St. Louis Business 500: Technology and Innovators

The St. Louis Business 500 highlights some of the metro area’s most impactful, innovative, and inspirational leaders, from C-suite executives to under-the-radar entrepreneurs across an array of industries.

Beyond the brief bios below, we created a questionnaire to shed light on some of these leaders’ achievements, aspirations, and interests beyond the office. Click the names highlighted in blue for more interesting insights from some of St. Louis’ top business leaders.

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Megan Soto

Director of Business Operations, TEKsystems

Soto leads a St. Louis team that is tasked with providing strategic support for more than 200 clients of TEKsystems, which specializes in an array of technology services. Soto is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and holds a DEI certificate from the University of South Florida. She played softball during her college years at the University of Missouri–Columbia and Emporia State University. Soto has been with TEKsystems since 2010.

Cassandra Sanford

CEO and Owner, KellyMitchell Group

Since co-founding the KellyMitchell Group in 1998, Sanford has helped the company scale far beyond its humble origins. Sanford’s team has grown to include more than 2,000 employees across nearly 20 offices nationwide. She has positioned the KellyMitchell Group as an organization that can help businesses achieve their tech goals with tailored IT solutions rooted in accountability and service. Sanford, a self-proclaimed bookworm, majored in political science and Russian studies at Saint Louis University. She later attended SLU’s law school.

Chuck Cohn

Founder, Chairman, and CEO; Nerdy

The idea for Nerdy, the parent company of Varsity Tutors, came to Cohn during his junior year at Washington University, when a calculus course set him on the search for personalized tutoring. Finding help, however, proved challenging. He created Nerdy in 2007 to make virtual tutoring accessible to anyone in need. It became his full-time focus in 2011, and he took the company public in 2022. Nerdy recently reported that it is serving more than 4 million students on its platform.

David Karandish

Co-founder and CEO, Capacity

Ever since selling Answers.com for nearly $1 billion in 2014, Karandish has been a key player in the St. Louis business ecosystem. Capacity, an AI-powered support automation platform with headquarters in University City, recently acquired several companies to enhance its offerings: Lucy, Envision, Linc, Textel, LumenVox, Denim Social, SmartAction, and CereProc. Karandish is also a notable investor in local startups, including Nerdy and Rezilient Health. He graduated from Washington University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Outside of work, Karandish enjoys playing the ukulele.

Erik Lutenegger

Founder, Tenacity

Lutenegger prides himself on helping startup founders connect. During the past year, Lutenegger has been involved in staging 48 networking events across the region. He’s also the brains behind Bourbon Fridays, a weekly gathering of entrepreneurs who bond over spirits. “One of the reasons we created this event was to bring together a diverse group of entrepreneurs and technologists to share their stories and struggles,” he says. “A great side benefit is having a built-in sounding board whenever I face a challenge, allowing me to tap into a wealth of collective experience and insight.”

Jim Kavanaugh

Co-founder and CEO, World Wide Technology

Many of the traits that enabled Kavanaugh to become a professional soccer player—hard work, trust, and being a team player—are the same qualities that have helped him grow World Wide Technology into a global leader in the technology solutions industry. The company is currently positioning itself as an artificial intelligence powerhouse, investing more than $500 million in AI services for its clients. Kavanaugh, though, hasn’t strayed far from his sports roots. He was instrumental in helping the region land the MLS expansion franchise that became St. Louis CITY SC and is an investor in the St. Louis Blues.

Gabe Lozano

CEO, LaunchCode

After founding and leading local adtech startup LockerDome—now known as Decide—Lozano is ready to help the next generation of tech workers build their skills. He joined LaunchCode last fall, after taking a year-long sabbatical. “The timing couldn’t be better,” he says. “Edtech and talent pipelines are undergoing tectonic shifts; in every industry, intelligent automation is changing how we learn and do our jobs. This transformation will continue for decades, and LaunchCode has an important role to play in building new talent pipelines to adapt to these changes.”

Kevin Howard

Executive Vice President, Controller, and CAO, Charter Communications

Howard has spent more than 20 years with Charter in a variety of roles. These days, Howard is tasked with overseeing the company’s financial reporting and business continuity, among other functions. The University of Missouri–Columbia graduate also spent nearly a decade as an auditor for Arthur Andersen, and he’s a certified public accountant and a certified managerial accountant. As of September 2024, Charter services more than 30 million internet customers and nearly 9.5 million mobile lines.

Kristin Tucker

Managing Principal, TDK Technologies

Tucker believes her industry is equal parts science and art. “No two software developers are alike,” she says. At TDK, a company she helped found in 2001, Tucker strives to stay nimble so she can adjust to the ever-changing economic landscape. Tucker has a bachelor’s degree in applied computer science from Illinois State University and a master’s degree in legal studies from Washington University. She loves to travel and spend time with her seven grandchildren.

Lisa Nichols

CEO, Technology Partners

The dearth of women in the tech industry concerns Nichols, who is eager to create new pathways for women to enter the field. “I’m deeply committed to addressing the gender disparity,” she says. “We need more diverse voices and perspectives in tech.” At the same time, Nichols is energized by plenty of things these days. Her company continues to expand, both in terms of geography and team size, and she recently reached the 300-episode threshold with her podcast, Something Extra. “We’re not just growing our footprint,” she says. “We’re also investing in nurturing the next generation of tech leaders.”

Mike Long

CEO and Chairman, Lumeris

Long has a track record of leading successful companies, including WebMD, Continuum, and NEOS GeoSolutions, among others. He’s now in charge of Lumeris, which marries his background in health care with his passion for innovative technology. Last year, Lumeris, which serves approximately 2 million patients on its platform, announced a $100 million funding round to continue working with provider partners to deliver high-quality care at cost-effective rates.

Marc Bernstein

Founder and CEO, Balto

The growth and adoption of Balto’s real-time call guidance technology has been a point of pride for Bernstein, whose company produces software to streamline sales calls. Balto recently secured more than $60 million in venture funding to accelerate research and development efforts and to continue to scale. “We’ve expanded our customer base and deepened relationships with existing clients by continuously enhancing our product’s capabilities,” he says. Bernstein is excited about the potential for AI to refine and expand offerings, and to set a new standard for fast and effective customer communication.

Lusnail Haberberger

President and CEO, LUZCO Technologies

Both of Haberberger’s parents were engineers, which inspired her to follow a similar path. “I vividly remember learning about cell phones for the first time and being fascinated by them,” she says. “I couldn’t stop asking questions and had an insatiable curiosity to understand how they worked inside and out.” It has been a busy time for Haberberger, who saw a $3 million boost in company revenue during the past year. LUZCO also recently outlined a 10-year business plan that Haberberger believes will position the company to navigate the future—and the unknown—with confidence.

Sekhar Prabhakar

CEO, CEdge Software Consultants

Prabhakar is inspired by the growth he’s seen in CEdge’s core capabilities, as well as the company’s ability to translate its success into additional offerings. That includes CEdge’s rollout of a new learning management system. Working with commercial enterprises in the United States and India, along with state and federal governments, CEdge provides IT solutions to a diverse list of clients. Prabhakar has led the company since 2017, and he counts US Bank and Sun Microsystems among his previous stops.

Ron Daugherty

Senior Leader, CGI+Daugherty; Founder AND CEORon Daugherty Enterprises

After founding Daugherty Business Solutions in 1985, Daugherty grew the company to more than 2,000 employees in the U.S. and abroad. In late 2024, the company merged with CGI, becoming one of the world’s largest consulting firms. Daugherty is a former Golden Gloves amateur boxing champion who enjoys ballroom dancing, playing the harmonica, and competing in equestrian sports, fencing, and chess. He is also a supporter of the United Way, the American Heart Association, and more.

Steven Lowy

Chairman, Envision

Since 1994, Lowy has served as chairman for Envision, which specializes in strategic planning, finance, and investments, among other areas. During his career, Lowy has demonstrated a keen eye for mergers and acquisitions, and recently, he completed three significant acquisitions in the staffing sector: Solution Consultants Inc., Preferred Resources Inc., and Jacobson Staffing. Lowy is a proud donor to Washington University, where he has supported numerous endowed and annual scholarships.

Steve Hamilton

CEO, CSI Leasing

After joining the company as a corporate attorney in 1983, Hamilton later led CSI’s expansion to Europe, Latin America, and Asia until his promotion to COO in 2008. Eight years later, Hamilton was named CEO when Tokyo Century Corp. acquired the company. Hamilton was an alderman for Town & Country from 1989 to 1997, and he’s currently a member of the St. Louis Regional Business Council and serves on its mentor network committee.

Vani Gangavarapu

President, Gemini

Gangavarapu credits her early experiences as a staff nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and an IT engineer at American International Health Management for giving her an attuned perspective on modern leadership. Her varied background makes her one of the region’s most interesting leaders: In addition to earning a nursing degree from Saint Louis University, Gangavarapu received a master’s degree in marine biology from Andhra University and an additional degree in biology from Nagarjuna University in India.

Andrew Barnell

Co-Founder and CEO, Geneoscopy

More than a decade ago, Barnell and his sister, Erica Barnell, co-founded Geneoscopy, where he works with clinicians, entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers to help detect and prevent gastrointestinal diseases. The organization’s goal is to develop noninvasive, preventative screening tests to help with early detection of colorectal cancer. Among its recent successes: The FDA approved ColoSense, a noninvasive screening test for colorectal cancer.

David Steward

Co-founder and Chairman, World Wide Technology

Steward is the wealthiest Black man in the country, according to Forbes, which estimated his net worth at $11.4 billion in 2024. In addition to his work with WWT, Steward has embraced his role as a philanthropist and supported a variety of local programs and causes. He’s donated to The Muny’s recent renovation, Jazz St. Louis’ Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ jazz program. His son, David Steward II, co-founded Lion Forge Animation, which aims to bring diverse children’s characters to life.

Danish Nagda

CEO and Co-founder, Rezilient Health

His father’s illness inspired Nagda to find a new way to offer accessible patient care. Rezilient Health works to connect patients to same-day primary and specialty care through its proprietary CloudClinic model. Nagda says the company has increased its revenue by 600 percent over the past year, and it recently raised $10 million in funding—some of which comes from local investors, such as Jim McKelvey and David Karandish. Rezilient serves more than 300 employers and thousands of employees across the country.

Jerry Kent

Chairman and CEO, TierPoint

Kent believes in the future of downtown St. Louis—so much so that his company is spending $150 million to renovate a building on Locust Street into an enterprise-grade data center. TierPoint, an IT company that offers a portfolio of services such as security and hybrid cloud consulting, maintains more than 40 data centers across 20 U.S. markets. Before TierPoint, Kent co-founded Charter Communications in 1993, and he led the company as its president and CEO until 2001.

Dan Lauer

CEO and Founding Executive Director, Lindenwood FORWARD

Although Lauer Toys Inc. has sold more than 26 million WaterBabies dolls in 30 years, the project wasn’t an immediate success. Lauer’s venture underwent three years of tweaks and several pivots before he created a toy that families wanted in their homes. The success of WaterBabies made Lauer want to help other entrepreneurs get the support they need to grow. After founding the UMSL Accelerate program, Lauer is now bringing his decades of entrepreneurial experience to Lindenwood University, where he serves as chief entrepreneurship officer of the Plaster College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Emily Hemingway

Founding Executive Director, TechSTL

Hemingway has never shied away from big dreams. As a little girl, she dreamed of being the first woman president of the United States. Now, she’s helping to grow the TechSTL initiative to include 30,000 innovators from around the region. The prospect of transforming St. Louis through tech education and additional growth opportunities has her especially excited for the years ahead.

Gabe Angieri

Executive Director, Arch Grants

It could be argued that Angieri’s organization is the lifeblood of St. Louis’ startup scene. Since 2012, Arch Grants has awarded $18.5 million in non-dilutive funding to 272 early-stage startups. Cumulatively, Arch Grants’ portfolio of companies has generated more than $1 billion in revenue, raised $765 million in follow-on investments, created more than 3,900 jobs in Missouri, and paid more than $200 million in wages to St. Louis–based employees. Of the 272 companies that Arch Grants has awarded, 70 percent are still active, with 85 percent maintaining significant operations in St. Louis. More than 70 percent of companies awarded by Arch Grants are led or co-led by a woman, person of color, immigrant, or veteran.

Matt Menietti

Executive Director, TechArtista Foundation

As lead organizer of the annual STL Startup Week, Menietti sees inspiring innovators all over the region. “I think our local artists, food entrepreneurs, galleries, and event spaces make St. Louis truly unique,” he says. In 2024, TechArtista celebrated its 10th anniversary of supporting St. Louis’ business scene, and the TechArtista Foundation recently launched a new artist accelerator program to help local creatives grow and receive the resources they need to flourish.

Tim Hayden

Co-founder and Partner, Stadia Ventures and Xvisory

Hayden and co-founder Art Chou launched Stadia Ventures a decade ago, seeking to create an ecosystem for sports- and esports-focused growth and innovation. The Stadia Accelerator offers a $100,000 equity investment, intensive mentoring, and networking opportunities with sports business leaders across the world. The venture firm counts nearly 80 companies in its portfolio, which have proceeded to raise more than $200 million. Hayden also helped launch Xvisory, a consulting firm that works with sports stakeholders to evaluate new business models and implement best practices.

Thad Simons

Co-founder and Managing Director, The Yield Lab

The Yield Lab launched more than a decade ago to create new pathways to capital and support for fledgling agtech companies. Simons co-founded the accelerator to help connect founders to innovative technologies so they can boost productivity, erase the barriers separating agtech ecosystems, and help make everyone in the field smarter. Simons previously served as director of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association and president of Novus International.

Sam Fiorello

President and CEO, Cortex Innovation District

Last year was a busy one for Fiorello, who signed off on more than a dozen new construction projects in the bustling Cortex Innovation District. Other milestones include creating new spaces for homegrown St. Louis companies to thrive, the arrival of Gates Ag One (a subsidiary of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and a notable increase in employees returning to the office. Additionally, Cortex secured $7 million to scale workforce efforts and ensure continued growth and support for Cortex’s employment needs. “These milestones underscore our commitment to development and innovation,” Fiorello says.

Scott Morris

Director, UMSL Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center, Anchor Accelerator

In his 30 years in the corporate world, Morris has done a bit of everything. He’s played a role in strategy and development, M&A, and sales while working in B2B and B2C industries. Now, he’s supporting local entrepreneurs in a big way. The UMSL Anchor Accelerator has awarded $1.1 million in grants to 22 winners over the past four years, and big plans for the future are on deck. “We are now making available to any business in St. Louis the advantages previously reserved for only the winners, including coursework, mentors, and subsidized interns,” he says.

Judy Sindecuse

CEO and Managing Partner, Capital Innovators

Sindecuse didn’t merely launch one company. She’s founded seven—and each were profitable within six months, she says. In addition to starting Capital Innovators as an accelerator for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, Sindecuse advises two Fortune 500 companies on their innovation strategy. Her board experience spans the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and her areas of expertise include growth strategy, equity, acquisitions, and more.

Jordan Russell

Co-founder and CEO, Gateway Quantum Computing, R2 Industries

A physicist and entrepreneur, Russell wants to ensure that St. Louis plays a role in developing hardware for semiconductor manufacturing and quantum technology revolutions. His company advances quantum computing and sensing through its hardware construction. In addition to his current role at Gateway Quantum Computing, Russell is co-founder and CEO of R2 Industries, which manufactures state-of-the-art pulsed laser instruments for microelectronic and micromechanical device fabrication and semiconductor advanced packaging.

Gina Bremehr

CEO, Object Computing

In a field traditionally dominated by men, Bremehr is proud to lead a company that is 60 percent women and people of color. Bremehr has been with the organization since 2013, when she joined as general counsel. Over the past decade-plus, she has gradually worked her way into a leadership role for Object Computing, a consulting firm that works with clients to develop and implement tech solutions that serve as worthwhile business investments.

Brian Kinman

Chairman and CEO, Arch Angels

For the past five years, Arch Angels has been the lead investor in IDEATE Medical Inc., providing the $11 million that helped the company achieve FDA 510(k) clearance last summer. It was the latest major milestone for Kinman, who relishes the opportunity to work closely with the smartest entrepreneurs in human health, agriculture, and tech. “Our industry supports the growth of young startups in our region,” he says. “I would love to see more of the 55,000 accredited investors in our great city join with us in supporting the startup ecosystem.”

Josh Sample

Founder and CEO, Drive Social Media and Marketing Milk

Beyond launching his digital-first marketing and social media agency more than a decade ago, Sample helped create the marketing analytics platform Marketing Milk. Drive Social Media has received national accolades, including Adweek’s “Fastest Growing Agencies” and the Inc. 5000 list. Sample’s business advice: “Stay curious, remain flexible, and view change as your ally.”

Jason O’Bryan

President, Byrne Software Technologies Inc.

Founded in 1985, Byrne Software offers programming, software design, and IT consulting services. Last summer, the company took a major step, announcing an employee stock ownership plan. “Today’s talented professionals have many options in choosing where to start and build their careers,” says O’Bryan, who has worked at the company for nearly 20 years. “Byrne has long been distinguished by a culture that puts people first, with a commitment to thriving together. The ESOP will be unique and innovative in our profession and supports our goal to be an employer of choice.”

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