CYNTHIA KAY President/CEO Cynthia Kay & Co.
It’s clear Cynthia Kay champions a multiplicity of clients. This year, Cynthia Kay & Co. helped launch Siemens’ first ever national diversity and inclusion program, all the while continuing to work with Wiley Publishing on its projects. Her video work for an East Coast agency, Compass Healthcare, is spreading the word about effective treatment for stage-four cancers. Cynthia Kay & Co. also produces communication for local nonprofits and global giants like Gerber Co., Novartis OTC, Herman Miller, Saint Mary’s Health Care, Grand Rapids Community Foundation and Grand Rapids Public Museum. Kay’s work isn’t always centered on the bottom line. She donates her creativity and energy to LaughFest, serving on both the original cabinet and the creative team for the first-year event that’s become a key fundraiser for Gilda’s Club
Grand Rapids. She also contributed production of all the radio and TV ads to launch and promote LaughFest. Her efforts to come alongside small businesses have caught state government’s attention. In his Special Tribute, Gov. Rick Synder recently recognized Kay during her tenure as chairwoman of the Small Business Association of Michigan for taking “a strong and viable leadership role in helping to enact business tax reform, a key milestone in the organization’s goal of propelling a new economic direction for Michigan.” Kay recently became chairwoman of the SBAM Political Action Committee. Her affiliations include Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business marketing department, Huntington Bank Women’s Advisory Board and the Cascade Community Foundation.
LYNN M. KERBER Regional Bank President Chemical Bank
Lynn Kerber is gifted with navigating big-time change. Three months after closing on an $83.9 million deal, Kerber, president of Chemical Bank’s West Region, was instrumental in navigating the merger of 14 Byron Bank offices in Kent, Allegan and Ottawa counties, and its parent company, OAK Financial Inc. The merger resulted in Midland-based Chemical Bank’s assets rising to $5.1 billion, which significantly expanded Chemical Bank’s presence in the Grand Rapids area and enhanced its ability to pursue greater market share. Kerber received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University Lee Honors College and a Master’s of Business Administration from WMU’s Haworth College of Business. Not content with academic status quo, Kerber expanded her professional résumé with added coursework in financial and
sales training, MBA/RMA Graduate School of Commercial Lending, Municipal Finance and Not-For-Profit Accounting and Small Business Administration programs. Kerber has been recognized with a list of awards. Some of the more recent include the YWCA Tribute Award, Inforum West Michigan Inner Circle, Lakeshore Athena and, in 1997, Inroads Business Advisor of the Year. She is active in many organizations, including Inforum West Michigan, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Symphony, South Haven Community Hospital Foundation, Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Local Development & Finance Authority for the City of South Haven, South Haven’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Community Action House, West Michigan Lakeshore Certified Development Corp. and Risk Management Association.
YANG KIM
Vice President/Executive Creative Director Peopledesign Yang Kim is an example of what creativity and a can-do attitude can accomplish. She has vast experience in designing everything from corporate product literature programs to holiday cards. While leading her design firm, Peopledesign, the last 15 years, she continues to design, direct and manage a plethora of projects, resulting in the firm securing recognition by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in America. Before co-founding Peopledesign, she served as a senior designer at Herman Miller where she was involved with the creation and conception of communications materials. Early in her career, Kim was enlisted by the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh to develop a media exhibit for children. She was a designer at Ethel Kessler Design in Washington, D.C., and managed the Reese Electronic Studio at Carnegie Mellon University.
Kim demonstrated her knack for grasping a new language and culture early in life. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Kim moved to the United States when she was 8 with only a couple of English classes under her belt. She quickly acclimated to the American culture and became fluent in English. Kim’s work has garnered more than 200 awards and received recognition from the New York Art Directors Club, Type Directors Club of New York, Communications Arts magazine, Critique magazine, American Institute of Graphic Art, Graphis, How magazine, International Design magazine and others. She currently serves on the board of St. Cecilia Music Center’s marketing committee, and previously served on the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts and the AIGA National Nominating Committee.
50 MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL 19