Cathy Langham launched Langham Logistics in 1998 with two siblings after owning franchises in the trucking industry. She has built the company into a $60 million global transportation and warehousing business with 200 employees and nearly 2 million square feet of temperature-controlled and ambient temperature storage across the country. Langham serves on the boards of Indiana University and Penske Entertainment. In 2019, CICP awarded Langham the second annual Andre B. Lacy Vanguard award. Her philanthropy has focused on funding cancer research and support, scholarships, and religious and civic organizations.
First job: “My first job (outside babysitting) was when I was 15 as a waitress at Konie’s in Castleton Square. The business lessons were to be at work on time no matter what; if I treated people well, I could earn more money; and work could be fun.”
Favorite civic contribution: “Vice chair of the Superbowl Host Committee in 2012. It was a ton of work, and the team was incredible. Several of the folks I worked with on that committee I count as some of my closest friends today.”
Wendy Chesser leads an organization that drives economic opportunities for the communities on the Indiana side of the Louisville metro area. One Southern Indiana is an economic development agency and the chamber of commerce for Clark and Floyd counties, serving 1,060 business members. A Jeffersonville native, Chesser spent nine years as president of Cornerstone Alliance Southwest Michigan before returning to Indiana to lead One Southern Indiana, where she was instrumental in the creation of the Southern Indiana Regional Development Authority. She serves on the boards of the Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville Zoo Foundation and Align Southern Indiana.
Something surprising: “For five days in early 2005, I was interim executive director for the Indiana Department of Commerce. Albeit on a temporary basis, I was celebrated as the first female to hold this position, and quite possibly was the last executive director because the department transitioned into the Indiana Economic Development Corp.”
Heather Ennis leads the not-for-profit Northwest Indiana Forum, which markets a seven-county region that focuses on economic development and other business opportunities. Her work on northwestern Indiana’s IGNITE the Region plan helped win a $50 million state READI grant, which is being used to increase the region’s population, per capita income and economic development. Ennis is a member of the Indiana Economic Development Association board, Metro Chambers Coalition, Indiana Vision 2025+ board, Indiana Defense Task Force, United Way of Northwest Indiana board and Porter County Community Foundation Grant Committee.
First job: “I was the neighborhood babysitter. It taught me time management, don’t overcommit and keep a sense of humor.”
Change about Indiana: “People’s perception. Indiana is rich in opportunity. In the past, many have viewed us as a drive-through or flyover state. I think if they really looked at Indiana, they would find so much of what they are looking for: great tax climate, friendly people, beautiful cities and towns, generous people with amazing spirit, a place to call home and belong.”
An entrepreneur, Greg Gibson has founded, owned or led more than 50 companies spanning a variety of industries, including trucking and transportation, excavation, coal mining, commercial and residential real estate development, and hospitality and food service. He serves on the Indiana Port Commission, a post he was appointed to by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels and reappointed to by Gov. Mike Pence and Gov. Eric Holcomb. He serves as chair of the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau and was a founding member of the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board. Earlier this year, Gibson donated the historic Indiana Theatre (which he acquired in 2021) to the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board to operate as a movie theater.
Toughest challenge: “Recognizing that some outcomes are completely out of my control. Sometimes, no amount of grit, passion, and heart and soul can see things through the way you envision them.”
Favorite sports team: “My daughter Lucy’s softball team, The Terre Haute North Patriots.”
Marianne Glick chairs the Glick Family Foundation, a position she has held since 2007. In this role, she carries on the philanthropic legacy of her late parents, real estate tycoons Gene and Marilyn Glick. The foundation supports affordable housing, arts and creative expression, basic needs and economic mobility, education, and Jewish affairs in central Indiana. Glick is also a board member at the company her father founded, the Gene B. Glick Co., and at several community organizations, including the United Way of Central Indiana and the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
Something surprising: “I was kicked out of Girl Scouts in 1962 for writing a poem with profanity and was reinstated as a Girl Scout by [then-lieutenant governor] Becky Skillman in 2012.”
Walk-up song: “For Good,” from the musical “Wicked” or “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” by Cyndi Lauper
Earl Goode has served 15 years as chief of staff to two Indiana governors: Republicans Mitch Daniels and Eric Holcomb. He joined Holcomb’s staff in 2017 and leads the administration’s cabinet and staff across state government, while overseeing the governor’s Next Level Agenda. Goode has also served as commissioner of the Department of Administration, president of the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board and on dozens of governmental and not-for-profit boards and commissions. Goode spent 39 years with GTE (now Verizon), where he served as president of four separate GTE units.
Sabbatical topic: “When you are my age, you don’t think about sabbaticals.”
Something surprising: Officiated high school and small college basketball games for 17 years.
Admires most: Gen. George C. Marshall Jr.
Advice for young people: “The quickest way to the top is to take your time.”
Clay Robbins joined Lilly Endowment—a private foundation supporting community development, education and religion—in 1993 as vice president for community development to supervise that division’s grantmaking activities. He was elected president of the endowment in 1994 and in 1999 was elected to the board. In 2012, he was named CEO and about three years later was elected chair as well. He served 30 years on the United Way of Central Indiana board and is a former board member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee and Damar Homes.
First job: “Beginning at age 11, I delivered, with my younger brother, The Indianapolis News for five years. My grandmother told me it would teach me to make change.”
Something surprising: “In the mid-1970s, I was the first intern for the Indianapolis Clean City Committee, now known as Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.”
Favorite gadget: “The cordless rechargeable hedge trimmer that my brother gave me for Christmas.”
David Rosenberg joined the IEDC in August 2021 and has helped lead the job-creation agency’s team of more than 100. He has overseen creation of the state’s LEAP Innovation and Research District in Boone County and implementation of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (known as READI), which is distributing $500 million to communities across Indiana for quality-of-life initiatives. Rosenberg, who was chief of staff to former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, serves on the boards of Visit Indy, KIPP Indy and the Boy Scouts Crossroads of America Council.
Learned about leading: “Authenticity is supreme. If you aren’t your true self when leading a team, your team will know, and there will immediately be distrust. You have to be authentic to who you are and not try to be a leader you see from others or movies.”
Change about Indiana: “Our humility. There are so many amazing things going on around the state (many of which are not happening anywhere else in the country), and we need to tell the world what Indiana is truly about.”
Becky Skillman spent four decades in public service, including 16 years as a local elected official in Lawrence County and 12 years in the Indiana Senate. In 2004, she was elected lieutenant governor on a ticket with Republican Mitch Daniels and served two terms, with oversight of the state’s agriculture, community and rural affairs, energy, housing and tourism agencies. She now chairs Radius Indiana, which is an economic development corporation for eight counties in south central Indiana, and is lead director on the Old National Bancorp board.
Advice to young people: “Know who you are and fully understand your value system. If you don’t know what you stand for, there will be many others along life’s journey who will tell you who you are and what you stand for.”
Something surprising: The first woman to represent Indiana Senate District 44, serve in Senate majority leadership and serve eight years as lieutenant governor.
Chuck Surack is the founder and former CEO and chair of Sweetwater Sound, an online retailer of musical instruments and audio equipment that he established in 1979 as a four-track recording studio in the back of his Volkswagen bus. Surack sold a majority share of the company to Providence Equity Partners in 2021 and stepped away to focus on Surack Enterprises, the holding company for his other enterprises, which include SweetCars, Aviation Specialty Insurance, Enstrom Helicopter Corp., Lakeland Internet, Longe Optical and Sweet Aviation.
Indiana change: “I wish people had a more positive attitude and would feel better about Indiana and themselves. I love Indiana. It is a great place for business and to raise your family. Everything we need is here.”
Pets: “Two cats and one dog. Malfoy the cat leaves hair everywhere, but he likes to cuddle. Lucy [is] the cat I never see, yet we pay for food, litter and medical. Wilbur, the four-pound, 11-ounce Maltese dog, is convinced he is a 100-pound watchdog, but he is also a lover.”
