The University of Missouri-Kansas City is honoring several entrepreneurs as part of its Nov. 30 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards program.
The program, which got its start in 1985, also raises money for UMKC’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and student and community programs.
This year’s honorees “have tested their ideas and the systems they’re part of, asking how they work, and how they could be different. In so doing, each one has changed their industry and community for the better.”
The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards honorees this year are:
Henry W. Bloch International Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Marcelo Claure, founder of multibillion-dollar global investment firm Claure Group and founder of Brightstar Corp.
Claure, who previously was CEO of Sprint Corp., transformed Brightstar from a small local distributor to the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company. Brightstar sold in 2014 to Softbank Corp. subsidiaries for about $1.1 billion. Claure also played an integral role in Sprint’s sale to T-Mobile US Inc. and was CEO of SoftBank Group International, where he launched SoftBank’s $8 billion Latin America Fund, which invests in Latin American companies in industries such as e-commerce, education, fintech and health and wellness.
Claure also co-founded the One Laptop Per Child program, which provides laptops to children in emerging countries, and founded the 1Million Project Foundation, which aims to provide internet access to one million high school students, who don’t have reliable home internet access, so they can reach their full potential.
Kansas City Entrepreneurs of the Year: Chris Long, founder of Palmer Square Capital Management, an asset manager focused on corporate and structured credit, and Angie Long, chief investment officer and one of two principal owners of Palmer Square.
Founded in 2009, the Mission Woods-based company started off with two employees managing about $10 million in assets but has since ballooned to 59 employees managing about $29 billion. Its London office, which opened in July 2020, has played a key role in its growth. Long also serves on the board of directors of the Kansas City Sports Commission and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.
While at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Angie Long was named a managing director at 29 and held multiple senior roles. She is on the board of directors for Union Station Kansas City and Kansas City’s 2026 World Cup. Earlier this year, Long was named to the inaugural Bizwomen 100, the first national listing of women who are making an impact in their local business communities.
Husband-and-wife team Chris and Angie Long, as well as Brittany Mahomes, brought a National Women’s Soccer League franchise to Kansas City now called the Kansas City Current. Soft openings for the team’s new $118 million stadium at Kansas City’s Berkley Riverfront are slated for late November or early December.
Marion and John Kreamer Award for Social Entrepreneurship: David Johnson, founder of Chicken N Pickle and CEO of Maxus Realty Trust.
Chicken N Pickle debuted in 2016 and has grown to eight locations in five states, with seven more in development. The pickleball-focused eatertainment concept’s recent $10 million friends-and-family round featured star-studded investors, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, plus Jack Sock, a Blue Valley North alum who has won multiple career tennis titles plus gold and bronze medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
“Our hearts are local” is a core theme for the company, which regularly gives back to the community and local charities. Last year, the company’s community impact team worked with more than 2,000 charities, and the company gave more than $328,000 in monetary and in-kind donations.
Student Entrepreneur of the Year: Lesly Romo, a business administration student and bilingual real estate professional who closed more than $2 million in sales over the past year.
Romo also is vice president of projects for UMKC Enactus, where she oversees social entrepreneurship-driven initiatives aimed at creating meaningful change. She is working to create a nonprofit focused on promoting financial literacy and also has plans for constructing an inclusive multifaceted soccer facility.
