3 business leaders talk turning points

Access Louisville

Every once in a while, you have to look back at your career and your place in the community and not only ponder where you've been but look ahead at what's coming next.

That's what we did on Monday, Sept. 9 as we sat down with our newest inductees in LBF's Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame:

• Sandra Frazier, founder, Tandem Public Relations
• Jimmy Kirchdorfer, chairman and CEO, ISCO Industries Inc, and an owner of Valhalla Golf Club
• William Summers, chief community development officer, Republic Bank

The three joined us on the most recent episode of the Access Louisville podcast, which was recorded live in front of an audience for a special event at Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana.

We covered myriad topics on the show — from Louisville's hits and misses to honing in on specific moments of the three honorees careers.

For an example of the latter, Kirchdorfer spoke about taking his family's business from a small irrigation company that primarily served clients in Kentucky to one that serves people around the world. He remembers walking into the company's plant and watching a system that was going to be used in Asia being built right here.

"They needed our expertise, halfway across the world — calling us," Kirchdorfer said. "That kinda inspired me to think bigger."

Fraizer told us about the advice she gives to young professionals looking to advance in their careers and get more involved in the community. She tells them to slow down, learn from what they're doing and don't worry about offending people.

"If you do want to get engaged in things, have a strategy and processes. You've got to come to it from a thoughtful place that isn't going to immediately shut people down," she said.

And Summers spoke about a few of the community's key turning points, such as the opening of the KFC Yum! Center. He was a long-time member of the Louisville Arena Authority board, a non-profit that oversees the arena's management and operation, which he called a big part of his career.

Opening the arena was a key win for Louisville. But the community has had its misses too, such as not bringing an NBA franchise to the city.

"That would have been a game changer," he said.

Summers believes there are a lot of opportunities to be had for Louisville, though. "We as a community, we have to be comfortable taking more risks," he said.

Access Louisville is also available on popular podcast services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First, where we cover recent news and spotlight local business and community leaders. Monday's recording was only the second time we've recorded in front of a live audience. The last live show, which featured former Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and Philanthropist Christina Lee Brown, can be heard here.

You can check out who made this year's Forty Under 40 class here. And you can read more about the Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame (including past inductees) here.