Tom Dakich is CEO of Quantum Corridor, a technology communications company that offers a fiber-optic network connecting tech firms, academic institutions, funders and government contractors. Dakich previously founded GEMCO Constructors and launched the Digital Crossroads of America data center and technology hub in Hammond. He splits his time between Carmel and northwestern Indiana. At the core of his responsibilities is integrating data center real estate principles and quantum computing into a network that attracts researchers and high-paying jobs while creating value for both shareholders and Hoosiers, he says.
WALKUP SONG: “Anything by Taylor Swift. Seriously, any of her songs.”
SABBATICAL TOPIC: “I will go to Divinity School someday.”
Emily Krueger is president and CEO of 16 Tech Community Corp., the nonprofit organization responsible for creating the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis. 16 Tech is home to three active buildings and more than 200 innovation-related companies in life sciences, biotech, med/health tech, advanced manufacturing, hard tech, sports tech, ag tech, software as a service and AI. She is responsible for ensuring the continued growth of 16 Tech as well as the availability and access to resources that innovative companies need to succeed. Previously, she was vice president of administration and chief of staff for LDI Ltd. and a member of former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar’s staff.
David Roberts is CEO of Applied Research Institute, where he is responsible for helping the state of Indiana secure as much federal funding in transformative technical sectors (semiconductors, life sciences and energy) as possible. In 2023, ARI received awards from the U.S. Department of Defense for semiconductor technology advancement, from the U.S. Department of Commerce for life sciences manufacturing, and from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a team designated for hydrogen technology. In 2024 and this year, ARI is working to expand its national and international influence to increase Indiana’s profile, both directly and indirectly. ARI is working with the DOD’s Defense Innovation Unit’s OnRamp initiative, which catalyzes defense innovation at early-stage startups. He served as the state’s chief innovation officer from 2017 to 2022.
FIRST JOB: “Helping my dad in his butcher shop. It taught me nothing goes to waste, since everything can end up as hamburger or sausage.”
PETS: “Frankie is a ‘runt’ St. Bernard at 110 pounds, and Ollie is the cat that outlived his three brothers.”
Bill Soards is responsible for external affairs for AT&T Indiana, including state and local government relations, community relations, and regulatory and state legislative activities. Under his leadership, AT&T has formed 18 public-private partnerships to build high-speed fiber networks to serve thousands of Hoosiers. The company also has invested nearly $1.9 billion over the past five years in its Indiana wireless and fiber networks. He is a former member of both the Indianapolis City-County Council and the Boone County Council.
In 2018, Amy Brown founded Authenticx, which filters millions of client interactions like recorded audio files, chat files or text files, and uses AI and algorithms to find themes in the data. Now she leads 135-plus Authentizens, what she calls the company’s employees, with a focus on building a strong corporate culture, contributing to client growth and engagement initiatives, and staying attuned to the general health of the business. This year, she was listed on the Inc. 500 Female Founders list.
NEW EMPLOYEE WISDOM: “Know yourself: Identify strengths and skills that you need to be successful and then find partners that compensate your weaknesses as you begin to scale and build your team.”
PETS: dog, Cash; cat, Branson; bunny, Harley; crawfish, Fluffy; and snake, Marcos
Self-described “adventure capitalist” Aman Brar backed Indianapolis-based software startup Yourco and Iowa-based marketing-tech startup Hummingbirds in 2023. Ground Game Ventures, co-founded by Brar in 2022, led a $2 million round of investment in Yourco, which offers a text messaging platform that employers can use to communicate with employees who don’t work in an office setting. Ground Game invested $3 million in Hummingbirds, which allows customers to build marketing campaigns with the help of local social media users. Brar launched Canvas, the world’s first text-based interviewing software, in 2017. The startup was acquired by Jobvite 16 months after launch. As former president of Apparatus, Brar helped lead the company through an acquisition by Virtusa where he subsequently led the global infrastructure business unit.
Tom McGowan serves as president and chief operating officer of Kite Realty Group Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns interests in 180 U.S. open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets, comprising approximately 28 million square feet of gross leasable space. As of early June, its market value was $5 billion. McGowan served as executive vice president and one of four partners of Kite Cos., later named Kite Realty Group Trust, beginning in 1994. For 10 years, the company experienced rapid growth before McGowan and his partners took it public as a REIT. In 2021, the company merged with Retail Properties of America Inc., a move that made Kite the fifth-largest shopping center REIT in the nation.
ADMIRES MOST: “Jim Morris. [Because he was] a great friend of my late father, Bill McGowan, I was able to follow his incredibly diverse career, which spanned through city leadership positions, philanthropy, business enterprises, ambassador to the United Nations and ending in professional sports. He did all of this while always putting his family, friends and community at the center of his life each and every day.”
Tom Kelley oversees the management of more than 700 employees, 14 automotive brands, nine car dealerships, three customer-exclusive car washes, three body shops, an accessory and detail facility, and a parts retailer. He helped assemble the necessary community forces to complete the Electric Works project, and he spearheaded the opening and operation of the Jim Kelley Career Pathway Center, which educates nearly 4,000 seventh- and eighth-graders a year about potential careers in the Fort Wayne community.
FIRST JOB: “I worked on the grounds crew of the Brookwood Golf Course. I made $1.25 per hour. It taught me how to show up for work and work hard.”
LESSON FROM FAILURE: “I would say owning the race team, Kelley Racing, from 1997 to 2004. Although it was a fantastic opportunity and learning experience, it taught me how demanding of my time delving into outside ventures can be. It split my time and my bandwidth between the demands of the racing industry and being available and present with my work at my dealerships.”
Thomas Collins is the top executive and a part-owner at Hobart-based Luke Family of Brands, a family-owned firm started in 1967 by Ralph Luke. The company has 1,200 employees and a variety of commercial holdings that include Luke Oil, Luke convenience stores, several restaurants and County Line Orchard.
SUPPORTING INNOVATION: “We set parameters and dollar limits on risk taking. If it’s under $10,000, we make a decision and keep going. Mistakes are going to happen, and we’ll pick up the pieces and learn how to get better. If it’s over $10,000, we take a minute. Formulate a plan, determine the [return on investment] versus risk and figure out how we measure performance.”
UNWINDING: “I enjoy watching ESPN’s ‘Pardon the Interruption’ while riding the Peloton.”
GOAL IF GOVERNOR: “I would work to reduce levels of bureaucracy in local government as it relates to new developments.”
SACRIFICES: “I have sacrificed many fall weekends, making donuts at County Line Orchards.”
Tag Birge serves as president and CEO of Cornerstone Cos., which manages more than 13 million square feet of medical space across 25 states and supports health care providers with development, construction and brokerage services, among other options. He also is president of Birge & Held, a commercial multifamily real estate firm that has acquired more than 25,000 units and has more than $4 billion in assets under management.
PHILANTHROPY: “My family and I are deeply committed to giving back to central Indiana. Over the past two years, we have contributed more than $1.5 million annually-personally and through our real estate companies-to over 60 local nonprofits. … Most recently, my wife and I made a $1 million commitment to the North Central High School Foundation to support ‘English as a New Language’ students.”
HARD LESSON: “In 2008, I lost over 90% of my net worth when the real estate development company I worked for filed for bankruptcy during the financial crisis. … That moment taught me the importance of building something I could control.”
