John Wanamaker’s 28-year career at national accounting firm BKD LLP has been marked by a steady rise through the ranks.
He joined the firm in 1984, and after being named a partner 10 years later, he began serving companywide committees focused on the health care and long-term care industries. In 1999, he was named the director of management consulting services for BKD’s Southern Missouri Practice Unit, moving into the role of assistant managing partner for the unit in 2002.
He is most proud, however, of being named managing partner of the firm’s Springfield, Joplin and Branson units, responsible for operations that generates $41.5 million in annual revenue.
“I learned early on that to be successful at BKD, you had to become an expert in the industries of the clients you serve, and at the same time, develop a team of professionals below you to serve those clients,” Wanamaker says. “It became clear to me that ... to grow in my career, I needed to spend time teaching, coaching, training and developing others below me to also be successful.”
Wanamaker says BKD has a culture of giving back to the communities it serves, and throughout his career, Wanamaker has volunteered in several organizations, including Care to Learn, the Springfield Business Development Corp. and the American Cancer Society. In each of those endeavors and others, Wanamaker has been selected for leadership positions, serving as president of the SBDC, executive Cattle Baron for the 2009 and 2010 ACS Cattle Baron’s Ball events and on the board of Care to Learn.
Wanamaker also has served as a board member of the Missouri Higher Education Partnership; he was appointed by the mayor to serve on the board of the city’s Enhanced Enterprise Zone; and he’s a past president of the Ozark Health Advocacy Foundation.
“In nearly every organization that I have been involved in through the years, my leadership qualities were recognized by electing me to an officer position, in many cases as high as president,” Wanamaker says.
Wanamaker says he’s proud to be in a position to lead the 225 team members in the southern Missouri unit and train them to better serve BKD’s roughly 7,000 business and individual clients.
“We recognize that as a professional service organization, our people are our No. 1 asset and that we have a responsibility to cultivate the firm leaders of tomorrow,” Wanamaker says.
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