For more than a decade, Memphis Magazine has celebrated a group of CEOs every year, recognizing visionaries and executives who go above and beyond to elevate their companies and their community. And every year, we gather these leaders at a sponsored awards breakfast to honor them in front of their peers and the community.
The challenge is in deciding which of them should receive the honor. Memphis is bold, creative, and forward-thinking, so those who are selected by magazine staff members do more than lead a successful organization. We like to see leaders that value innovation, who pay particular attention to the welfare and treatment of employees, and who give back to the community. It is these efforts that make a difference, and these results that provide a reason to celebrate.
The awards breakfast is Thursday, June 11, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Hardin Hall, Memphis Botanic Garden. A breakfast follows the program. Prices are $300 for a table of 10 or $30 per ticket. Tickets are at bit.ly/4vDlRAl
The 2026 CEO of the Year is co-sponsored by Advanced Dental Implant and TMJ Center and enaiblr.
Kevin Sharp
photograph courtesy dixon gallery & gardens
Director, Dixon Gallery & Gardens
It was something of a relief for Kevin Sharp when he got to sit for an interview with a journalist. He was very much primed to talk about leadership — his official title is the Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea Director of the Dixon Gallery & Gardens — because he had just finished several days of being at the top of his game.
That morning he had said farewell to representatives of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) re-accreditation team, who had spent several days doing a close inspection of the Dixon and were off to write the report that will have an impact on the institution. “It’s been a lot,” he admitted. “When you’ve got company coming, you put a shine on the place, so we’ve never been cleaner or tidier. And it was just another thing to add to an already busy season and then throw in the flower show.”
But it’s what a CEO does: handle everything that gets thrown at them, no matter what. So the Dixon continued to take down the powerful “Black Artists in America” exhibition and start mounting the Mary Sims retrospective that opened April 19th, it kept tending to the largest bulb display in its history (650,000 tulips and daffodils), and it stayed the course with workshops and educational programming. All this as the AAM reviewers pored over core documents, poked into every nook and cranny of the place, and interviewed every staff member plus board members, stakeholders, community partners, and volunteers.
And it’s worth it. Every decade, the AAM does its re-accreditation visit and only about 5 percent of museums achieve it. It not only compels a museum to stay relevant, it’s also key to getting top exhibitions. Sharp says, “When we write a letter to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for instance, to borrow something from them or from the Whitney or from any other major museum, they’re much more likely to entertain our request if we’re AAM-accredited. For a relatively small institution like us, we need that advantage.”
Sharp has been in the museum field for about 40 years and he’s been at the Dixon for almost half of that time. He started as a curator at the Art Institute of Chicago and absolutely loved doing it. “But eventually I decided I wanted more control over the kind of projects I was doing,” he says. “At my level, I was more or less told the shows that I would be working on, which was fine with me. They were absolutely world-class, but I wanted to be more of a full-service curator.”
“I’ve just loved every minute of being at the Dixon. It’s a treasure, and it still surprises me sometimes that I’m the one that gets to take care of it. And I take that responsibility very seriously because it is truly one of the great treasures of Memphis.” — Kevin Sharp
That quest took him to the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida, to be its curator of American art in 1998. “It was like being sent to the hardest charm school in the world,” he says.
It required some quick learning to master the ins and outs of donor relations and he refined his curatorial skills. But Sharp knew the next step was to be a director and have even more control over his destiny. “I applied for and got a job at a little museum in downstate Illinois called Cedarhurst,” he says. “It’s the coolest place. We did incredible work there in my four years. I did something like close to 50 exhibitions and chose every single one of them, and I loved it.”
He was so happy there that he demurred when a headhunter approached him about the Dixon job. But that didn’t last long. He came down here in April, with azaleas exploding all over the place and Memphis at its most alluring. “They had me in the palm of their hand before I ever walked in the door,” Sharp says. “I interviewed, and they were just so nice and such accomplished people. Incredible leaders.”
He also had the advantage of being fairly loose in the interview. “All my hopes and dreams weren’t pinned on getting this job,” he says. “And because I was a research curator, I’d done my research on what was missing. They hadn’t originated a show in a decade.” But he also knew that in the 1980s and 1990s, in the era when John Buchanan was director, the Dixon had organized plenty of shows and had put them on the road. “It was go, go, go, and I think they were impressed that I understood that.”
And now, he’s lived in Memphis longer than anywhere else in his life. “I’ve just loved every minute of being at the Dixon,” Sharp says. “It’s a treasure, and it still surprises me sometimes that I’m the one that gets to take care of it. And I take that responsibility very seriously because it is truly one of the great treasures of Memphis.”
As the director with a vision, he’s done the things that needed doing, such as creating a strategic plan that everyone could get on board with. So he immediately got to work in 2007 and had it ratified by the board in 2008. Unfortunately, that was right along with the Great Recession. “The bottom fell out,” he says, “but we hung in there.” And while there were plenty of numbers detailing costs in the plan, there were also a lot of ideas that, he says, “were about rolling up our sleeves and getting it done.”
So, if the pie in the sky had to wait, he could at least see how his team worked at being resourceful, and they did it, making things happen until the financial crisis eased up around 2010. And it was some good fortune that the Petit-Palais museum in Paris wanted to present an exhibition of works by Jean-Louis Forain. As it happened, Buchanan had acquired several Forain works in 1993 and Sharp was able to loan several to the Paris museum and secure the show to come to the Dixon afterwards.
That’s exactly what Sharp has focused on in elevating the Dixon. “We think that putting the Dixon on the map in a national and international way pays dividends for our local community,” he says. “It doesn’t mean every show’s going to be about Memphis or have some Memphis element in it, but everything we do is for Memphis. And the bigger we stretch nationally and internationally, the better the product we produce for our folks right here.” — Jon W. Sparks
Osi Imomoh
photograph courtesy southland casino hotel
President and General Manager, Southland Casino Hotel
Osi Imomoh has been working with Delaware North for 18 years, and president and general manager of Southland Casino Hotel for four, but if he’d asked his college self where he’d be now, he wouldn’t have predicted where his career path would take him.
Going into the hospitality industry wasn’t something he planned on, Imomoh admits with a laugh. He came to the United States from Nigeria to go to school and entered Houston City College intending to major in engineering, following in the footsteps of his father, Egbert Imomoh. He did well in his major studies, but engineering didn’t strike him as his lifelong calling. However, Houston City College held another opportunity he would discover upon taking a hospitality elective on a whim: a “premier” hospitality program that would significantly redefine his career ambitions.
The change was intimidating at first, but in the end, Imomoh didn’t have to worry. “I went to my dad and called him,” he explains. “He didn’t freak out, and just said, ‘Don’t look back.’ That’s probably the best advice he told me. See what you want to do, pray about it, and don’t look back.”
And he didn’t. Imomoh switched his major and went on to complete his undergraduate and master’s, earning degrees in hospitality administration/management and hotel and restaurant management, respectively. It was a big leap, he admits. “I had literally never walked into a casino until I got my first job in the casino industry.”
“People ask me what I do every day, and I say I have found a business that really encompasses what I love to do. I’m proud of the company that I work with. I’m proud of the team I have the opportunity to represent.” — Osi Imomoh
However, that passion only continued to grow as he gained more experience in the hospitality industry, and he eventually found his way to Delaware North. “Delaware North was always a company I admired,” he says. Even when he was in college, Delaware North had been a part of the hospitality landscape that Imomoh was exploring, “so I was very familiar with the work they do.” Delaware North also aligned well with his interests, and Imomoh was confident that he could see a future for himself there.
That vision has since come true. During Imomoh’s tenure as president and general manager of Southland Casino Hotel, the company has reached several important milestones, including developing accommodations for an event space for the casino and achieving a AAA Four Diamond rating.
Imomoh himself keeps a finger on the pulse of the city’s entertainment industry: “When it comes to tourism in the South, we want to be part of the engine,” he explains. Southland is a “hidden gem,” but their goal is to continue to grow the business and strengthen Memphis as a community for tourism. In doing so, continuing to maintain their standards of exceptional hospitality is key. As Imomoh puts it: The goal of hospitality is to be the best of the best.
He is adamant, however, that these achievements are far from an individual effort. The heart of hospitality is, after all, the people who make up its moving parts and are the faces of care and service. “The team is part of the success story,” he says. “It takes every one of us to create a special experience with our business.”
Running a casino can be quite an initiative. Southland Casino Hotel staffs more than 1,200 employees, with a focus on reducing employee turnover and guaranteeing a supportive work environment that engages with workers’ concerns. “You appreciate the talent you have,” Imomoh explains. “Listening to them [and] hearing their opinion, I think it makes everyone feel heard.”
Most importantly, he is committed to maintaining this standard of service and hospitality, not just within the doors of Southland Casino Hotel, but across West Memphis and the Mid-South. After 70 years in Arkansas, Imomoh says that Southland feels like a part of the fabric of the Mid-South itself. While a large part of the casino’s connection to the region lies in its long history there and its role as a crucial cornerstone of West Memphis’ entertainment industry, he believes that Southland Casino Hotel’s strongest connection is to the community it serves.
“We do a lot of great things to give back to the community,” he says. Indeed, he and his team are often out supporting regional initiatives, such as volunteering at the Mid-South Food Bank or donating to community efforts. Over the past few years, Southland Casino Hotel’s philanthropy has also extended to the West Memphis Cancer Foundation, Arkansas State University’s hospitality program, the West Memphis Police Department Foundation, and a new animal shelter and adoption center, to name a few.
More initiatives await in the future, including an event in September celebrating Southland’s 70th anniversary. When people speak about organizations that have an impact, Imomoh says, he wants Southland Casino Hotel to be among the organizations making a difference.
“People ask me what I do every day, and I say I have found a business that really encompasses what I love to do,” Imomoh says with a smile. “I’m proud of the company that I work with. I’m proud of the team I have the opportunity to represent.” — Sey Neuringer
Lindsey D. Rhea
photograph by jon w. sparks
Owner & CEO, Alia Wealth Partners
It was readily apparent to Lindsey D. Rhea what was missing as she worked on financial planning issues with couples. As a wealth strategist dedicated to providing the best options to clients, she was well aware that historically, the man was the breadwinner and his spouse was less tuned in to the particulars of finances. Add the fact that the financial consulting business has long been male-oriented, and it meant that women were less likely to get full attention in such matters.
Rhea knew what she could do to change that.
As she was learning the business, she developed ways to make sure women got the attention and information they needed. When she and her business partner would meet with a client couple, “I’d gravitate to the wife and make sure that she was a part of the conversation and understanding,” she says. “I think that’s very important.”
For several years, she partnered with Steve Veesart, saying, “He had his own private individual practice and we worked together for eight years.” She started as a junior advisor and says, “I was a sponge. I would listen to his conversation with clients, his advice, his guidance to clients. So I learned a lot from him, but we were very intentional with letting clients know and the people that we both worked know what we were doing. Then I would bring on clients as well.”
Veesart was the lead advisor, but well understood what Rhea was seeing. “It kind of sparked something for both of us, but me especially,” she says. “I started to grow my client base and who I was working with, especially in women’s groups and networking. One by one, clients that would come on board were women that were either single or divorced, but very strong, powerful women that I connected with. And we would have a really strong powerhouse where the woman was the breadwinner.”
When I reflect on it, I think how I’ve helped people with their livelihoods, their jobs, their families, and their careers and their direction. It’s so rewarding.” — Lindsey D. Rhea
When Veesart retired in 2018, Rhea purchased the firm from him and rebranded it Alia Wealth Partners. She was ready to make her vision a reality, knowing that women are reshaping financial markets as investors and financial decision-makers. The numbers showed that women who invest outperform their male counterparts, but they still face a confidence gap in the male-dominated finance world.
Rhea’s vision is succeeding. As one of only a handful of women-owned wealth management companies in the area, Alia Wealth has grown, having recently moved to larger offices and increased its staff. It’s been a result of its CEO’s purposeful and intentional plan.
“I knew I wanted to have a women-based, women-focused group with the right women. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job,” she says. There are male clients and she has a man on the team — after all, everyone can benefit — but Rhea’s focus is to improve the situation for women.
Rhea grew up in Somerville and took courses in finance at the University of Memphis. She clearly had an ability in the field, but it was very much her aunt who worked in a CPA’s office and was a mentor that guided her not just in the basics, but at pivotal points in her career.
“She would help me out with different things — school-related, costs, and things like that,” she says. “And she showed me what real-life investments were like and how they worked. It got me really interested in pursuing finance.”
Her aunt’s mentorship gave Rhea the confidence to not only excel, but to see leadership as something to pursue. She devotes a lot of her effort to cultivating her team, a group, she says, that are all different in their own ways, but who work well together. “It’s very apparent to the clients. They come in and they can tell the team is great.”
Being a CEO is not so different from her role as wealth advisor that she loses sight of her basic calling. “In the last year with the growth of the team and the growth of the practice and the people, the human capital, being CEO is fun,” she says. “It’s what I wanted to do. I’m still working directly with clients. But it’s shifted to where I’m focusing on the team and the people and managing different roles and responsibilities. When I reflect on it, I think how I’ve helped people with their livelihoods, their jobs, their families, and their careers and their direction. It’s so rewarding.” — Jon W. Sparks
Matt Thompson
photograph courtesy memphis zoo
Matt Thompson with Niklas.
President and CEO, Memphis Zoo
Matt Thompson has anesthetized an orangutan. He’s almost certainly the first CEO of the Year honoree in these pages to have such a skill on his resume. And Thompson’s three-month project — training Tombak (the Memphis Zoo’s longtime resident male orangutan) for a trauma-free medical exam — serves as a nice metaphor for his own three-decade “project” at one of the Bluff City’s most popular destinations.
Hired as a seasonal zookeeper in 1995, Thompson is today approaching his fourth anniversary as the Zoo’s president and CEO. Like his work with Tombak, his rise has been methodical, illuminating, and with a healthy dose of compassion for shared growth.
“I’ve been an entrepreneurial-minded person,” says Thompson. “I raised birds [as a young man], taught them to say a few words. Sold toys, perches, and swings at fairs. It was an interesting combination of business and animals.”
His childhood was rural (just west of Nashville), and proximity to animals shaped him. Horses, exotic birds, even snakes were allowed by his parents. (Thompson’s mom drew a line with spiders. Today, he has a tarantula in his office at the Zoo.) His father trained police dogs and Matt was involved with setting up courses and obstacles for the conditioning. It was an early and valuable lesson in the mutual benefit of human-animal interaction. “My dad was very good at what he did,” he says. “Lots of praise, positive reinforcement. That wasn’t recognized at the time.
“I was intrigued by everything,” he emphasizes. “The natural world around us, for sure. For a long time, I wanted to be a vet. I worked at clinics [during high school]. But that life is different; animals are sick. I was drawn to exotic animals, and conservation.”
“Now that I’m in this role as an ambassador to our community, it has been so rewarding, just fully realizing what we are. To hear people say, ‘The Zoo is our safe space.’“ — Matt Thompson
Thompson moved to Memphis in 1995, but primarily for his wife, who was studying at the UT Health Science Center. He was familiar with the Memphis Zoo from visits as a child, and knew he wanted to work near animals. Armed with an organizational management degree from Crichton College, he took that seasonal position: digging holes, moving rocks, hauling food. The Memphis Zoo had recently debuted Cat Country and Primate Canyon, open-air exhibit spaces that transformed a visitor’s viewing experience, but dramatically improved an animal’s living experience. Thompson has ridden a wave of conservation momentum at the Zoo ever since.
His proximity to animals increased with a quick promotion to zookeeper for Animals of the Night, followed by stints with sea lions, apes, and elephants. It was his efforts to incorporate positive-reinforcement training that brought Thompson and Tombak together. Instead of facing a dart gun (which the orangutan found terrifying), Tombak eventually allowed his human friend to gently inject a sedative into his shoulder. He went to sleep near Thompson and, after a full health checkup, woke up near him. All the better for his nap. (Tombak died in October 2025 at age 43. Sumatran orangutans rarely live longer than 30 years.)
As an assistant curator, Thompson was part of the traveling party that brought a pair of pandas (YaYa and LeLe) to Memphis in 2003. He’s played an active role in the Memphis Zoo becoming one of the world’s most celebrated centers for conservation, and he lights up when he mentions a 20-year master plan that will further expand the Zoo’s reach and impact. (One transformative detail: The Zoo will include a breeding facility for African elephants.)
“[At the beginning of my career],” he notes, “zoos were not really conservation organizations. They were for consumers, a collection of animals. We have come a long way. Everyone here operates from the standpoint that we need to do right by these animals. Zoo veterinarians almost have to specialize in geriatric care, because animals are living longer than they do in the wild. Ideal diets. No parasites. It’s fascinating to see this happen. The enriching part is how to keep the animals active and doing what they do in the wild.”
Thompson has a painting of a bathhouse in his office, a twist on the otherwise animal-celebrating decor. But it’s a gift from Roger Knox, the former president of the Memphis Zoological Society and one of the leaders Thompson considers in framing his own leadership style.
“This has been an eye-opening experience,” he says, “seeing what [the zoo] has become in our community. We’re a top-tier zoo, and I’m extremely proud of that. A lot of zoos don’t get to fully realize a master plan. We already have that [starting with Cat Country and ending with Zambezi River Hippo Camp]. And this next one is going to be incredible; we’re building out the rest of the Zoo. We have a goal, and we’re going to do it.”
A gentle touch goes a long way. Tombak felt this from Thompson, and today much of the Mid-South does, too. “Now that I’m in this role as an ambassador to our community,” he reflects, “it has been so rewarding, just fully realizing what we are. To hear people say, ‘The Zoo is our safe space.’ I know the hard work that goes into caring for our animals. I can’t say enough.” — Frank Murtaugh
