Greg Orman

Gregory John Orman (born December 2, 1968) is an American politician, businessman, and entrepreneur.

In 1986, he was the national President of the Boys Nation and met President Reagan at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.

Orman graduated from Mankato East Senior High School in 1987 as co-valedictorian of his class.

He was a member of the Princeton College Republicans and worked for George H. W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1988.

Orman graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1991 with a degree in economics and finance.

However, in 1992 he supported independent candidate Ross Perot.

Orman currently sits as a member of the board at various charitable organizations and non-profit organizations.

The list includes the grassroots political reform organization Unite America, the National Police Foundation which studies the science of policing so as to improve the relationships between police and the communities they serve, and American Public Square at Jewell College which works to improve the tone and quality of public discourse.

After graduating, Orman worked for consultancy firm McKinsey & Company.

At age 23 he founded Environmental Lighting Concepts LLC, which designs and installs energy-efficient lighting systems for commercial and industrial companies.

Orman built the business "into a multi-million-dollar enterprise with 120 employees within four years.”

In 1996, Orman was put in charge of KLT Energy Services, a subsidiary of Kansas City Power & Light after it bought a 70 percent stake in Orman’s business.

Orman remained at Kansas City Power & Light for six more years and grew KLT Energy Services from less than $100 million in revenues to almost $1 billion before leaving the company in 2002.

Drue Jennings, the CEO of Kansas City Power & Light at the time of their purchase of Environmental Lighting Concepts, referred to Orman as “very disciplined, and very studious, and never just took a flier at something.

He had it thought through.”

In 2004, Orman co-founded private equity firm Denali Partners LLC and is the Managing Member of Exemplar Holdings, LLC.

Exemplar Holdings lists six portfolio companies on its website: 1.

Combat Brands, a Lenexa, Kansas-based boxing equipment manufacturer; 2.

Ripple Glass, a Kansas City-based recycler of glass containers that operates in six states; 3.

Exemplar Medical, which focuses on investing in companies that reduce the cost of healthcare; 4.

Exemplar Finance, which provides financing for capital equipment projects utilizing energy efficient technology; 5.

Dragon Jacket, a manufacturer of a patented, reusable pipe insulation product; and 6.

an affordable housing subsidiary that invests in local, affordable housing communities.

He ran as an independent to represent Kansas in the United States Senate in the 2014 election, earning 42.5 percent of the vote and losing to incumbent U.S. Senator Pat Roberts.

On December 28, 2015 Combat Brands LLC, the Orman led company, announced it acquired Kansas City-based Fitness First, Inc. Fitness First, a fitness equipment provider, was consolidated into Combat Brands, but operates under the name Fitness First.

Acquiring Fitness First would help expand Combat's product offerings and grow the company, Orman said in an interview with Kansas City Business Journal.

Orman extended employment offers to all Fitness First employees.

On January 24, 2018, Orman announced he would run again as an independent this time for Kansas governor.  After the major party primaries in August 2018, polling indicated that in a three-way race Orman was at 19 percent, Democrat Laura Kelly at 32 percent and Republican Kris Kobach at 38 percent.

Orman suspended his television ads and stopped actively fundraising in mid-September.

In the November 6 general election, he received approximately 6.5% of the vote, 1.5% more than the victory margin of Democrat Laura Kelly over Republican Kris Kobach.

Orman was born in Minneapolis, MN, raised in Mankato, Minnesota, and is the second-oldest of six children.

His mother, Darlene Gates, was a registered nurse.

When he was five his parents divorced.

His mother got full custody of the children and later sued her ex-husband for increases in child support payments.

His father, Tim, moved to Stanley, Kansas where he co-owned a furniture store.

Orman lived with his mother during the school year and with his father during the summer where he worked in his father's warehouse.

His mother was a Democrat and his father a Republican.

As a young adult, Orman admired Ronald Reagan.

In July 2020, according to the Kansas City Business Journal, Orman sold Combat Brands to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Instead of selling to a competitor which would have led to layoffs and moving operations out of Lenexa, KS, Orman said the sale "allowed us to ultimately reward the people who had been so instrumental in helping the business be successful.” Combat Brands CEO Doug Skeens is also quoted, saying the transfer of ownership to the employees has “boosted morale, employee engagement, and collaboration” and “gives employees financial security.” Skeens referred to it as "the highlight" of his career.