2020 40 Under 40 Yearbook: John Wanamaker, 59

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Then: Partner and Director of Management Consulting Services Department, BKD LLP’s Southern Missouri Practice
Now: Retired

These days, John Wanamaker can be found traversing the country in his recreational vehicle or making the rounds in Europe, though COVID-19 restrictions have hampered those travel plans to some extent.

It’s the perks of retirement for the former BKD managing partner, who exited in 2018 after 34 years with the public accounting firm.

It was a personal decision to step away before BKD’s mandatory retirement age of 62, he says, pointing to the fact that his father died at age 55.

“As you start getting past the age when your dad died, you start worrying a little bit about, ‘Have I spent enough time smelling the roses?’” Wanamaker says.

While he’s now heavily in vacation mode, he still has ties in Springfield. He’s part of the Springfield Good Government Committee and a member of the Missouri State University Foundation Board of Trustees, among other groups.