LEANN ARKEMA
President/CEO Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids/Gilda’s LaughFest LeAnn Arkema is a woman of possibilities. Proof of her potential to realize noteworthy achievements is when she worked with a grassroots group of visionary volunteers who were determined to open a cancer support nonprofit organization in West Michigan. She became Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids’ executive director in 1998 — its fi rst full-time employee — and was promoted to president/ CEO in 2004. In the past 13 years, Arkema has led the way to raise more than $17 million — funds critical to making a positive impact in the lives of the more than 60,000 children and families who, since 2001, have accessed the nonprofit’s cancer and grief support programs at no cost to them. This makes Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids one of the busiest affi liates of the 52 Gilda’s Clubs
in North America. Then there’s LaughFest, which not only has become a major fundraiser for Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids, but has put the community on the map by delivering an event that attracts thousands of attendees and headliner comedy acts, including Betty White, Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Cosby. Making a difference in the community is not new to Arkema. She served former U.S. Congressman Vernon Ehlers as his community services director, St. Cecilia Music Society as its executive director, and Calvin College as assistant director of special events and conferences. She is a recipient of a West Michigan Business Review Innovation Award and a YWCA Tribute Award for business, management, industry and labor.
NANCY J. AYRES
General Manager Clipper Belt Lacer Co./dba Flexco-Grand Rapids At a time when the bottom line for many businesses in Grand Rapids took a drubbing, Nancy Ayres broke the mold. As general manager of Flexco-Grand Rapids, a producer of conveyor belt fasteners and associated products, Ayres was instrumental in helping grow the business the previous two years by 20 percent annually, adding a second facility in Grand Rapids and increasing employment by 25 percent each year for two years. Flexco-Grand Rapids has a budget of $50 million with 150 employees. Two years ago, Flexco ventured into the international market when it purchased Novitool, a Dutch company. Ayres’ ambitious nature started early in life. She double-majored in criminal justice and psychology at Michigan State University. Upon graduation, she launched her career at
Catholic Social Services before moving on to McNitt Contract Carriers and ETV Inc. Ayres pursued a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology at Western Michigan University. In 1993, she joined Clipper Belt Lacer as director of human resources and was promoted in 1997 to general manager. Ayres has strong ties to the community, serving on several boards including the Grand Rapids Metro YMCA and as former chair of Heart of West Michigan United Way. She is a strong advocate for workplace development, having played an active role in FIRST Robotics, Kent/Allegan Workforce Development board, The Right Place Inc., Manufacturers Council, Economics Club of Grand Rapids, Workpaths.com and Grand Rapids Community College Foundation.
MARY V. BAUMAN Attorney Miller Johnson
Blazing a new trail in the health care/legal sector is a recent hallmark of Mary Bauman’s career. Bauman is chair of Miller Johnson’s 15-member health care reform multidisciplinary team, which represents six practice groups. Her law practice focuses on employee benefits and executive compensation, with a primary focus on health and welfare benefits. For employers, the new health reform laws represent the most significant changes to health benefit plans since the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Bauman, a diversity partner with Miller Johnson, distinguishes herself beyond her legal acumen. Last year, she became the first woman president of the board of trustees in Hope College’s 145-year history. That same year, she was honored by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a 2011 Women in the Law winner and was recognized 6 GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN
with the 2011 Legacy Award for promoting diversity in West Michigan. Diversity and inclusiveness also are apt adjectives that characterize Bauman because she models it. She has worked with the pre-law society at Grand Valley State University to establish school year internships for students of color interested in pursuing legal careers. She also partnered with the Grand Rapids campus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School to establish an academic year internship for a student of color. Bauman has served on the boards of the Forest Hills Educational Foundation, Arbor Circle Corp., HHS Health Options and Western Theological Seminary, on the Reformed Church of America’s Board of Benefit Services and as an elder at Hope Reformed Church.