Year: 2023

Toni L. Richins, Founder & CEO of ConsortHR, has a passion for helping others. She believes helping others is not limited to providing food, shelter, and so forth but includes relieving the primary causes of suffering and offering the basic reasons for happiness. This is at the root of everything she does. You can see it in her vision for ConsortHR, which is founded on helping less-equipped companies have access to strategic services that can allow their businesses to flourish and maintain success.

Thomasina M. Ivy, President & CEO, TMI Consulting, is a visionary leader who leads by example. She has built TMI Consulting on core values that guide how the company does business. TMI’s core values encompass innovation, quality, integrity, and impact. The key to innovation begins with hiring a diverse workforce with various experiences, backgrounds, and work approaches that ultimately create a better solution for the clients.

PACON Mfg, Inc. CEO Steven McClure describes the company's road to establishing itself as a recognized leader in manufacturing mission-critical mechanical components as “circuitous, but intentional.” PACON is a machine shop dedicated to precision-machining mission-critical, complex-geometry, close-tolerance components with a relentless focus on its customers’ needs. It is recently named Modern Machine Shop Magazine’s “Top Shop” and Aerospace & Defense Review’s CNC Machining edition cover story.

When Abraham Lincoln came to power, the nation was in peril, and he had the intelligence, and the self-confidence, to know that he needed the best people by his side, people who were leaders in their own right and who were very aware of their strengths. On the flip side, Jack Welch believed that leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions. “You are a leader to lead, not to win a popularity contest. To retain trust, you must listen and explain your decisions clearly – but you must keep moving forward.” -Jack Welch

Prabhu [PK] Karunakaran is a pragmatic leader who believes in servant-leadership and strives to lead by example. PK is extremely empathetic towards his coworkers, which allows him to look through the lens of others’ situations to define their strengths and understand their perspective. He is quick to recognize excellence and awards team members for their contribution towards client satisfaction and organizational growth. With teams in multiple time zones, PK works round the clock to collaborate with his colleagues and is available regardless of his busy schedule.

Laurel Werner, Founder, President, and CEO of Kilimanjaro Technology Foundation (aka KiliTech), a non-profit 501(c)3 that provides water for schools and vocation training for women in Tanzania, is an inspiration to other women with her leadership, passion for children’s education, and adventurous spirit. KiliTech operates in Tanzania and Laurel’s innate boldness and bravery helps her run a non-government organization (NGO) in Africa.