Jason Lippert is the third-generation leader of Lippert and LCI Industries, a $5 billion publicly traded company with over 15,000 employees. He has been president and CEO since 2003, helping transform a steel roofing business in Alma, Michigan, into a thriving international supplier of components to the leisure vehicle and mobile transportation industries. He has served on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Goshen since 2006 and has been a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Elkhart since 2018.
Favorite thing about leadership: Helping people find their purpose. “We are in manufacturing and we feel that if our team members can accomplish personal and professional goals because it’s just part of what we do (vs. come to work, clock in, put your head down, work all day and go home), then our team members are better for themselves, they are better for their team and they are better for their family.”
Max Siegel became the fourth CEO of USA Track & Field on May 1, 2012. He has led USATF to financial growth and programmatic evolution, generating over $600 million in revenue and expanding the USATF annual budget. Previously, he had stints as president of global operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he sold tens of millions of dollars in sponsorships, and as senior vice president at Sony/BMG and president of Zomba Gospel, Tommy Boy Gospel and Verity Records. As owner of Rev Racing since 2010, he has led NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program to bring more multicultural and female talent to the sport, advancing it from a fledging effort into a competitive juggernaut on the racetrack.
Challenge overcome: “I had to overcome a challenging upbringing being from a broken home with divorced parents and a lot of substance abuse. My community supported me and gave me the confidence to press on and achieve.”
Pete Ward started with the Colts in 1981 as an unpaid public relations intern, was hired as a full-time administrative assistant in 1982, and was intimately involved with the team’s move from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. He was named director of operations shortly after the team arrived in Indianapolis and became chief operating officer in 2010. He served as the Colts’ point person for design and construction of Lucas Oil Stadium, the city of Indianapolis’ Super Bowl bids, and the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee. He serves on the boards of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Visit Indy, USA Football, the Indianapolis Zoo and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee.
First job: Newspaper delivery and yard jobs at age 9. “I learned responsibility and satisfaction from a job well done.”
Something surprising: “As a kid, my alternate career choice was to be a foreign correspondent for The New York Times.”
Most admired: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine. “Incredible leader in the face of incredible adversity.”
Julie Roe Lach has been involved with college athletics for over 25 years. She was named Horizon League commissioner on Jan. 1, 2021, and oversees all league functions. Under her leadership, working in collaboration with the schools’ presidents, chancellors and athletics directors, the Horizon League developed its first mental health grant, committing $550,000 for member institutions to use to serve the needs of student-athletes. Lach also currently chairs the Indiana Sports Corp., where she is spearheading development of the organization’s 2050 Sports Vision for Indianapolis and Indiana. Lach joined the Horizon League in 2014 as deputy commissioner. Previously, she worked at the NCAA for over 15 years, most recently serving as vice president of enforcement from October 2010 to February 2013.
Something surprising: “I love to bass fish in my hometown of Pinckneyville, Illinois.”
Favorite gadget: “My Keurig. Consistent, strong, black coffee every morning.”
Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels works as a distinguished scholar and senior adviser to the board at the Carmel-based Liberty Fund, a not-for-profit education foundation focused on a free society. There, he focuses on the creation of educational programs and partnerships meant to strengthen the Liberty Fund’s existing educational programs. Daniels spent a decade leading Purdue University as president before retiring at the end of 2022. During his tenure, Purdue kept tuition flat and cut room and board fees as well as launched a series of initiatives called Purdue Moves. Daniels continues to chair the board of directors of the Purdue Research Foundation, a not-for-profit that focuses on Purdue-related economic development and the commercialization of campus research. The reimagined business school was renamed the Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business in his honor. Daniels, a former director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, is also co-chair of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit.
Emil Ekiyor, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, who immigrated to the United States when he was 15, is CEO of the not-for-profit InnoPower Indy. That group aims to create “economic athletes,” which Ekiyor describes as someone who is “educated and trained to understand the economic landscape at the regional, national, and global levels.” Along with TechPoint, InnoPower Indy helped create a program to reduce barriers for central Indiana’s Black residents to develop the skills needed for high-wage, low-unemployment-rate careers in tech. The program hopes to create a tech-focused adult apprenticeship program.
Something surprising: “I cry during movies, sad stories or emotional events.”
Leadership lesson: “A quote from Deion Sanders: ‘Do not let my confidence offend your insecurities!’ Never let someone dim your light. You can shine right next to anyone and be just as bright!”
Something to change about Indiana: “Dang. The potholes in Indy. I have had over four flat tires and two bent rims this year.”
Born in a small town in the mountains of Peru, Marlene Dotson now runs the not-for-profit Indiana Latino Institute, which works to advance Latino educational attainment and workforce preparedness statewide through advocacy, leadership development, and culturally responsive programming. This year, the organization will place more than 100 Latinos in paid internship positions as a way to improve pathways to good jobs. Dotson previously worked as an immigrant affairs liaison for two members of Congress serving Indiana. She has served on the board of Ascend Indiana, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Indy Chamber.
Admires most: “Mother Teresa. She dedicated her life to serving the poor and sick. I love one of her quotes, ‘Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.'”
Favorite device: “I love my tablet to play puzzles, solve
Sudoku, and watch videos about nature, especially chimpanzees and orangutans.”
Lance Allison was named president and CEO of One Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development in February. He previously led the chambers in Murray-Calloway County in Kentucky and Panama City Beach in Florida. Now, he’ll focus his energy on economic development initiatives for Clark and Floyd counties. Since One Southern Indiana was founded in 2006, the group has been a part of more than 200 announcements of businesses relocating to southern Indiana. The organization cited $157 million in new capital investment in its most recent annual report for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
First job: Paper boy for the Murray Ledger & Times in Murray, Kentucky. “The most important thing I learned from this job was, customer service is key.”
Favorite device: “The Xbox. It’s nice to escape reality for a short period of time.”
Learned from a failure: “My boss’s reaction to ‘failures.’ He taught me not to dwell on it too long, to adjust course and do my best to avoid anything similar in the future.
Rachel Hazaray supports the legal and compliance needs of Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. and handles government relations at the local, state and federal levels. In April, she was promoted to her current role and became one of the only two female vice presidents at Subaru of Indiana Automotive history. She also leads the company’s environmental compliance and energy team and is responsible for the zero-landfill initiative and carbon reduction goals. She serves as chair of Greater Lafayette Commerce and president of the board of the Lafayette Parks Foundation.
Something surprising: She listens to three or four audiobooks a week. “I love reading but had gotten away from it after becoming a mom.”
Pets: Moose, an 85-pound goldendoodle who is the “happiest, most loyal dog I’ve ever owned” and Nike, a 7-pound cat who is “an absolute boss in our house and keeps Moose in line.”
Lucia Mar leads Bank of America’s efforts in gaining market share among public and private Indiana companies with more than $50 million in annual revenue. In this role, she is responsible for revenue and profitability, developing and executing the market strategy, talent acquisition and development, and being the bank’s brand ambassador to the business community in Indiana. Mar grew up in China and moved to the United States in 1999. She is a board member for the Indy Chamber, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indy Arts Council and the Asian American Alliance Inc.
Job swap: “Captain of a starship traveling in outer space.”
Something surprising: “I am a sci-fi nerd.”
First job: “Hotel receptionist. Being organized.”
