “I’d like to see less segmentation, more collaboration,” she says. “And assure all anchor corporations truly practice what they preach in terms of building an equitable and inclusive cultural environment.”
Neal Richardson
President and CEO, St. Louis Development Corporation
Richardson has been busy. Since joining the St. Louis Development Corporation in 2021, his team has drawn up a $246 million economic justice plan and established the Economic Justice Accelerator to leverage more than $1 billion in funding. He also overhauled SLDC by rebranding, restructuring, and expanding its staff by 20 percent. That’s not to mention $4.5 million in grants for small businesses, more than $100 million in new market tax credits, and a $14 million housing fund developed in just three years.
CEO and President, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership
Crim believes in the power of coming together. “The most successful cities are benefitting from great collaboration, effective partnerships, operating effectively as one region, analyzing data, and implementing potential solutions that benefit a diverse population,” he says. One recent example: The partnership is working with area businesses to prevent illegal dumping in Kinloch and to redevelop the area for residents.
Omar Malik
President, Asian American Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis
An estate planning and trusts and estates attorney at Thompson Coburn LLP by day, Malik devotes time outside of work to the AACC. He’s helped lead AACC to build and sustain connections between St. Louis businesses and local Asian communities, while providing career development opportunities for Asian professionals and resources to businesses in the region.
Scott Tate
President and CEO, St. Charles Regional Chamber
For 20 years, Tate has led the St. Charles Regional Chamber. During his tenure, he’s overseen a wide variety of changes within St. Charles, from a merger with the St. Peters chamber in 2012 to the growth of the community’s thriving local business scene. Along the way, Tate and area partners have helped shape the growing county.
Nora Amato
President and CEO, Chesterfield Regional Chamber
Since 1976, the Chesterfield Regional Chamber has helped build and sustain Chesterfield’s business community. For the past 13 years, Amato has led that charge. Along with the chamber board, Amato oversees a membership of 725 commercial, retail, industrial, and professional organizations, representing more than 27,000 employees.
Linda Ogbah Faas
President, African Chamber of Commerce St. Louis
The St. Louis African Chamber of Commerce is rapidly expanding under the guidance of Ogbah Faas. During her tenure, which commenced in 2022, the chamber’s membership roster doubled from 300 to more than 600 and boosted active paying memberships by 60 percent from 2023 to 2024. Not only that, but Ogbah Faas’ work has connected business owners with such opportunities as quarterly networking brunches, monthly educational series, and even a trade mission to Kenya in October 2024.
Brad Dean
President and CEO, Explore St. Louis
Dean takes the helm as president and CEO of Explore St. Louis, which promotes the city and encourages travelers to visit. As a leader in the tourism and destination marketing industry, Dean brings more than two decades of experience to the position, including his previous role as CEO of Discover Puerto Rico and his 20-year tenure as president and CEO of Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. In the new role, Dean will lead efforts to attract visitors to St. Louis, including conventions, concerts, and events at the newly expanded America’s Center and The Dome.
Dustin Allison
Interim CEO, Greater St. Louis, Inc.
After former Greater St. Louis Inc. CEO Jason Hall announced his departure, in late 2024, GSL’s chief real estate investment officer stepped in to serve as interim CEO. A lawyer by trade, Allison has extensive experience in legislative measures and economic development from his prior experience working with former Gov. Jay Nixon and the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.
Wendy J. Pfeil
President and CEO, Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce
Pfeil spent eight years as the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s membership development director before taking the helm. Since 2016, she has helped the organization connect with regional businesses to enhance its presence in the community by offering networking, advertising, workshops, and other services. With approximately 550 members, it’s one of the largest chambers in the metro area.
President and CEO, Regional Business Council
Branding took the reins at the RBC last May. “RBC has a very clear vision: Everyone in our region deserves a good education, a path to a career, and a safe community,” says Branding, who previously worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “And, we have great partners and action-oriented members who come together to get things done.” She says sharing a common focus is the key to progress for the region, and she’s up to a challenge. “I put myself through college working at my dad’s auto parts store and learned the importance of working hard, respecting the customer, taking initiative, and working twice as hard to prove yourself.”
