VonderHaar was introduced to Brighton during her career as a business consultant. Little did she know that she’d be so impressed with the company that she would join and eventually buy it. This instinctual course of action speaks to her leadership style. “Take the risk, and be bold if you are confident in your direction,” she says.
2026 QUESTIONNAIRE
What advice would you give to the next generation of St. Louis entrepreneurs or leaders? Lead by example, and be bold. Don’t worry about trying to make everyone happy. It isn’t possible. So as a leader, take the risk and be bold if you are confident in your direction.
What’s a risk you took in business that didn’t pan out—but taught you something valuable? In a pitch for new business, I trusted that my key leader on the business did not need my oversight and, in an effort to not ‘micromanage’, I let him run the pitch without my oversight. The pitch quickly went in a direction that I was not aligned to…nor was the client. Needless to say, we did not get the business. Lesson learned: There is a fine line between empowering your team and providing oversight.
What do you do when you’re feeling stuck or uninspired? Sleep on it! Things always become more clear after a good nights sleep!
Who in your company (or industry) deserves more recognition for their impact? My executive leadership team. They keep me focused, provide a good sounding board, and always have the interest of our agency at the forefront. I trust them immensely.
What’s a local organization, nonprofit, or initiative that more people should know about—and why? Lambert airport expansion… For St. Louis to survive as a viable city, we need to get more flights in and out of our airport. Businesses won’t come to St. Louis until this happens.
2025 QUESTIONNAIRE
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
What has you most excited about the future of your company or industry? The next generation of talent! We have an intern program each year where we bring on three to five graduating seniors with the hope that at the end of an eight-week program, we have the business needed to give the successful interns permanent job offers. This was the first year in our history that we extended job offers to each of the four interns. They were some of the brightest, hardest-working, and most talented young professionals I have seen. All were eager to get in the office five days a week and make an impact on their teams. I am excited to say that they all accepted and are bringing that enthusiasm and energy to our clients’ businesses every day!
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? That’s a tough question because we’re in the business of creating solutions for our client’s business challenges and generating results based on their business objectives. We have to adapt and evolve to do that—there’s no magic wand in my office to change “one thing.” There are things I miss about the industry from the past that I wouldn’t mind seeing come back, but there also are many great things happening in the industry from a technology standpoint that are helping us do our jobs better.
What’s the toughest business challenge you’ve had to overcome (excluding the pandemic) and why? For me, the remote work options have been a huge challenge. I have seen productivity and collaboration come to a halt in some situations, which does not suit our business well. We are an “in the office” agency, and I see the energy in the room as we work together through our client’s business challenges. Video conference calls are here to stay, and the technology helps us connect with people who aren’t local. But, when we get on Teams calls and see our clients attend with their cameras off, or some participants engage only when asked questions, I feel challenged by “what could have been.” The lively interaction and strategic brainstorming don’t happen as naturally and I’m often left believing that we could have been much more productive in person. Collaborating on a video call is a different experience, and it doesn’t work well in many cases.
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MENTORS & PEERS
To whom or where do you go for sound business advice? This would have to be a combination of my client partners who can tell me what they see from their industry perspective, and my husband who is a technology executive with a strong understanding of the financial landscape in the US and globally. The success of running Brighton Agency relies heavily on knowing what my clients are facing or may be about to experience so that we can be a true business partner to them.
Do you have a business mentor? If so, who and why? Although I have never referred to this person as a true “mentor,” the person who has taught me the most about running a successful agency and balancing that with the important things in life would be the original owner of Brighton, Roger Yount. Roger knew his definition of success and I have been following his lead ever since I started working with him. When he hired me, he had a vision for my future that I did not see. Not only did he teach me the tools of the trade, but he led by example. He allowed me to make mistakes so that I could grow. These are things that I try to do every day with the next generation of leaders at Brighton.
What piece of advice has had the most significant impact on your career? There are many words of wisdom that I come across daily that inspire me to keep pressing forward. But the one that sticks with me the most is something that has also become one of our four core principles: “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen twice as much as you speak.” If people truly stopped to listen more and did so from a place of seeking to understand, we would all be so much better.
If you could have dinner with any two area business leaders, who would you choose and why?
- Carolyn Kindle: What she has done to reignite the St. Louis community, by not taking her position in a well-established and financially successful family for granted and instead working hard in her business life and her charitable donations, has meant more to the city than one can measure. Getting an MLS team is one of the true highlights for St. Louis in recent years, and it would not have happened without her.
- Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge: The cities in the U.S. that do best with growth, infrastructure, community and more all have airports that make getting in and out of your city easy and convenient. St. Louis was a bustling metropolis when TWA had a hub here and, as a result, corporations placed their headquarters here. I believe that we must continue to invest in our city’s airport and get more carriers to offer more direct flights if we want to put St. Louis on the map again for large employers. To do this requires leaders like Rhonda, who can break through the political barriers that hinder progress.
Who is the most interesting under-the-radar/emerging business leader in St. Louis and why? There are too many to mention and I’d leave someone off if I tried. The region has seen significant growth in new business startups fueled by well-funded business accelerators and incubators. For instance, St. Louis is now recognized as a major hub for the agricultural technology industry, where leaders with vision are working to overcome challenges and provide a safe, stable and sustainable food supply around the globe. Much of that important work, and what it means for St. Louis and our reputation, flies under the radar of many in the city.
What is one thing you would change about the St. Louis metro area business environment and why? Funny question, given my response to one of the people that I would like to have dinner with! This is also an easy one. We need to fix our airport and everything related to travel in and out of Lambert International. Every time I fly out of St. Louis, I am frustrated by the lack of options and that there are very few domestic direct flights, let alone ones overseas. Yesterday, I flew from Chicago on United, and the commuter plane that I was on sat among planes headed to Birmingham, Oklahoma City, and Little Rock. This is now St. Louis’ city “peer group.” Not Chicago. Not Nashville. Not Denver. And when I landed on a Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., the entire concourse was shut down. No other flights. No place to get a meal. No one getting ready to board another plane. It was a ghost town. It saddens me that when people fly here, this is what they see. Until we fix the airport, we will have a hard time encouraging people to come to our great city and stay.
BACKGROUND
Where were you born? Los Angeles
What was your childhood aspiration? I dreamed of becoming a meteorologist and even spent the majority of my undergrad preparing for this career until switching to computer science and math, which offered more career opportunities after graduation.
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? Accenture. I learned more than I could have ever imagined. Starting in consulting built so many foundational things that have helped me to run Brighton. Most notably, work ethic, customer service, strategic thinking, financial acumen, technology, and so much more.
What educational degrees do you hold, and where were they earned? I went to Florida State University to become a meteorologist as they had one of the top two programs in this at the time. I changed to computer science with a math minor, so I wold have the most opportunities as very few women were in the tech space at that time.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
If you were not in your current profession, what would you be doing and why? A safari guide in South Africa! Or better yet, managing a luxury safari lodge in the savannah. This would give me the opportunity to share my love of animals in Africa, being out in the bush and meeting new people from all walks of life.
What is your favorite St. Louis-area restaurant, and what do you typically order there? Annie Gunn’s. A dirty martini and the filet. But there is absolutely not one bad thing on that menu! Great vibe, great owners, great chef, great food.
What is one item you recently crossed off your bucket list? Visiting India and seeing the Taj Majal. Next up will be Angkor Wat!
What is one book you think everyone should read (or podcast everyone should listen to) and why? East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It’s a classic and touches on the idea of free will over fate, good vs. evil, the importance of forgiveness, and putting the right priorities in front of us.
What’s your hobby/passion? Travel. Now that my sons are older and I have more free time, I spend a lot of time traveling with my husband both domestically and abroad.
What is your most prized possession? My family. It seems cliché, but I would drop everything for them and the ability to spend more time with them. My husband and my two adult sons are my core and we talk every day. Although my sons do not live in St. Louis at this time, we spend as much time with them as we can.
What would people be surprised to learn about you—a fun fact? Haha! Don’t judge. But the real me is happiest when I am in my sweats, eating a ham and Swiss sandwich with mayo (on white bread!), and watching reruns of Blue Bloods or NCIS. And at Christmas time, cheesy Hallmark movies.
What is your go-to karaoke song? “This Town” by the GoGo’s.
