You know that saying about what Generation Three does to a family-owned business? Well, in Amber Manning’s case, you can just forget about it. She’s the recently-named CEO of The Miller Group—her father was one of the founder’s sons—but DNA didn’t earn her that role. Performance did: “My greatest accomplishments at The Miller Group involve helping the company grow both financially and culturally,” she says. “While serving as our president of the Personal Risk Management division, I helped the department’s revenue grow 900 percent in under four years. After that, I purchased shares in the company and joined the executive team. I then served as vice president of the Employee Benefits division, where I moved the department from a negative margin to profitable growth within roughly two years.”
Culture, she says, is as important as financial performance, so she has stepped in to help build a positive, supportive, caring environment where employees feel so valued that they often refer members of their own families to join her family’s team. As with Gen2, “I am a highly driven individual who values family, faith, my community and giving back,” Manning says. “These values guide me in all aspects of life and were influenced by my parents and grandparents. From a young age, they taught me to be generous, thoughtful, and humble.” She and husband Chris have three children, ages 6, 7, and 10, and her civic history includes a seat on the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation’s regional advisory council for nearly five years and before that, board and committee roles with the Central Exchange and the Kansas City Symphony.