Pictures of Power
“The more things change,the more they stay the same.”
For the fourth time in a dozen years, Louisville Magazine has conducted its “Power 50” survey, with the intention of answering this simple question: Who runs this town?
The results are in.
Answer 1: A mostly new cast of characters, if you go back 12 years and look at the list as a whole. Of this year’s top 50, only 13 made the power list when we first did our survey in 1994 (see “Staying Power,” p. 35).
Answer 2: The same three guys who ran it three years ago. Mayor Jerry Abramson, Humana founder David Jones Sr., and Frost Brown Todd attorney Ed Glasscock remain solidly ensconced at the top of the list, as they were the last time we published the power rankings, in 2003.
If there hasn’t been much movement at the very top of the list — Abramson and Jones have been in the top three in all four surveys — the rest of the pack has been shaken up pretty thoroughly over a dozen years.
It’s notable that, for the first time, there’s not a single Bingham on the list. The retirements of perennials Mike Herrald, Hank Wagner, Malcolm Chancey and Jim Gaunt have opened up spots for up-and-comers such as John Schnatter, Jim Ramsey, Tom Jurich and brothers Jonathan and Todd Blue.
The top 50 is still pretty much a white men’s club, with only four women and five African-Americans making the list. (Twelve years ago, there were four women and three African-Americans.)
In order to delve a little deeper into the city’s power structure, we asked survey respondents to rank the most powerful in several sub-categories, including women, African-Americans, under 45, religious leaders, elected officials and local companies. We’ve listed the top 10 in each of those categories on the following pages.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
Once again, the core group we surveyed to determine our power rankings are the Leadership Louisville alumni. We mailed more than 1,000 surveys to graduates of the Leadership Louisville and Ignite Louisville programs. This year we added a new group, a list of about 250 local journalists maintained by the Louisville chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, who were e-mailed the survey.
We received just over 100 survey responses. We asked each respondent to list, in order, the 10 most “powerful or influential” Louisvillians in the overall list. We assigned 10 points to each number-one ranking, nine points for number two, and so on down to one point for a 10th-place ranking.
In the sub-category rankings we asked respondents to list the top five in order, and scored them from five to one in the same fashion as the overall rankings.
Our rationale for choosing our survey groups is that the members of each group are, by their participation in the Leadership Louisville program or their chosen profession of journalism, likely to have both a broad knowledge of the community and an interest in the issue of community leadership and power.
Leadership Louisville is a year-long program that seeks to prepare participants for community leadership roles by educating them about community issues, politics, business and leadership. Ignite Louisville is a six-month program with similar goals as Leadership Louisville, for participants between the ages of 25 and 39.
THE "POWER 50" LIST
1. Jerry Abramson, 59, Mayor of Louisville 
Now in his 17th year in the city’s top spot (1985-1998 and 2002-current), our “Mayor for Life” rules over an expanded kingdom since city-county merger. Will he use some of his considerable stores of political capital during a year when he’s up for re-election to take a controversial stand or two?
Top priority for 2006: Metro-Safe communications systems for emergency first-responders.
2003 Power Rank: 1
2. David Jones Sr., 74, Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus, Humana Inc. 
Louisville’s venerable mover/shaker speaks with a quiet voice, but you can be sure everyone in the room is listening. Now retired from Humana, he’s the main man behind the visionary “City of Parks” plan.
Top priority: 21st Century Parks project.
2003 Rank: 2
3. C. Edward Glasscock, 62, Co-managing Partner, Frost Brown Todd 
One of the prime movers in the city-county merger and a driving force behind the effort to build a new downtown arena, former Greater Louisville Inc. chair Glasscock is networked into nearly every major city project.
Top priority: Multi-purpose arena.
2003 Rank: 3
4. John Schnatter, 44, Founder and Chairman, Papa John’s International 
“Who’s your Papa?” Schnatter’s pizza empire continues to thrive, as do his landholdings in tony Anchorage. He was the lone dissenter on the arena task force, then donated $5 million to the project to show there are no hard feelings.
2003 Rank: 11
5. Anne Northup, 57, U.S. Representative, Kentucky’s 3rd District 
She’s won a few tough re-election battles in this Democratic-majority district and she’s brought home enough bacon to stock an impressive political larder — it’s a sign of her political power that the search for Democratic challengers in this year’s election has been difficult.
Top priority: Ohio River bridges project.
2003 Rank: 10
6. James R. Ramsey, 57, President, University of Louisville
He’s had three years in the top job at U of L to learn the intricacies of academic politics. He’ll need all his skills and influence to preserve U of L’s budget priorities in the General Assembly while avoiding the potential town/gown conflicts in the arena-funding debate.
Top priority: Continue to improve U of L’s academic and economic stature and the standard of living for Louisville.
2003 Rank: 27
7. Mitch McConnell, 63, U.S. Senator, U.S. Senate Majority Whip 
Whether it’s finding federal funding for local projects, championing U of L research projects or playing a barely-behind-the-scenes kingmaker role in Kentucky’s Republican Party, McConnell’s influence on local affairs is both wide and deep.
Top priority: 21st Century Parks project.
2003 Rank: 6
8. Owsley Brown II, 63, Chairman, Brown-Forman Corp.
Power family, power company, power name. He and the Brown family are involved as fund-raisers and donors in nearly every major project in the city — especially if it’s related to the arts. He and wife Christy are, hands down, Louisville’s top power couple.
2003 Rank: 9
9. Rick Pitino, 53, Head Coach, U of L Men’s Basketball 
Already Louisville’s best-known resident celebrity (says Best of Louisville polling), his outspokenness on the arena debate has raised his profile among the city’s power players — or was it last year’s Final Four finish? Can it be long before we see an oversize poster on a local building touting our fair city as “Rick’s Louisville”?
2003 Rank: 15
10. Rick Anderson, 58, Chairman and CEO, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald 
Current Fund for the Arts chairman and 2005 United Way campaign chair, this leader of Louisville’s third-largest law firm has quietly risen through the power ranks over the last decade.
Top priority: Stabilizing finances of arts groups.
2003 Rank: 26
11. David Novak, 53, Chairman and CEO, YUM! Brands 
Running one of the world’s largest restaurant companies (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc.) has its power perks — but it also means putting up with PETA, angry tomato pickers and bird-flu worries. With Novak and Papa John Schnatter residing in its boundaries, Anchorage can now claim the undisputed title of “Pizza-Boss Capital of the World.”
Top priority: Growing YUM! Brands’ international business, especially in China.
2003 Rank: 13
12. Tom Jurich, 49, Athletic Director, University of Louisville
If Louisville is the “best college sports town in the country,” then it stands to reason that its largest university’s athletic director must be at least one of the best college ADs in the country — especially after he’s made all U of L sports more competitive in the school’s new “power conference,” the Big East. Hope it doesn’t bother him that his b-ball coach outranks him on the power scale.
2003 Rank: NR
13. Dave Armstrong, 63, Attorney, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald 
Former mayor, former county judge, former state attorney general, he’s had his hands on just about every local political power lever available. His 1990s mayoral emphasis on downtown revitalization appears to be paying big dividends.
Top priority: Bringing more high-wage jobs to metro Louisville.
2003 Rank: 19
14. Ed Manassah, 58, President and Publisher, The Courier-Journal 
You know what they say about getting into an argument with a guy who buys ink by the barrel. Manassah played a key role in keeping the arena site recommendation downtown by personally suggesting the LG&E block and by his newspaper’s ardent — or should we say strident? — editorials on the subject.
Top priority: Downtown arena.
2003 Rank: 17
15. Owsley Brown Frazier, 70, Board Chairman, Frazier Historical Arms Museum
Now retired from Brown-Forman, Frazier is still one of the city’s most munificent philanthropists. His current main project is his arms museum on West Main Street.
2003 Rank: 7
16. David Jones Jr. 47, Chairman and Managing Director, Chrysalis Ventures; Chairman, Humana Inc.
In 2005 he stepped into the large shoes previously worn by his father — at least titularly — when he was named Humana board chairman. Quiet and cerebral, he’s made one of the larger leaps on the power list since our last survey.
Top priority: Improving K-12 and undergraduate education.
2003 Rank: 34
17. Thomas Kelly, 74, Archbishop, Archdiocese of Louisville 
His power is not of this world — or is it? If nothing else, leading the city’s second-largest school system qualifies as a significant power base.
Top priority: Providing quality education to all children.
2003 Rank: 39
18. Jonathan Blue, 38, Chairman and Managing Director, Blue Equity 
He and sibling Todd — Louisville’s own Blues Brothers — are the youngest of the Power 50. After a business split with his younger brother, Jonathan retains a Spanish-language phone-directory publishing business and a sports promotion company. In one of the survey’s more intriguing anomalies, Jon outranks his brother in the main list, but Todd reigns in the “Under 45” list.
Top priority: Developing and retaining the city’s small and mid-sized businesses.
2003 Rank: NR
19. Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, 52, Owner and President, Bridgeman Foods 
As immediate past chairman of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees, this former U of L basketball player has solidified his standing as one of the city’s power players.
Top priority: Foster more unity within the city.
2003 Rank: 22
20. Bill Samuels, 65, President & CEO, Marker’s Mark Distillery 
You’ve got to appreciate a guy who can be influential but still isn’t afraid to appear in public wearing a red wax wig. He will be taking over as Greater Louisville Inc. chair in 2006.
Top priority: A downtown multi-purpose arena.
2003 Rank: NR
21. Kelly Downard, 59, Metro Council Member, District 16
From unranked to number 21 in three years is noteworthy, but this Republican has his eye on the top spot as he challenges Abramson for the mayor’s office in 2006.
Top priority: The mayoral election.
2003 Rank: NR
22. Bob Russell, 62, Senior Minister, Southeast Christian Church 
As head of the state’s (and one of the nation’s) largest single congregation, Russell gives sermons that reverberate louder than most. It doesn’t hurt either that several of Louisville’s most influential citizens are members of his flock.
Top priority: Encouraging Louisville Christians to “live a life of integrity and to stand for Biblical principles with boldness.”
2003 Rank: 14
23. Kevin Cosby, 47, Senior Pastor, St. Stephen Baptist Church; President, Simmons College of Kentucky 
The leader of the city’s largest African-American congregation has shown a charismatic willingness to buck longstanding West End Democratic traditions by forming alliances with political and religious conservatives.
Top priority: Mobilize the resources of St. Stephen to “have a greater social, economic and moral impact on West Louisville.”
2003 Rank: 29
24. Todd Blue, 36, Managing Director, Cobalt Ventures 
After the recent split of business interests with his brother Jonathan, Todd Blue controls most of the family’s downtown development projects, including Preston Pointe and Cobalt Marketplace.
Top priority: Downtown development, especially residential and arena.
2003 Rank: NR
25. Elaine (Cissy) Musselman, 62, Founder, Women 4 Women
A staunch and longtime advocate for women in Louisville, Musselman is the current chair of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. She’s also one of the leaders of Women 4 Women’s drive to raise $10 million for women’s causes by 2010.
2003 Rank: 38
26. J. David Grissom, 67, Chairman, The Glenview Trust Co. and Mayfair Capital 
A well-connected lawyer, banker and private investor, Grissom is a quietly effective behind-the-scenes power broker. He has served on the boards of many of the city’s largest corporations and civic organizations, including Humana, YUM! Brands, LG&E, the Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Center for the Arts.
2003 Rank: 18
27. Robert C. White, 53, Chief of Police, City of Louisville 
His willingness to discipline officers who break department rules hasn’t endeared him to some of the rank-and-file (or more particularly, the Fraternal Order of Police leadership), but he has the support of the constituency that counts the most: the mayor.
Top priority: “Preventing crime through a collaborative relationship with the community.”
2003 Rank: NR
28. Joe Reagan, 42, President & CEO, Greater Louisville Inc. 
After only four months as head of GLI, Reagan’s personal charm and energy make him a promising leader of the local business community. The 2006 General Assembly session will be his baptism of fire.
Top priority: Launching GLI’s Partnership for Education; securing a downtown arena.
2003 Rank: NR
29. Robert L. Shircliff, 49, President & CEO, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare
Another newcomer to the list, Shircliff has held the reins of the Jewish Hospital health-care empire for only a few months, but he’s already shaken up the organization’s top ranks and engineered a merger with CARITAS.
Top priority: Delivering the greatest value to the community from the newly formed Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare.
2003 Rank: NR
30. Larry Clark, 60, State Representative, 46th District; Speaker Pro Tem of the Kentucky House of Representatives 
Those in the know say that if you want to get any Louisville projects funded in Frankfort, Clark is the go-to guy.
Top priority: Education funding; finding a formula that “truly works” for funding a Louisville arena.
2003 Rank: 45
31. J. Blaine Hudson, 56, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Louisville 
A scholar and author whose main focus has been studying the history and culture of people of African descent, Hudson has also become a respected leader in Louisville’s African-American community.
Top priority: Academic and service collaborations between U of L and the local community, especially the African-American sector.
2003 Rank: NR
32. Michael B. McCallister, 53, President & CEO, Humana Inc.
Now in his sixth year as Humana CEO, McCallister deserves much of the credit for turning around a company that was struggling financially only a few years ago. As the company’s fortunes (and stock price) have risen, so has Wall Street speculation that it might be a takeover target for one of the larger health insurers.
2003 Rank: 28
33. Joseph Pusateri, 54, President, Elite Homes 
Few Louisvillians outside of homebuilding circles knew much about Pusateri before his bold move to spearhead a financial rescue of the beleaguered Louisville Orchestra a couple of years ago. Now he’s president of the Orchestra’s board and a newcomer to the Power 50 list.
Top priority: Restructure/re-create the Orchestra so it will be financially stable and artistically successful for the next 50 years.
2003 Rank: NR
34. Stan Curtis, 56, Founder, Kentucky Harvest 
A stockbroker (and former professional golfer), Curtis is best-known for founding Kentucky Harvest, a charitable group that uses leftover restaurant food and other sources to feed those in need.
2003 Rank: NR
34. Stephen A. Williams, 55, President & CEO, Norton Healthcare 
Williams, who rose through the ranks to the top job at Louisville’s largest hospital company, has quietly turned Norton’s troubled ex-HCA properties into financially successful hospitals. He has chaired GLI and the Fund for the Arts and Metro United Way campaigns.
Top priority: Continuation of the downtown residential, business and entertainment renaissance.
2003 Rank: 33
36. Eddy Roberts, 57, State President-Kentucky, BellSouth
Another of the city’s quiet leaders, the Alabama-born Roberts has brought a Southern gentleman’s touch to his 2005 chairmanship of Greater Louisville Inc.
Top priority: Education funding, Louisville arena.
2003 Rank: 39
36. James “Steve” Wilson, 57, Co-owner, 21C Museum Hotel; Co-founder, Museum Plaza; Buffalo Farmer 
Wilson and his wife, Laura Lee Brown, are in the forefront of downtown development plans with a “concierge” hotel under construction on West Main and plans for an office/residential high-rise just west of the Muhammad Ali Center.
2003 Rank: NR
38. Stephen Daeschner, 63, Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent
Daeschner was recently named Kentucky’s Superintendent of the Year, but he still has critics on the school board (his current contract was extended by a slim 4-3 margin). Lasting a dozen years in this job is an accomplishment in itself.
2003 Rank: NR
39. Jim Patterson, 72, Pattco 
Best-known locally for past restaurant ventures (Long John Silver’s, Chi-Chi’s, Rally’s), this entrepreneur mostly stays out of the public limelight. Now, with his name on U of L’s new baseball stadium and his service on last summer’s arena task force, his visibility has increased.
Top priority: A new arena.
2003 Rank: NR
40. Debbie Scoppechio, 56, Founder/Chairman/CEO, Creative Alliance 
As the head of one of Louisville’s largest advertising agencies and a former Chamber of Commerce chair, this hardworking free spirit has established herself as a force in the city’s business establishment.
Top priority: Economic development and business attraction.
2003 Rank: 50
41. Kent Oyler, 47, CEO, OPM Services 
An entrepreneur who founded several businesses in the late 1990s, Oyler now nurtures local entrepreneurs, first with business incubator bCatalyst and now as the mayor’s advisor on entrepreneurial issues.
Top priority: Leadership development.
2003 Rank: NR
42. Victor A. Staffieri, 50, Chairman/CEO/President, E.ON U.S.
In the literal sense, no one wields more power in Louisville than the head of the local power-generating company, but Staffieri also has led the way as a past chair of the Chamber of Commerce and the 2002 Metro United Way campaign.
Top priority: Implementing pollution-control projects in E.ON power plants and building a second LG&E plant in Trimble County.
2003 Rank: 23
42. Phil McHugh, 41, President & CEO, Fifth Third Bank, Louisville 
A newcomer to the list, McHugh has replaced Jim Gaunt at Fifth Third and, surprisingly, he’s the only banking executive to make this year’s top 50 (although Chase’s Thelma Ferguson is represented in the most-powerful women’s list).
Top priority: Downtown arena.
2003 Rank: NR
44. William M. Street, 67, Retired, Former President, Brown-Forman Corp.
His local power profile is a bit lower since his retirement, but he and wife Lindy are one of the city’s “power couples.” He was recently appointed head of the Kentucky Racing Commission by Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
Top priority: The arena.
2003 Rank: 21
44. Christopher 2X, 45, Founder, Ceremonial Healing Group 
It’s a long, strange road from doing prison time for drug-dealing to the Power 50 list, but 2X has made it, thanks in part to a flurry of recent media stories about him. His stop-the-violence message is resonating in Louisville’s West End and beyond.
Top priority: Project “Build a Rapport,” to “channel energies for coexistence.”
2003 Rank: NR
46. Joan Riehm, 60, Deputy Mayor, City of Louisville 
Her long tenure in city government — press secretary to the mayor in the ’70s, then deputy mayor under Abramson — gives her a unique perspective and position of trust. She makes things happen.
Top priority: Continuing progress on initiatives of the merged government.
2003 Rank: NR
47. Louis H. Coleman, 62, Pastor, First Congregational Methodist Church; Director, Justice Resource Center 
A man who is equally loved, hated, feared and admired, Coleman has been speaking out, often through a bullhorn, against racial and economic injustice longer and louder than anyone else in the city.
Top priority: To “publish a daily newspaper that will have the heart, courage and integrity to stand against the day-to-day injustices that continue to oppress disenfranchised African-Americans and minorities.”
2003 Rank: NR
48. Steve Poe, 50, President & CEO, Poe Companies
He’s best-known for his downtown hotel developments — the Marriott Downtown and the new Residence Inn — and he’s got some interesting projects on the drawing board, including RiverPark Place in Waterfront Park and Museum Plaza.
Top priority: “Initiatives that create an environment in Louisville where innovative development is continuous.”
2003 Rank: NR
49. Allan Cowen, 56, President & CEO, Fund for the Arts 
He’s taken a few hits in recent times over his salary and perks, but there’s no denying that he’s helped build one of the most effective united arts funds in the nation.
Top priority: “Energizing the arts to reach beyond stabilization.”
2003 Rank: 29
50. Doug Cobb, 48, CEO, Appris Inc.
This publishing entrepreneur (Cobb Group), venture capitalist (Chrysalis Ventures) and former GLI chair is building yet another local company, Appris Inc., which develops software and computer networks used by government agencies and crime victims to track prison inmates.
Top priority: Getting the downtown arena under way.
2003 Rank: 24
OTHER POWER LISTS
Most Powerful Women
1. Anne Northup, U.S. Representative
2. Cissy Musselman, Founder, Women 4 Women
3. Thelma Ferguson, President, Chase Bank
4. Joan Riehm, Deputy Mayor, City of Louisville
5. Christy Brown, Owner, Louisville Stoneware
6. Alice Houston, President, Houston-Johnson Inc.
7. Vicki Yates Brown, Attorney, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald
8. Mary Moseley, President, Al Schneider Companies
9. Phoebe Wood, Executive Vice President/CFO, Brown Forman
10. Peggy B. Lyndrup, Attorney, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald
10. Debbie Scoppechio, Chairman & CEO, Creative Alliance
Most Powerful African-Americans
1. Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, Owner/President, Bridgeman Food Companies
2. Kevin Cosby, Senior Pastor, St. Stephen Baptist Church
3. Charlie Johnson, President/CEO, C.W. Johnson Xpress
4. Wade Houston, Executive Vice President, Houston-Johnson Inc.
5. Ben Richmond, President/CEO, Urban League
6. Alice Houston, President, Houston-Johnson Inc.
7. Thelma Ferguson, President, Chase Bank
8. Bill Summers IV, Deputy Mayor, City of Louisville
9. William McAnulty, Judge, Kentucky Court of Appeals
10. Robert White, Police Chief, City of Louisville
Most Powerful Under 45
1. Todd Blue, 36, Managing Director, Cobalt Ventures
2. Jonathan Blue, 38, Chairman/Managing Director, Blue Equity
3. Matt Thornton, 34, CEO, Thorntons Inc.
4. Craig Greenburg, 32, Attorney, Frost Brown Todd
5. Jeff McKenzie, 45, Attorney, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald
6. Mark Sommer, 43, Attorney, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald
7. John Schnatter, 44, Chairman, Papa John’s International
8. Tyler Allen, 37, Co-Owner/President, USA Image Technologies
9. Ellen Call, 38, Metro Council Member
10. Paul Varga, 42, President/CEO, Brown-Forman Corp.
Most Powerful Religious Leaders
1. Bob Russell, Senior Minister, Southeast Christian Church
2. Kevin Cosby, Senior Pastor, St. Stephen’s Baptist Church
3. Thomas Kelly, Archbishop, Archdiocese of Louisville
4. Louis Coleman, Pastor, First Congregational Methodist Church
5. Al Mohler, President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
6. Walter Malone, Pastor/Founder, Canaan Christian Church
7. Dave Stone, Preaching Associate, Southeast Christian Church
8. Kathy Goodwin, Pastor, Coke Memorial Methodist Church
9. James Turner, Pastoral Administrator, St. Martin de Porres Church
10. Christopher 2X, Founder, Ceremonial Healing Group
Most Powerful Elected Officials
1. Jerry Abramson, Mayor of Louisville
2. Anne Northup, U.S. Representative
3. Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senator
4. Kelly Downard, Metro Council Member, 16th District
5. Larry Clark, State Representative, 46th District
6. Ellen Call, Metro Council Member, 26th District
7. Joni Jenkins, State Representative, 44th District
8. Tom Owen, Metro Council Member, 8th District
9. Gerald Neal, State Senator, 33rd District
10. William McAnulty, Judge, Kentucky Court of Appeals
10. Mary Lou Marzian, State Representative, 34th District
Most Powerful Companies
1. Humana Inc.
2. UPS
3. Brown-Forman Corp.
4. YUM! Brands
5. Papa John’s International
6. LG&E
7. Ford Motor Co.
8. General Electric
9. Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare
10. Frost Brown Todd
Staying Power
Here are the 13 Louisvillians from this year’s Power 50 who also appeared on the 1994 list (followed by their 1994 rank):
1. Jerry Abramson (1)
2. David Jones Sr. (3)
3. Ed Glasscock (44)
7. Mitch McConnell (20)
8. Owsley Brown II (17)
13. Dave Armstrong (2)
15. Owsley Brown Frazier (19)
17. Archbishop Thomas Kelly (15)
23. Rev. Kevin Cosby (43)
26. David Grissom (14)
38. Stephen Daeschner (25)
39. Jim Patterson (38)
46. Joan Riehm (47)
