4 minutes with… Gary Weihs, Managing Director, Kincannon & Reed, Executive Recruiting

Tell us about your company and it’s role in the Advanced Bioeconomy.

We recruit leaders for organizations that feed our world and keep it healthy. We are thrilled to work exclusively in the bioeconomy/lifesciences value chain.

For 33 years, organizations around the globe have trusted us, former industry executives, to deliver superior executives that help them turn their vision into reality.

Tell us about your role and what you are focused on in the next 12 months.

I’m focused on serving our clients with their leadership needs. Executive talent is the one indispensable element in a bioeconomy company.

Acquisition, development, and retention of talented leaders demand a long-term view. Today’s fast-moving environment can wreak havoc with human resource planning and recruitment.

Without near-term success, there is no long term. My reward is helping our clients succeed in the war for talent and them avoiding the opportunity costs from a lack of executive leadership that can make a difference.

Personally, I look forward to the arrival of our second grandchild and the marriage of our third child in the next 12 months.

What do you feel are the most important milestones the industry must achieve in the next 5 years?  

We need multiple examples of enviable economic returns in the industry to attract the financial and human capital required to make the most of this incredible, global, bioeconomy opportunity.

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the Advanced Bioeconomy, what would you change? 

I’d want to establish long term stability in RFS2.

Of all the reasons that influenced you to join the Advanced Bioeconomy industry, what single reason stands out for you as still being compelling and important to you?  

The world is changing towards a bio-based economy. There will be ups and downs but the trend is very clear. There are daily breakthroughs in both chemicals and fuels. I look forward to reading BioFuels Digest every day to find out what’s new.

Where are you from? 

I was born in Harlan, Iowa on a diversified, 240 acre farm. I can’t imaging a better opportunity to learn about the value of hard work, family, and entrepreneurship.

What was your undergraduate major in college, and where did you attend? Why did you choose that school and that pathway?

I attended the Colorado School of Mines in Golden Colorado on a wrestling scholarship. I have always had a deep interest in both science and engineering.

Who do you consider your mentors – could be personal, business, or just people you have read about and admire. What have you learned from them?

I’d name a few –

My high school and college wrestling coaches, Dan Hill and Jack Hancock. – Persistence

My undergraduate and graduate professors, Henry Babcock and Ray Goldberg. – Technical and Business Professionalism

My father, Wilfred Weihs, who turns 93 next month and still works every day on the home place. – Work Ethic

Steven Covey – Personal Effectiveness

What’s the biggest lesson you ever learned during a period of adversity?  

Don’t quit. Life is full of ups and downs but no one respects someone who can’t get up, dust off, and keep going after something didn’t turn out quite as planned. We are so fortunate to have grown up with an education and loads of opportunity, we can’t ever look past the options available to us every day to create value in this world.

What hobbies do you pursue, away from your work in the industry?  

I’m an avid sports fan and manage to get to the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Nationals every year. I have a son and a pregnant daughter-in-law in Brazil, so I have a keen interest there plus three other kids, their significant others, a grand daughter, and a beautiful wife to keep me engaged outside of work.

What are 3 books you’d want to have with you, if you were stranded on a desert island

Rich Johnson’s Wilderness Survival Guide

Making Marriage Work – Assuming my wife is with me 🙂

How To Get Rescued From a Desert Island

What books or articles are on your reading list right now, or you just completed and really enjoyed?  

The Science of Success (How Market-Based Management Built the World’s Largest Private Company) by Charles Koch.

Power Relationships by Andrew Sobel.

Industry newsletters.

What’s your favorite city or place to visit, for a holiday?  

Maui, what a great way to relax.