Tune in on select Thursdays to Off the Record for conversations with Indiana’s 250 most influential business and civic leaders. Get a behind the scenes look at the men and women of the Indiana 250, including intriguing details and lesser-known facts you won’t hear anywhere else. Don’t miss a single episode! Listen from your favorite […]
IBJ Media’s inaugural Indiana 250 is a list of the state’s most influential and impactful leaders across business, philanthropy, the arts, government and not-for-profits. These men and women are making a difference locally, regionally and across the state. The profiles here detail their accomplishments but also give you a peek into their personalities, their leadership […]
Welcome to IBJ Media’s second annual Indiana 250, our list of the most influential and impactful leaders across the state. Like last year, our list is made up primarily of business leaders, including executives who are guiding our state’s largest and most important public and private companies. So you won’t be surprised to see Eli […]
The IBJ Media team—including reporters and editors from Indianapolis Business Journal, Indiana Lawyer and Inside INdiana Business—worked for months to pull together the Indiana 250 list and collect information about the honorees. We looked for men and women who live in Indiana and are making a difference locally, regionally or statewide in business, philanthropy or […]
As leader of the Northwest RDA, Sherri Ziller is responsible for formulating policy, planning and program strategies and making financial investment decisions to support economic development and redevelopment throughout the northwest Indiana region. She became CEO of the authority in 2021 after serving as chief operating officer managing daily operations. She has been with the […]
Doug Boles became president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in June 2013, when the track was owned by Hulman & Co., and has continued to oversee the track’s daily operations as part of Penske Entertainment. He spearheads IMS events—including the Indianapolis 500, the GMR Grand Prix and the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard—and oversees work […]
In May 2021, Darrianne Christian became the first Black woman to chair the Newfields board of trustees. Christian started her career with the Central Intelligence Agency after being recruited into the Stokes Scholar program while still a high school student. She spent the remainder of her career working in information technology as a program manager […]
As vice president of communications for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Quinn Buckner is the organization’s liaison to the corporate community, leads the Pacers Youth Basketball Program, and is the analyst for Indiana Pacers television games. He serves on the board for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. Before joining the Pacers, he was an analyst with […]
In 2019, Elaine Bedel was the first executive named to head the new Indiana Destination Development Corp. by Gov. Eric Holcomb. The organization replaced the Department of Tourism, and Bedel has led its transition to a broader mission that includes enhancing the state's economic development efforts by attracting new workforce talent. A certified financial planner, […]
Before completing an MBA at Indiana University South Bend in 2000, Isaac Torres founded InterCambio Express Inc.—an international money transfer service provider. The Elkhart-based company now operates in 48 states and sends money to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Torres subsequently launched the companies InterCambio Realty LLC and InterLoans. In 2019, he established the […]
Michael Cunningham is president, CEO and owner of Cunningham Restaurant Group. He opened his first full-service restaurant, Boulder Creek, in Brownsburg in 1997. Today, Cunningham Restaurant Group operates 42 locations in three states. The company’s two mainstay brands, Stone Creek Dining Co. and BRU Burger Bar, represent 19 of the current locations. CRG owns and […]
Hoover owns Won't Stop Hospitality Inc., a collection of restaurants that include Caf Patachou, Petite Chou Bistro & Champagne Bar, Napolese Pizzeria, Public Greens, Apocalypse Burger and Bar One Fourteen. In 2013, she created The Patachou Foundation to feed healthy meals to food-insecure children in Indianapolis. This year, the foundation is expected to reach 500,000 […]
John Green is the author of New York Times best-sellers “Looking for Alaska,” “Paper Towns,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Turtles All the Way Down” and more. Though he grew up in Florida, he’s lived in Indianapolis for years, and it’s where he’s raising his children. Several of his books are set in Indianapolis, including […]
Maurice Broaddus is a writer, community organizer and teacher who serves as the resident Afrofuturist at the Indianapolis-based Khewprw Institute and is editor at Apex Magazine. The author of sci-fi and fantasy novels (including “Pimp My Airship”), Broaddus was hired by Marvel Comics and publisher Smart Pop to write “Black Panther: T’Challa Declassified,” to be […]
Alan Bacon co-founded cultural not-for-profit GangGang with partner Mali Jeffers. He’s also co-curator for fine arts fair Butter and for the “We. The Culture” exhibit at Newfields. GangGang was among the groups that produced SWISH—an arts festival during the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis—and curated more than 263 performances over four weeks. GangGang […]
Alice Watson became president and CEO of the Indiana Black Expo, which has 12 chapters throughout the state and hosts the Summer Celebration and Circle City Classic, at the start of the year. She had served as the organization’s senior vice president of operations—in which she oversaw all of the organization’s departments—for 11 years. Before […]
Jim Dora Jr. leads Indianapolis-based General Hotels Corp., which his father, the late Jim Dora Sr., founded in 1962. The younger Dora earned a degree in restaurant, hotel and institutional management, then worked various jobs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Memphis, Tennessee, along with Germany and Singapore, before returning to Indianapolis. Dora is active in […]
Leonard Hoops leads a team of 58 professionals who are charged with growing central Indiana’s nearly $6 billion convention, tourism and event business. During his tenure, Indianapolis has been named the No. 1 convention city in America by USA Today and a top visitor destination by The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler and Time […]
Now in his 39th year with the Pacers organization, Rick Fuson has been influential in shaping events within Market Square Arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse and elsewhere in Indianapolis. He joined the staff of Market Square Arena in 1984 as director of special events, helping to plan the 1985 NBA All-Star Game. Fuson was promoted the following […]
