Business news — recently hired, retired, promoted in the Topeka area

Retiring & Hiring

Evergy, Inc. recently announced Lesley Elwell will join the company as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, Elwell will lead Evergy’s human resources department, with an emphasis on talent strategy, employee engagement, organizational development and performance management. She will report to David Campbell, Evergy’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Elwell joins Evergy with more than 25 years of experience holding human resources and operations leadership roles for large, publicly traded companies in consumer and business-to-business industries, including Walmart, DIRECTV and Sprint. Currently, she serves as Chief People Officer at Kansas City-based JE Dunn, one of the largest commercial construction firms in the U.S. Elwell serves on the board of directors at Starlight Theatre, Kansas City Global Design and Tecta America, a commercial nationwide roofing company. She holds a Master of Engineering Management degree from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Universidad Nacional Experimental Del Tachira in Venezuela. Elwell succeeds Jerl Banning, who left the Company in May.

Amanda Stanley has been hired as Topeka’s City Attorney. Stanley was previously general counsel for the League of Kansas Municipalities. Stanley will start as the City Attorney on Aug. 23. She has worked as a licensed attorney for seven years, including for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita and for the Kansas Court of Appeals. Stanley was named State League Counsel of the Year for the International Municipal Lawyers Association in 2020 and also received the Kansas Bar Association 2020 Outstanding Service Award. She graduated from Newman University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology in 2008 and graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2014. Stanley’s salary as City Attorney will be $128,500.

Landmark National Bank recently announced the hiring of Kristen Martinek for the position of Commercial Banking Officer. Martinek is the newest member of Landmark’s commercial banking team in Topeka. Prior to joining Landmark, Martinek was a director of sales and marketing at Advisors Excel. She is a lifelong Topeka resident, and she and her husband, Brett, have three children. Outside the bank, Martinek delivers meals to Topeka seniors through Meals on Wheels and sews and donates baby quilts to the Kansas Children’s Service League. 

Appointments & Promotions

Evergy recently announced Greg Greenwood, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. Greenwood will continue to lead the company’s Enterprise Analytics and Continuous Improvement departments and will work directly with David Campbell to provide strategic oversight on the Sustainability Transformation Plan through Greenwood’s anticipated departure and retirement in the middle of 2022. He then plans to transition to an advisory role following his retirement, through early 2024.

The Kansas Health Institute recently announced the promotion of Nancy R. Ruf to Director of Administration. Ruf joined KHI in 2012 as the Grants and Contracts Coordinator, and during that time was responsible for the organization’s pre- and post-award activities on various projects. She also led KHI efforts to implement systems and software to ensure the institute fulfills its contractual obligations with national, state and local funders and collaborators. In her new role as Director of Administration, Ruf will take on additional responsibilities in administrative affairs, including human resources, project management and vendor management.

The Kansas Health Institute recently announced the promotion of Phillip Steiner, M.A., to Senior Analyst. Steiner provides policy and program evaluation for projects focused on access to care, market innovation and population health. He also leads project teams and provides technical assistance with data analysis and quality assurance for external partners, most recently for the Shawnee County Health Department’s COVID-19 response. Steiner is instrumental to KHI’s role in helping uncover patterns and trends in data that can inform policymakers and other stakeholders as they make decisions that impact health. Prior to joining KHI in 2019, Steiner was a social science research analyst at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, where he worked to implement and improve payment policy in the Medicare Advantage and PACE programs.