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Carl Schramm is not from the Midwest, and he's not like anyone else in Kansas City.
The fact that the new president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation lives on a Christmas tree farm with his wife, two children and a dog and works a tractor in his spare time sounds very Midwestern. But Schramm's farm sits on the East Coast, where his family lives and his approach to the world comes from.
Schramm is an affable sort, but he does not waste time on trivial things: Time is precious, for there is work to be done. That does mean, though, that he's cold or indifferent.
Schramm's executive assistant, Linda Monroe, moved to Kansas City from Baltimore to stay with her boss, whom she's worked for since January 2000. She said she made the move because he is one of the most intelligent and moral men she has ever known and it simply is exciting to be around him.
Once he makes a friend, Monroe said, that person is his friend for life.
"He is able to take a great educational background and his life experiences and get things done while also treating others like he would want to be treated," she said. "He has a marvelous ability to absorb and retain information.
"His circle of friends is absolutely phenomenal. He seems to touch base with all of them regularly, and if they need help, he finds it. He is a man of great character with a reputation as an honest businessman who will do the job he has to do."
Schramm is bringing an outsider's perspective to an insider's organization. He's a highly educated, highly successful agent of change used to working in the highest academic and political circles. Now, he's fused with a foundation bent on bettering the world, one child and one entrepreneur at a time.
Unlike the previous names that have hung on the door at the Kauffman Foundation's top office,...