Before joining Assurity, Henning spent nearly two decades in banking. In the 1980s, he served as executive vice president of First Commerce Bancshares. He later became president and CEO of two of its subsidiary banks — Overland National Bank in Grand Island, Nebraska, and the National Bank of Commerce in Lincoln. His banking career began at Crete State Bank in Crete, Nebraska, where he worked during high school.

Henning has held leadership roles in both the insurance industry and the Lincoln and Nebraska communities. He served twice as chair of the Nebraska Insurance Federation, chaired the Forum 500 section of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), and led ACLI’s political action committee. He is a past chair of the University of Nebraska Foundation, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Chamber Economic Development Corp. and Bryan Health. He also chaired the investment committees of both the Lincoln Community Foundation and the University of Nebraska Foundation. A founding member of Lincoln’s Vision 2015 initiative, he currently serves on the board of Nebraska Innovation Campus. He has also held several roles at his church, First Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln.

Henning’s service and leadership have earned him several honors, including induction into the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame, the Burnham Yates Citizenship Award from the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, and the Outstanding Service Award from the ACLI.

He currently serves on the board of First Interstate BancSystem Inc. in Billings, Montana, and its First Interstate Foundation. He is the lead independent director on the board of Nelnet Inc., a publicly traded diversified financial services company, and also serves on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka and the advisory board of Lincoln Industries, North America’s largest plating company. In 2022, then-Gov. Pete Ricketts appointed him to the five-member Nebraska Investment Council.

Henning and his wife, Candy, also operate Henning Farms, which is focused on regenerative agriculture.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University and the Wharton Effective Executive program. He holds the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations.

The Hennings have two married daughters, Cassie Kohl and Maddie Giamello; sons-in-law Taylor Kohl and Anthony Giamello; three grandsons, William, Callaway and Thomas Kohl; and one granddaughter, Isabella Giamello.

He originally joined Tenaska as an executive responsible for investing capital and managing energy-related assets. He led the acquisition, optimization and divestiture of 10,500 megawatts of power generation facilities on behalf of private equity funds managed by Tenaska Capital Management.

Before joining Tenaska in 2003, Leitner was director of asset investments at Aquila Inc., where he focused on transactions involving generation asset portfolios and related infrastructure. He also worked at Koch Industries Inc., conducting analysis and due diligence for transactions in the natural gas midstream and crude oil sectors.

Leitner serves on the board of directors for United Way of the Midlands. He also volunteers his time to play an instrumental role in the Tenaska Business Challenge hosted at the College of Business each year.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1996 and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Williamson earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2012 and a juris doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2015.

GIX continues to grow by focusing on technology-driven logistics solutions and building a strong culture rooted in teamwork, accountability and customer service.

Mike Young, vice president of GIX, will accept the award on behalf of the company.