Greater Omaha Chamber Announces 2026 Omaha Business Hall of Fame Inductees

• June 2, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2026

CONTACT
Aron Wehr
Greater Omaha Chamber
402.978.7920
[email protected]

Greater Omaha Chamber Announces

2026 Omaha Business Hall of Fame Inductees

Omaha, NE - The Greater Omaha Chamber is proud to announce the 2026 inductees into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame, honoring a distinguished group of leaders whose exceptional achievements have shaped Omaha's business landscape and enriched its community.

This year's honorees represent the highest caliber of entrepreneurial leadership, civic dedication, and transformative impact:

• The Honorable Jean Stothert, former Mayor of Omaha

• Derek Leathers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Werner®

• David G. Brown, former President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber

• G. Richard Russell and Carol Madson Russell, Chairman of Millard Lumber Inc and Civic & Community Leaders

• Steve Menzies, Founder of Applied Underwriters, North American Casualty, and United Risk

The Omaha Business Hall of Fame was initiated in 1993 as part of the Chamber's centennial celebration and has since become a hallmark event, celebrating business excellence and legacy. The 2026 honorees will be formally inducted at a gala event held August 19, 2026, at the Holland Performing Arts Center. The nominees are selected by a committee formed of Greater Omaha Chamber board members and Omaha Business Hall of Fame inductees.

The evening will include an hors d'oeuvres and cocktail hour, an induction ceremony, and a dessert reception. Proceeds from the event support the Greater Omaha Chamber Foundation's development of the next generation of Omaha leaders. Honoree achievements will also be commemorated in a permanent Business Hall of Fame exhibit at The Durham Museum.

"We are proud to recognize a class of leaders whose impact can be seen across nearly every part of Omaha's story," said Heath Mello, President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber. "Through decades of business leadership, public service, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and civic engagement, these honorees have helped build institutions, create opportunity, strengthen our economy and improve the quality of life for generations of our community. Together, they represent the kind of lasting leadership and selfless commitment that makes our city so special."

To learn more about the Omaha Business Hall of Fame or to purchase tickets, visit OmahaChamber.org/BHOF.

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About the Greater Omaha Chamber

The Greater Omaha Chamber is one of the country's largest, strongest chambers with nearly 3,000 member businesses and a 5-star accreditation by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The mission of the Greater Omaha Chamber is to champion a thriving business community and a prosperous region through visionary leadership and collaboration.

Honoree Bios

The Honorable Jean Stothert

Mayor Jean Stothert has served the citizens of Omaha in elected office for 27 years, but her record of public service was instilled at a young age by her parents.

After graduating from nursing school, she worked as a critical care nurse and head nurse of cardiovascular surgery at St. Louis University. Her nursing career continued in Washington and Texas before she moved to Omaha with her family in 1993.

Stothert became involved in the Millard Public Schools as a classroom volunteer. She was appointed and then elected to the Millard Board of Education, serving 11 years, including three as President. In 2009, she was elected to the Omaha City Council, representing District 5 in southwest Omaha. In 2013, she was elected Omaha's 51st mayor, becoming the first woman to hold the office. She was re-elected in 2017 and 2021, the first mayor to serve three consecutive terms.

As mayor, Stothert prioritized public safety, city finances, economic development, job and business growth, and improving the taxpayer experience so every citizen received excellent customer service when interacting with city government.

She championed numerous public-private partnerships that continue to contribute to the successful growth of Omaha, including The RiverFront, the downtown Mutual of Omaha headquarters, expansion of CHI Health Center, the Omaha Central Library, the Omaha Streetcar, Steelhouse Omaha, the Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement, and new youth sports facilities at Levi Carter Park, Tranquility Park and Project Game On at Omaha North High School.

Mayor Stothert has served on the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency Board of Directors, Omaha Sister Cities Association and the Smart Cities Initiative.

Following retirement from elected office, she now hosts a daily call-in show on KFAB radio.

She is married to Dr. Kevin O'Rourke. She has two children and four grandchildren.

Derek J. Leathers

Derek J. Leathers is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Werner, serving as Chairman since May 2021 and CEO since May 2016. He was Vice Chairman in 2020-21 and President from 2011 to January 2024. Throughout his tenure at Werner, he has held integral roles in many facets of the organization, including the establishment of the Company's Mexico operations and oversight for all asset operating groups. Leathers has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for more than 30 years. Prior to joining Werner in 1999, he was employed by Schneider National for eight years, during which time he was based in Mexico City and was one of the first foreign members of Mexico's trucking association (CANACAR).

Leathers holds an economics degree from Princeton University. In addition to his corporate leadership, he is deeply committed to the Omaha community and the transportation industry. He serves as the board chair of the American Transportation Research Institute, vice-chair of the American Trucking Associations, and on the board of SkyWest Incorporated.

Locally, Leathers is an active member of the Greater Omaha Chamber Executive Committee and previously served as Board Secretary. He also serves on the boards of the Omaha Development Foundation, United Way of the Midlands, and is a Trustee for Creighton University. A champion for youth, he is the founder of the PlaySmart Leadership Academy. Most recently, Derek and his wife, Nicole-who are also the 2027 United Way Campaign Chairs-chaired Zoofari 2025, which raised record-breaking funds for conservation and education at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.

David G. Brown

David G. Brown was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. One of six children, he distinguished himself in academics and athletics, earning admission to Dartmouth College. After graduation, he returned to Michigan and began a career in economic development, first in Monroe and then in Flint. He later returned to Monroe for his first leadership position before being recruited to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he led economic development efforts and eventually became chamber president. He then served as president of the Greater Greenville Chamber in South Carolina. In October 2003, he became President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber, serving in that role until May 2022.

Under his leadership, the 3,000-member Omaha Chamber championed a strong business climate, advanced regional growth, and elevated Omaha's standing as a premier region for business and talent. During his tenure, the Chamber led public policy initiatives statewide that resulted in landmark legislation, while its economic development partnership helped secure 972 projects, 56,433 new jobs, and nearly $15 billion in new investment.

Brown also helped launch Omaha 2040, a long-range regional vision centered on people, place, and prosperity. That work contributed to major regional initiatives including the Urban Core Strategic Plan, the ConnectGO regional transit strategy, and workforce and leadership development initiatives designed to strengthen collaboration and opportunity across Omaha's business community.

Following his retirement from the Chamber, Brown founded DGB & Associates, LLC and became Lead Consultant with Next Generation Consulting, advising clients on long-range visioning and strategic foresight.

Brown has remained deeply engaged in civic and community leadership. He co-founded the Omaha Business Ethics Alliance and served on the USSTRATCOM Consultation Committee, the Men's College World Series Board, multiple United Way of the Midlands campaign cabinets, and the Opera Omaha board. Nationally, he chaired the Board of Directors of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and served on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100.

David and his wife, Maggie, have called Omaha home since 2003. They are the proud parents of Gregory and Elijah and grandparents to Cordelia.

G. Richard Russell and Carol Madson Russell

G. Richard Russell and Carol Madson Russell have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to business leadership, volunteerism, and community involvement in Omaha.

Rick Russell was born in Yankton, South Dakota, and moved with his parents, George F. and Marjorie H. Russell, to Millard, Nebraska, where George founded Millard Lumber and Grain. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1969, Rick attended Northwestern University, graduating in 1971 with an MBA in finance. After two years as a mortgage banker, he joined Millard Lumber in 1973, working in general administration, credit, and accounting. As the company grew and expanded, Rick became President and then Chief Executive Officer at age 43, following the sudden death of his father.

Throughout his career, Rick remained active in civic and nonprofit organizations in Omaha and Nebraska, including Children's Hospital & Medical Center, the Peter Kiewit Foundation, the Omaha branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the Omaha Children's Museum, and the Nebraska State Chamber.

Carol Russell earned a master's degree in pathology while working as a medical technologist in the University of Nebraska Medical Center laboratory of Rashid Al-Rashid, M.D., Nebraska's first pediatric hematologist/oncologist.

She later became widely recognized for her extensive volunteer involvement and nonprofit leadership throughout Omaha and Nebraska, receiving the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year Award in 2005. Her volunteer leadership has supported a wide range of organizations focused on education, children and families, aging, health care, community development, and human services throughout Nebraska.

Together, Rick and Carol Russell created a family culture grounded in service, generosity, and civic engagement. Their children credit their parents' example with shaping their own lifelong commitments to volunteerism, nonprofit leadership, and community service. Family members described volunteerism in the Russell household as a core value and an expected part of life. They are the parents of three children and grandparents to seven grandchildren.

Steve Menzies

For Steve Menzies, there is an easy commerce between his leadership in the corporate world and his dedicated philanthropy. A lifelong, self-made serial entrepreneur, Steve began his career in a ten-by-ten office shortly after graduating from Columbia University with an engineering degree in Mathematics. His commercial achievements include the creation of Applied Underwriters, North American Casualty, and United Risk.

In 2006, Steve became a partner with Warren Buffett, becoming the youngest CEO within the Berkshire Hathaway organization and, in 2019, the only CEO to buy back from Berkshire. Today, his companies collectively form one of the largest private insurance organizations in the world.

Steve is equally invested in his employees and works to enrich the communities where they work and live. He designed and developed the architecturally award-winning home for his company's 2,000-employee operations campus in Omaha, located within his 500-acre mixed-use development known as Heartwood Preserve. Heartwood has received more than ten distinguished awards, including Fast Company's 2025 Innovation by Design Award for "preventing floods with infrastructure that doubles as land art."

Steve is deeply committed to philanthropy and has chosen to apply his accumulated resources, entrepreneurial skills, and connections to solve seemingly impossible, complex social problems.

Through his eponymous foundation, which functions as an incubator, Steve has recently brought to life two new action-driven charitable institutions. Global Reach, formed in 2023, helps Americans abroad who are held hostage by terrorists or criminal gangs or wrongfully detained by foreign governments. The St. Francis Day Foundation, formed in 2021 in partnership with Pope Francis, develops and distributes educational materials globally in response to the worldwide social crisis created by the abuse of social technology.

Highly decorated and frequently cited, Steve most recently received the prestigious José Juan de Olloqui Award in 2026 for Leadership in the Western Hemisphere.