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College of Business Administration Advisory Board Recognizes Top Business Leaders

The University of NebraskaLincoln College of Business Administration held its Advisory Board Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 12. The awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments of business leaders and corporations in the state of Nebraska and the world.

Angie Muhleisen, president of the College of Business Administration Advisory Board and president and CEO of Union Bank and Trust Company, and Dr. Donde Plowman, James Jr. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean of the College of Business Administration, presented the awards to the recipients. Muhleisen pointed out the significance of the award winners by connecting them with those from the past.

“Those honored here today join an impressive and long list of past recipients, including Cliff Hillegas, Howard Hawks and Warren Buffett to name a few,” Muhleisen said.

The 2013 honorees included C.G. “Kelly” Holthus of York, Neb.; Delmar “Del” Lienemann Sr. of Lincoln; TD Ameritrade; Kimberly Rath of Lincoln; and Nancee Berger of Omaha. Berger was not able to attend the ceremony and will receive her award at a formal recognition later this fall.

C.G. “Kelly” Holthus, chair and president, Cornerstone Bank – Lifetime Achievement Award
 
Kelly Holthus was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes those individuals for their outstanding leadership and time, energy and guidance provided throughout their career.
 
Kelly Holthus
Holthus has been associated with Cornerstone Bank of York, Neb., since 1965 and was elected to his present position of chairman, president and CEO in 1977.
 
He has served as president of the American Bankers Association and the Nebraska Bankers Association, been a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber and chairman of the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce. He is currently treasurer of the York General Health Care Services and a member of the University of Nebraska Foundation Board of Trustees.
 
Holthus served as president of the York Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the York City Council, along with many other local, civic and philanthropic organizations.
 
He attended the University of Nebraska and is a 1970 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking.
 
Holthus and his wife, Virginia, live in York and have four grown children.

Delmar “Del” Lienemann Sr., founder, D.A. Lienemann CPA Firm – Lifetime Achievement Award
 
Delmar A. Lienemann Sr. was also honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes those individuals for their outstanding leadership and time, energy and guidance provided throughout their career.
 
Delmar A. Lienemann Sr.
At age 93, Lienemann Sr. is the oldest active certified public accountant in Nebraska. A business administration major, he graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1941.
 
Following graduation, he worked as an accountant for Wickstrom Beauty & Supply, L.L. Coryell & Son of Lincoln and Lester Buckley, CPA. In 1945, Lienemann bought his own accounting office in downtown Lincoln. Less than a year later, he purchased a gift shop for his wife, Charlotte, to manage after she graduated from nursing school.
 
Del Sr. often said his relationship as the accountant for Ethel and Chris Abbott was a once in a lifetime friendship, which created great benefits for his family. This included serving as president and CEO of the Ethel S. Abbott Charitable Foundation.
 
Lienemann met Charlotte at UNL and they married in 1944. They had seven children: Dan, Denise, Diane, Dorothy, Doug, Del Jr. and David, who died at age 15 from a brain tumor. All children are UNL alumni and the three sons are CBA graduates.
 
An active volunteer throughout his career, he is president of the Lincoln Symphony Foundation Board of Directors. He has been recognized nationally as the Sertoman of the Year and the national fraternity of Beta Sigma Pi named its highest award after him, the Lienemann Achievement Award. Always active in the Lutheran Church, he and Charlotte were two of the 17 original charter members who started Christ Lutheran Church.
 
TD AMERITRADE – Corporate Leadership Award
 
TD Ameritrade was presented with the Corporate Leadership Award, which recognizes excellence in Nebraska-based companies that are successful, dynamic and have a high level of commitment to their communities, customers and employees.
 
TD Ameritrade
In 1975 the SEC banned the practice of costly, fixed brokerage commissions, and a small start-up in Omaha, Neb., First Omaha Securities, became one of the first to do what no one on Wall Street thought would ever happen. It offered discounted brokerage commissions to individual investors – and a new industry was born. That company is now known as TD Ameritrade and over the last four decades, it has helped bring Wall Street to Main Street through innovations, like being the first to offer automated touchtone phone trades and online investing to pushing the limits of what technology can do to deliver the tools, research, data, education and support that have helped millions of Americans invest in their financial futures.
 
Today, TD Ameritrade offers investing, trading and financial education services to nearly six million funded client accounts that total more than half-a-trillion dollars in assets and custodial services to more than 4,500 independent registered investment advisors. Its client-centric vision to be the better investment firm for today’s investor influences every decision the company makes – from the products it offers, to the services its more than 5,300 full-time associates provide every day, to clients and in and around the communities in which they live and work.
 
Kimberly Rath, president and managing director, Talent Plus – Business Excellence Award
 
Kimberly Rath was honored with the Business Excellence Award, which recognizes those with an entrepreneurial spirit and growing business acumen and who maintain the high values of ethics and community service. These emerging business leaders provide inspiration and insight to the students at the College of Business Administration.
 
Kimberly Rath
Rath has over 25 years of experience in human resources and is a recognized leader in the field of executive development and human resources in the U.S. and Asia. A founder of Talent Plus, she serves as president and managing director. She has driven the company’s growth from a single office in Lincoln, Neb., to offices in Singapore and Bogota, Colombia. Under her leadership, Talent Plus was named one of the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces and one of the 50 Best Places to Work in the United States. Prior to Talent Plus, Rath spent seven years at the Gallup Organization.
 
Rath has provided executive management consulting and training to organizations globally including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, the Estee Lauder Companies, and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.
 
She currently serves on the Nelnet, Inc. Board of Directors and has been the education chair for the Young Presidents’ Organization. Rath is also a member of the Cather Circle. Highlighted in the 2009 book, What Happy Working Mothers Know, she has also been a member of the Lincoln City/County Child Care Advisory Board.
 
A graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, she is married to Doug Rath, chairman of Talent Plus, and they have four children.
 
Nancee Berger, president and chief operating officer, West Corporation – Business Leadership Award (will receive the award in September)
 
Nancee Berger was recognized and will receive the Business Leadership Award at the CBA Partnership Summit on September 13. The Business Leadership Award recognizes individuals who are outstanding examples of successful leaders in their respective fields, including business ethics, community service and overall business excellence.
 
Nancee Berger
Berger is president and CEO of West Corporation, a leading provider of technology-driven communications services. She joined West in 1989.
 
Prior to her time at West, she worked at Applied Communications, Inc. in Omaha and with the IBM Corporation.
 
Berger has served on the Jeffery S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management Advisory Board at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln since 2006. She is also the chairperson for the Marian High School Board of Directors.
 
A graduate from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1982, Berger has a degree in business administration.

Published: May 15, 2013