_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Indiana
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Group shot : Back Row ; Left to right : John Yoder CIO , Justin Yoder CDO , Jay Brant CEO , Gary Halter President , Josh Davidhizar CFO . Front Row ; Left to right : Anne Brant Hayes , Executive VP / Chief Legal Counsel and Wally Brant , Chairman of the Board .
crossing North Africa , and I finally popped up back home four and a half months later , ready to take on the responsibility .”
Decades later , history repeated itself , with Wally then anticipating the future of the business in terms of his children taking over . “ I felt like a steward for our company in the same way my father had been ,” he explains . “ While I had always hoped Jay and Anne would take an interest in the business , the most important thing for me as a father is that my kids do what they genuinely want to do , rather than feel pressured to join the family business .
“ I required them both to work four-to-five years outside the family business . However , when I approached them in 2010 with offers to join the business , they jumped at the chance . Nine years later , they became Vice Presidents and in April 2023 , they approached me with the confidence to officially take over .
“ As I said , I ’ m not retiring , but rather taking a backseat ,” Wally reminds us . “ I still have a lot of passion and energy for this business , but what I don ’ t have is a library of fresh ideas required to keep the company relevant – and they do .”
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