See full 2026 St. Louis Business 500 list
Kelley Hiatt, St. Louis Film Office
Hiatt didn’t expect St. Louis to revive her Hollywood career, but that’s exactly what happened. A veteran location manager with credits from Chicago Fire to Shondaland productions, she arrived just as Missouri reinstated its film and TV tax credits, a program now driving millions in production to the state. As manager of the St. Louis Film Office, Hiatt draws on two decades of on-the-ground experience, pitching the region to studios, smoothing permits, and helping filmmakers reimagine St. Louis any American town a script calls for. Her efforts are already paying off, with major features and festival premieres choosing the city as their backdrop, and introducing new audiences to St. Louis in the process.
Scot Heathman, Wedge Innovation Center
Heathman’s connection to Alton began long before his appointment as CEO of the Wedge Innovation Center, shaped in part by early memories of his father working along the riverfront. After a 25-year Air Force career commanding major military bases, including Scott Air Force Base, he now leads the Wedge, a 55,000-square-foot redevelopment of two historic buildings into workspaces, studios, and shared resources. Under his leadership, the center is positioned to become a regional engine for innovation, collaboration, and new economic activity.
Todd Weaver, TW Constructors / Mechanical Solutions
Weaver has been building toward this moment since he was 12 years old. The founder of TW Constructors (along with several sister companies in mechanical, fire, and glazing services) has spent his career creating opportunities in an industry that once opened a door for him. Now, the company’s new 109,000-square-foot headquarters in Earth City marks its next chapter: a purpose-built hub for fabrication, collaboration, and the continued expansion of one of the region’s leading minority-owned construction firms.
Brad Burns, Vizex Branding
Burns has a knack for spotting what a young business needs to grow—and then building it. After founding Wayne Contracting in 2014, he co-created Vizex Branding, which has become a cornerstone of his portfolio and a national partner for top-tier brands. He’s since added Meramec Hardscapes, City Seafood, and Arch City Group, all fueled by that same startup-minded approach. Even while scaling across industries, he stays rooted in the region, serving on the Junior Achievement board and chairing Haven House.
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Dan Dokovic, Artori Group
In a field defined by shifting markets and complex assets, Dokovic has built a real estate platform that unites investment, strategy, brokerage, design, and construction. As a founder and principal of Bamboo Equity Partners, Artori Group, Intelica, Oakline Studio, and Oakline Construction Group, he guides projects from feasibility to completion, turning complicated sites into opportunities that shape the region’s built environment.
Sarah Mirth, Artifox
Mirth has a talent for developing ideas that change how design actually gets done. She and her partner, Dan Mirth, first expanded their American-made furniture brand, Artifox, with support from Arch Grants, the St. Louis nonprofit that awards $75,000 equity-free grants to startups committed to building their companies in the region. Now, backed again by Arch Grants, the pair is growing Archetype, a platform that auto-generates on-spec space plans and curated product packages based on budget, timeline, and aesthetic. By replacing weeks of revisions, sourcing, and procurement with minutes of intelligent automation, Archetype gives designers and developers a faster, clearer workflow and a more efficient path from concept to purchase.
Mike LaMartina, Ballpark Village
LaMartina has spent the past several years shaping Ballpark Village into something far larger than a game-day district. Since joining the project in 2019, he’s guided its expansion and now oversees national partnerships for Live! Hospitality & Entertainment across 17 markets. He’s also helping drive Cordish’s proposed $670 million redevelopment of the long-vacant Millennium Hotel site, which he sees as a catalyst for downtown. Larger projects, he says, can create momentum for smaller developers, especially if the city strengthens the public infrastructure that links currently disconnected areas of downtown.
Kendra Neely-Gage and Larry Blue, Backpack to Briefcase
Neely-Gage and Blue have spent more than a decade shaping how young people in St. Louis step into their professional lives. As first-generation graduates who built their own careers in competitive industries, they created Backpack to Briefcase to give students the exposure, coaching, and confidence they once had to find on their own. The program’s model is hands-on and practical: resume and interviewing boot camps, one-on-one mentoring, emotional intelligence training, and direct access to executives who can open doors. More than 400 students have moved through the program, supported by over $200,000 in scholarships and a network designed to shorten learning curves and expand career pathways. This year, their impact earned a nomination for the NAACP’s Next Generation Trailblazer Award.
Quintrel Brown, Kre8 Spaces
KRe8 Spaces began with a simple question: What would it look like if St. Louis creatives had a place built expressly for their ideas to take shape? For Brown, that meant creating a space where artists, content creators, and early entrepreneurs could access the tools he once had to piece together on his own. Since opening in Downtown West, KRe8 Spaces has supported thousands of people through branding guidance, production resources, mentorship, and paid opportunities. Brown, now pursuing his MBA at WashU, continues expanding the platform’s reach, positioning it as a launch pad for the region’s next wave of creative talent.
Alyssa Huffman, Allumin8
Huffman is reshaping spine care through Allumin8, the Arch Grants–backed startup behind the first FDA-cleared 3D-printed porous spinal screw. Recognized as “Best Technology in Spine,” the device mimics bone to reduce the high revision rates common in spinal fusions. Huffman’s broader goal is to develop therapeutic implants that can diagnose or deliver treatment, a mission rooted in her belief that technology should meet patients at their most vulnerable and help pull them out of pain.
