Welcome to IBJ Media’s fourth annual Indiana 250, our list of the most influential and impactful leaders across the state.
We are excited to welcome more than 60 new names to this year’s list, including corporate executives like Stan Pinegar of Duke Energy Indiana, Karin Sarratt of OneAmerica Financial and Al London, who is set to become CEO of the planned Generations Community Bank, as well as nonprofit and philanthropic leaders Maureen Weber of Early Learning Indiana, Jamie Merisotis of the Lumina Foundation and John Urbahns of Greater Fort Wayne Inc. And we welcome new government leaders, such as Indiana Health and Family Services Secretary Gloria Sachdev, Energy and Natural Resources Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski and Commerce Secretary David J. Adams.
Adding new people to the Indiana 250 is one of our favorite things about creating each year’s list, but it always requires tough decisions. Our goal is to represent people who are making an impact now.
There might be no better example than Tyrese Haliburton, the face of the Indiana Pacers turnaround who led the team to this year’s NBA Finals. Haliburton went to the Paris Olympics last year as part of the USA team and hosts the annual Our House Season of Giving Dinner.
We also welcome Capt. Rex Boonyobhas, commanding officer of Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, which is not only playing a key role in the U.S. Navy but has been a catalyst for economic growth in Indiana’s Uplands Region.
Also new to this year’s list is Patrick Talty, president of the Indiana Sports Corp., which last year organized the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials and in May announced the event would return in 2028.
Plenty of familiar names are returning: Eli Lilly and Co. Chair and CEO David Ricks, whom Time magazine put on its list of The 100 Most Influential People of 2024.
Elevance Health President and CEO Gail Boudreaux and Cummins Chair and CEO Jennifer Rumsey—two of the most powerful female leaders in the country—are on the list. So, too, are executives who are making as big of an impact in the community as they are on their organizations, including Pete Yonkman of Cook Group, Justin Christian of BCforward and Lisa Harris of Eskenazi Health.
Sports is represented by, among others, Mel Raines of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Max Siegel of USA Track & Field and Carlie Irsay-Gordon of the Indianapolis Colts. Sports leaders who are new to the list include JoAn Scott of the NCAA and Marcus Freeman, head football coach at the University of Notre Dame.
We have several new names in law, including Kate Erdel of Dentons Bingham Greenebaum, Scott Chinn of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath and Myra Selby of Ice Miller.
One of our goals with the list is to represent leaders statewide. Among the new names from outside central Indiana are Lee Veazey of Dentons Bingham Greenebaum in Evansville, Amy Sink of Interra Credit Union in Elkhart, Joe Vezzoso of the French Lick Resort and Jack Griffin of Atlas World Group in Evansville.
This statewide focus is part of IBJ Media’s larger effort to cover business and community across Indiana through our Inside INdiana Business television, radio and online coverage and through The Indiana Lawyer, which covers the legal community statewide.
This year, we have rebranded our statewide event series as Innovate Indiana. We’ve already visited Evansville and Valparaiso, and have upcoming events in Terre Haute on July 31, Muncie on Sept. 17, Elkhart on Oct. 14, and Fort Wayne on Nov. 18. Go to IBJ.com/events to learn more.
We celebrated the leaders on our Indiana 250 list at an exclusive reception July 23 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, an event made possible with the support of our host sponsors, the museum as well as Penske Entertainment.
Thank you, as well, our title sponsors: CareSource, Ice Miller, Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Aaron Wealth Advisors.
The premier sponsor is Lucas Oil Products, and the bar sponsors are The Corydon Group and EXOS.
Enjoy the profiles on the following pages and let us know what you think—and who should be included next year—by emailing us at Indiana250@IBJ.com.
Nate Feltman
IBJ Media CEO and publisher