Jim Heeter is a longtime Kansas City lawyer with the firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. A veteran of the Kansas City Council, he’s also has a lengthy history of charitable and civic involvement. In March, he was named CEO of the Greater Kansas City Area Chamber of Commerce. After settling into the job, he took time out to talk with Ingram’s about why he accepted this challenge, what he’s learned from it, and what he hopes to accomplish.
Q. How will your legal, your political and civic experience serve you in this role?
A. I believe the breadth of my experience, not only in business, but in civic affairs, charitable causes, the arts—they all tie together to help make me an effective leader. … One of the reasons my wife Judy and I chose Kansas City—we’re not natives here, we adopted the city, and that makes it all the more special—after I finished law school was not only because we had fallen in love with it and it was a terrific place to raise family, but it was a city where we knew we could play a role in shaping the community, making it grow and prosper. This role is a logical culmination of those interests and efforts.
Q. You said earlier this year when you were named CEO for the chamber that the community was at a critical juncture. Can you expand on that?
A. I think we’re a metropolitan community with challenges, but also one with enormous opportunities. … We have a lot of assets in this region, and this is the opportune time to take advantage of those. For instance, I’m a big believer in playing to our strengths—biosciences and animal health—and in establishing a bioscience corridor between Manhattan, Kansas, with Kansas State, and Columbia, with the University of Missouri. And Kansas City is right in the heart of that corridor, including KU in Lawrence. I would like to see the legislatures in both states create an entity that will compete effectively for our area, the way the Research Triangle has done for North Carolina.
Q. In what way?
A. I think a regional approach is important. If you look at a map of the United States, you see pods, megalopolises really, but pods of economic growth around the country. Over the next, pick a number, 25 or 50 years, I believe the growth of those pods is going to accelerate, and a key to success for this region is to be a center of one of those pods of growth and activity.
At the other end of the spectrum, manufacturing. At some point, I believe that our country will realize that we need to manufacture things, start making things again. When we do that, I think Kansas City is beautifully positioned to once again be a real hub for industrial and manufacturing activity.
Q. Have any other opportunities really caught your eye since taking the CEO’s role at the chamber?
A. The enormously good work done by the Kansas Bioscience Authority, under Tom Thornton—they have accomplished some wonderful things. … MOSIRA didn’t pass during the last legislative session, but I would like to see the same kind of bioscience activity at work on the Missouri side.
Q. And the biggest challenge?
A. Our future is a metropolitan future, and we need to make the state line work for us, not against us. Too many times, we’ve done the latter.
Q. Any thoughts on the potential breakup of the Big 12 Conference, and impact on business here?
A. I’m a strong believer in turning challenges into opportunities. I’ve lived my life that way, and believe it’s the right approach for individuals and communities. If there is a realignment, it will be important for greater Kansas City to reach out to any new conference, including other universities in the region.
