At the global accounting and advisory firm, Minkler pays close attention to employee engagement and works with departments and committees companywide to ensure that personnel initiatives are serving the firm’s highest interests. “By encouraging an innovative culture, we’re able to bring cross-functional teams together to develop better solutions that can include technology, people, automation, or a combination,” he says. “In turn, our employees can provide better guidance and achieve optimal results for our clients.”
2026 QUESTIONNAIRE
What advice would you give to the next generation of St. Louis entrepreneurs or leaders? As the leader of your business, you bear the responsibility for your company’s stakeholders, which you’ll have to determine for yourself. Everything we do as a firm, we do with our three stakeholders in mind: our people, our clients and our community. My leadership approach is to take care of our people first because, in turn, they will take care of our clients and community. I keep a constant pulse on employee engagement to ensure our firm provides resources and benefits that make a difference to current and future employees. Throughout my tenure, I have worked closely with the firm’s partners, HR and marketing departments, as well as committees across the firm, to implement personnel initiatives for the greater good of the firm. I consider myself a technologist at heart, I recognize that the technological landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Rather than viewing these changes with apprehension, we actively encourage our staff to embrace curiosity about new technologies and provide them with the resources and time to explore innovations. By encouraging an innovative culture, we’re able to bring cross-functional teams together to develop better solutions that can include technology, people, automation, or a combination of the three. In turn, our employees can provide better guidance and achieve optimal results for our clients.
What’s a risk you took in business that didn’t pan out—but taught you something valuable? Earlier in my professional career, I dabbled in real estate investing, owning both residential and commercial properties. While the investments were not financially disastrous, the financial returns were not worth the time it took to manage them. From the outside, real estate investing seemed pretty straightforward and could be easily managed on the side. I learned that real estate investing, as well as just about any other business, takes a lot of experience and expertise to do well. I still invest in real estate, but it is always with trusted professional advisors at my side.
What do you do when you’re feeling stuck or uninspired? I don’t have just one thing. I try to get my mind on something else for a period of time and then come back. Some of the things I do are get outside, take a walk, exercise, read something non-business or call a friend.
Who in your company (or industry) deserves more recognition for their impact? Jim Sikich. Jim founded Sikich, a CPA and advisory firm. He recognized the benefits of expanding services beyond audit and tax for both clients and our industry ahead of many in our field. Many firms, including ours, have expanded beyond tax and accounting compliance into providing clients with valuable business advisory and consulting services. When he was ready to retire, he elevated Chris Geier to CEO, whose background is non-traditional from a historical CPA firm leadership perspective. The big decisions Jim made during his long career were visionary and helped shape the direction of our profession.
What’s a local organization, nonprofit, or initiative that more people should know about—and why? The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation–Gateway Chapter is the Anders Charity of Choice for 2025. Every year, the entire firm votes on which charitable organization we “adopt” for the year. This year’s organization was nominated by Anders Tax Manager and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Ambassador Chrysa Wyatt in honor of her daughter, who was born and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 2024. Chrysa and her family turned to the organization for help, finding an invaluable source of support in the wake of their daughter’s shocking and frightening diagnosis. They were quickly connected with unmatched resources and were embraced by a community of people who knew exactly what they were going through. Chrysa has spoken highly of the organization’s unwavering commitment to finding a cure, and the hope that search inspires in her and her family.
2025 QUESTIONNAIRE
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Robert Minkler
What has you most excited about the future of your company or industry? As we continue to add more extremely talented young people to our staff, our focus on continuously improving our processes, adding services our clients will value and expanding our reach nationally, we are going to be able to open up unbelievable opportunities for our people and become even more valuable partners to our clients.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? I would figure out a way to help young people coming out of college understand how meaningful a career in accounting and consulting can be. It’s not just about financial rewards, but also about the impact they can make on the lives of their clients, the industry and their communities.
What’s the toughest business challenge you’ve had to overcome (excluding the pandemic) and why? When I started at the firm in 1996, we had about $4 million in revenue, 50 staff and partners, and nearly all our revenue came from traditional accounting, tax, and audit services. By 2023, our revenue had grown to $79 million, with over 400 people on our team, and our advisory and consulting services had become much more diverse and significant. Continually building out our operations structure to support this growth has been a significant challenge. One of Anders core values is welcoming, and even as we’ve grown, we’ve remained committed to living that value. Because we’re a people-centric firm, this can be a challenge. But it’s also an opportunity to find new ways to connect and welcome each person into our firm’s culture.
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MENTORS & PEERS
To whom or where do you go for sound business advice? I engage with other managing partners and CEOs of CPA and advisory firms any chance I get, whether in St. Louis, across the U.S., or globally. Anders is a member of LEA Global, where I currently serve as the board chair, which gives me the privilege of connecting with some of the world’s best accounting and consulting firms. Through this association, I’m able to collaborate with other leaders to share best practices, exchange insights and drive innovation within the accounting and advisory industries.
Do you have a business mentor? If so, who and why? Over the years, I’ve been guided by various mentors, including my father who served as the managing partner for the first 40 years of our firm’s history. Today, I draw on the advice and insights of numerous firm leaders from across the U.S..
What piece of advice has had the most significant impact on your career? It wasn’t direct advice, but rather in the actions my father took as managing partner. Even while building a business, he never missed family events or his kids sports and school events. I’ve tried to emulate that throughout my career. As leaders, our team members watch our actions more than they listen to our words. We’ve built a people first organization that encourages everyone to bring their entire selves to work. That also means putting family first. This has allowed us to attract and retain really great people, which, in turn, has fueled the growth we’ve experienced as a firm.
If you could have dinner with any two area business leaders, who would you choose and why?
- Jerry Kent, TierPoint CEO. I really admire the significant way TierPoint has grown. They were recently in the news in connection with their planned new data center in the city of St. Louis. We are a downtown firm, so I’d love to dig in to how Jerry built TierPoint and get his views on how to fast-track the revitalization of the City of St. Louis.
- Alaina Macia, MTM CEO. MTM has had amazing growth. I’d love to speak with Alaina to get her secret behind keeping her team all pulling in the right direction and employing refined processes and technology to enable the growth they’ve experienced.
Who is the most interesting under-the-radar/emerging business leader in St. Louis and why? Adam Birenbaum, CEO of Colony (formerly of Buckingham Asset Management). Adam is as likable a person as you could meet. He accepted the CEO job at Buckingham at a very young age and led people much more senior to him. He has a practical way of looking at business and just makes the right, confident decisions.
What is one thing you would change about the St. Louis metro area business environment and why? To combine St. Louis County and City in a responsible way. I think the divide causes us to lose out on attracting new business to the area, slows our advancements in crime prevention and just puts up barriers to doing business we shouldn’t have to clear. There is competition between the county and city in attracting businesses at times. That shouldn’t be. We should try to attract business to the St. Louis metro area.
BACKGROUND
Where were you born? St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis
What was your childhood aspiration? To be a Major League Baseball player.
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? Officiating baseball, soccer, and basketball. I learned not everyone is going to agree with your decisions. The important thing is decisions are made quickly, based on all the information at your disposal and are made emphatically.
What educational degrees do you hold, and where were they earned? Bachelor of Science in Business, Kelley Business School, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
If you were not in your current profession, what would you be doing and why? My answer would probably be different earlier in my career. I think I would coach other business leaders on how to implement and manage a people-first organization.
What is your favorite St. Louis-area restaurant, and what do you typically order there? Almonds’ pan-fried chicken.
What is one item you recently crossed off your bucket list? This question reminds me I need to develop a bucket list. I would say visiting Prague in the Czech Republic this past spring.
What is one book you think everyone should read (or podcast everyone should listen to) and why? How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. No matter what business you are in or who you are dealing with, the advice contained in the book is easy to employ, pretty obvious when you think about it and works virtually without fail.
What’s your hobby/passion? Spending time being active outdoors, whether it’s at the lake, in the mountains, or at the beach.
What is your most prized possession? Our memory box with my childhood and my kid’s childhood memories.
What would people be surprised to learn about you—a fun fact? I was an Upside-Down Clown in the July 4th St Louis parade for years. I wore a 12 foot tall, completely enclosed upside-down clown costume.
