Leadership

TPG Companies Leadership

President & CEO

Paul Kirpes, CFRE, is founder, President & CEO of TPG Companies such as TPG Philanthropy Group, TPG Management Consulting and other domestic and international ventures. TPG professionals serve diverse clients ranging from individuals, charities, communities and businesses to governments and Fortune 100 multi-national corporations who seek to “achieve what mattes most.” Clients benefit from Paul’s strategic creativity and his uncanny ability to engage leaders, funders, and other stakeholders in formulating their common vision and in determining and implementing strategy and plans that achieve their goals.

Paul has assisted organizations in raising hundreds of millions of dollars in the course of his career; he was first accredited as a Certified Fund-Raising Executive in 1993. Paul earned honors and distinction in double degrees from Iowa State University: B.S. in Agriculture / Ecology, emphasis in Journalism / Communications and B.A. in Political Science with a minor of Environmental Studies. Paul is involved in many community and professional organizations including: church, Rotary, the Association of Fund-Raising Professionals, Boy Scouts National Conservation Committee, and the AgUrban Leadership Initiative.

Paul, as well as being a published author, professional speaker, and social entrepreneur, is a devoted husband and father. He and his wife Lori enjoy family activities, travel and outdoor recreation (including boating, fishing, hiking, gardening, and camping) with their four children, friends and extended families. Children: Carl is at Iowa State, Jacob is at University of Iowa, and daughters Breanna and Kaylee are teenagers.

Experience & Expertise: (30+ years)

Agriculture
Association Management
Business Planning & Development
Coalition Building
Ecology & Natural Resource Management
Entrepreneurship
Executive Coaching
Fund-Raising
Information Technology
Leadership Development
Management Consulting
Organization Development
Philanthropy Consulting
Project Management
Sales & Marketing
Stakeholder Engagement Experience to Clients
Team Building
Volunteer Projects
Writing
and much more…

Patricia L. Grote

Director, Corporate Marketing and Agriculture Consulting

Pat grew up as a city girl and a farmer's granddaughter who could see acres of corn from her backyard. Today, she leads TPG's corporate marketing, as well as work with ag-related clients. She has experience in such diverse sectors as agriculture, health care, faith-based, social services, financial, consumer, and business-to-business. She brings practical experience of weaving together the strengths of charities and business to create a stronger organization.

Clients benefit from her ability to think strategically and keep objectives in sight. She thrives on delivering solutions with impact. Projects she has supervised have won local, regional and national recognition and, more importantly, were effective for her clients.

Pat has grounded her 20 years experience in public relations, marketing communications, and strategy and organization development with an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management. She also has a Bachelor of Journalism in Advertising from the University of Nebraska.

James "Gus" Gustafson, PhD

Senior Consultant

Gus is currently the Chief Transformation Officer at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa – as well as the Leadership Scholar-in-Residence and Director of Executive Education for the Center for Values-Driven Leadership at Benedictine University and Senior Consultant at TPG Companies, Inc. He is Chair of the Business Leadership Division of the International Leadership Association, former Editor-in-Chief of the Organization Development Journal, serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Leadership Studies and the International Journal of Servant-Leadership, and was the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Global Strategic Leader Award given by the World HRD Congress. Prior to coming to Hope, he was Director of Strategic Leadership Research and Development and Organizational Transformation at U.S. Cellular, where he received many awards for his pioneering work in leadership development and organizational change.

On January 1, 2002, Gus resigned as President and COO of a very successful company to follow his passion and focus his efforts on conducting research towards a doctoral dissertation on socially-responsible leadership. In so doing, Gus conducted face-to-face interviews with 22 founders of not-for-profit organizations – including Millard Fuller (Habitat for Humanity), Eleanor Josaitis (Focus: HOPE), Eunice Kennedy Shriver (Special Olympics) and Blanton Belk (Up With People) -- that are making a positive and sustainable impact on the world.

Gus has over twenty-five years of successful organization development, sales, marketing, operations, leadership development, channel management and general management experience in public, private and non-profit organizations. He consults and speaks globally on a variety of topics, including Values-Driven Leadership, Appreciative Inquiry, Corporate Social Responsibility, Organizational & Team Effectiveness and Servant-Leadership Development. Gus lives in West Des Moines, IA with his wife and their two children.

William H. Powell, CFRE

Senior Consultant

Bill is a Vietnam combat veteran and President of WPMP Consulting Inc. and Powell Publications. He is also a Past Chapter Chair for the Northwest Arkansas Chaper of SCORE. He served as President and CEO of Progress Industries (Iowa) for 14 years and as CEO of CLASS LTD (Kansas) for 12 years. During his career he was chair of state wide organization, local charitable organizations, and has served as an elected public official. His professional training includes a Master's in Psychology and advanced training in leadership development, strategic planning, and philanthropy.

Bill has been an adjunct professor and has served on, led and advised boards for non-profits and educational institutions. Bill has led or participated in fundraising campaigns totaling $96 million, counseled other organizational leaders to successfully raise in excess of $50 million, and to obtain governmental contracts and grants exceeding $200 million.

Richard Rowe

Training and Instructional Design Director

Richard serves as Training and Instruction Design Director for TPG Companies. He has more than 15 years of experience in the training world. He is a member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and the National Speakers Association (NSA). A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, Richard also achieved the military's Master Training Specialist designation, which is awarded to only the top 10 percent of the military's instructional staff. He holds undergraduate degrees in Technical Instruction and Business Administration and a Master's of Science in Management with an emphasis on adult learning.