Over the past year, Oklahoma has attracted hundreds of new jobs by welcoming new companies, while entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state have found ways to invest in their communities. Oklahoma has become an increasingly important hub for advanced manufacturing, aerospace, energy and technology.
Through community nominations, 405 Magazine has identified 10 business leaders on the rise in Oklahoma City from varied professional backgrounds. These leaders inspire through their success and philanthropic work. And all of them shared that listening carefully—to mentors, employees and customers—was a vital part of their success in the way they live and the way they seek to lead.
Meet Amanda Rodriguez, CEO & Co-Founder at LYT Group
On a 37-hour flight back from India a few years ago, Amanda Rodriguez and a co-worker began planning their own Oklahoma-based consulting and advisory firm to serve businesses of all sizes. In September of 2023, they launched LYT.
“We can offer all of the services a small business might need,” Rodriguez said. “We spent years in our careers learning accounting, finance, risk, audit, program and project management, strategy and process improvement and technology. We are long-time Oklahomans and we care so much about our state, and I think that resonates with people. We want to pour back into our businesses in this community.”
Meet Mike Hoang, Owner and Founder of KM Communities
Mike Hoang, owner of KM Communities and former president of the Asian District of Oklahoma City, is talking about his passion: using business to benefit the Oklahoma City community. “Business isn’t just about making money; it should benefit others as well. With KM Communities, I wanted to make money so that I could also donate to charities and provide a good living for my employees. But more than that, I love the idea of social entrepreneurship—the work you do can also work for the betterment of your community.”
Meet Crystal Heard, Executive Advisor at Solomon Strategic Advisors
After 29 years of service in the U.S. Air Force as a dynamic IT and engineering professional, Crystal Heard retired in May of 2025—only to begin a new career pathway a few months later with Solomon Strategic Advisors. This time, she is focusing fully on what she calls her “soft” skill set.
Heard said with joy, “I always valued my IT skills, but as I matured, I realized that my abilities and strength in coaching and connecting others was my superpower. For many years, I was using my soft skills in organizations that I was a part of, but not my main career with the Air Force. As I matured and grew older, I began to have coworkers and leadership come to me and ask me to coach certain people at work, or to approach leadership about certain topics, sensitivity training or suicide resiliency days. So even in engineering and IT, those soft skills became very valuable.”
Meet Bryan Porter, Co-Founder of Simple Modern
Bryan Porter is the co-founder of Simple Modern, one of the world’s leading drinkware companies. It has partnered with the world’s largest brands: Amazon, Target, Walmart, Disney, the NFL and the NBA, just to name a few. Porter co-founded Simple Modern in 2015, scaling it from an Amazon-first startup to $250M in annual retail sales and 60+ million bottles sold. During this time, he served as Chief eCommerce Officer.
Meet Erin Oldfield, Vice President of Community Engagement at the Oklahoma City Thunder & Executive Director of the Thunder Community Foundation
One year ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder promoted Erin Oldfield to Vice President of Community Engagement and Executive Director of Thunder Community Foundation. This past year, Oldfield has worked on a new strategic plan to enrich the Thunder’s civic and non-profit partnerships. She said, “We set out a new vision for what we wanted the foundation to do moving forward. We wanted to make sure that our donations reflect community needs. Last week, we launched our community foundation grant cycle, which is something we have never done before. We put $100,000 into the community on Giving Tuesday. Our goal is to create lasting, long-term change through deeper investments, not just through goodwill but through strategic, sustainable finances and resources.”
Meet Taylor Fudge, Managing Partner at Claims Management Resources
Taylor Fudge joined Claims Management Resources in 2009, the third-generation managing partner of his family’s debt collection companies. His diverse background in legal, insurance and client relations brought innovation and growth to the legacy his grandparents and father started.
In the late 1980s, Taylor’s father, Chip Fudge, was asked to help with some property claims Southwestern Bell was struggling to recover. It was a lightbulb moment that opened his eyes to new opportunities. “My dad figured out that he liked negotiating with an insurance carrier and an insurance adjuster versus somebody with a past-due telephone bill.”
Meet Christin King, Vice President of Brand, Digital & Communications at HAC, INC.
There is a story that Christin King loves to tell that illustrates how important grocery stores are to the local economy of communities: “Grocery is local. When we were building our communities, the first thing that they would build is a church, then a school, and then a store. That’s how involved grocery stores should be in our communities.”
HAC, Inc., headquarters are in Oklahoma City, and the prominent grocery chain has a significant presence in Oklahoma. As of 2021, HAC operates grocery stores under several well-known banners, including United, CashSaver and Homeland. Among these, Homeland stands out as HAC’s largest banner and is recognized as the largest locally owned grocery store chain in Oklahoma. HAC has been entirely employee-owned since 2011.
Meet Bob Funk Jr., CEO of Express Employment International
2025 was a year of upheaval for Express Employment International, and a year of grief and change for Bob Funk, Jr.
Bob Funk, Sr. and his best friend, Bill Stoller, founded the company in 1983. Since its founding and under their leadership, Express has grown into one of the largest privately held staffing companies in the world. Both men died within months of each other in 2025. As planned and prepared for, Funk, Jr. stepped up to become the company’s CEO and president.
Meet Hana Waugh, President of Design & Build Robinson Park
Since the beginning of Robinson Park’s Design & Build division in 2020, Oklahoma native Hana Waugh and her team have been elevating a blend of functionality and aesthetic excellence in projects such as the Corporate Tower lobby, FLINT Kitchen & Bar at Colcord Hotel, the renovation of the lobby at The Martinique in New York City, the Salesforce Tower Recreation Center in Indianapolis and various downtown Oklahoma City high-end office renovations.
Meet Kristan El-Khaled, Vice President and Trust Officer at Arvest Wealth Management
Kristan El-Khaled knows hard work and determination. In 2007, she was 19 years old and started as a teller at Arvest Bank. Today, she is Vice President, Trust Officer. From the time she was 18 years old until 2020, El-Khaled, a native Oklahoman, has worked two jobs. On top of working 60 hours a week, there were years when she attended college at night to earn a degree from UCO. Much of her hard work took place as she and her husband were raising their two daughters.
