In This Episode:
A Passion for Improving People’s Lives
Entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of KDB Group, Kim Blickenstaff is known for bringing innovative projects to his hometown in Central Illinois that no one else has ever done. But before that, he had a long line of success as a healthcare entrepreneur in California. He was the President and CEO of Tandem Diabetes Care for 12 years and now serves as the Executive Chair. Amongst other advanced developments in the healthcare industry, Tandem is most known for its state-of-the-art insulin pumps. After making millions in the healthcare industry, he returned home with one mission in mind; to make a significant impact on the community.
Kim and his staff at KDB Group seem to make headline after headline for their radical ideas, like a 200-acre world-class wilderness resort with full-service fishing and hunting experiences or rehabbing the old Scottish Rite Cathedral to reinvigorate the performing arts culture in our community, all the way to building an interstate park over our busiest highway in town.
Kim talks to us about how he went from making innovative healthcare breakthroughs and developing life-saving technologies to now these massively impactful developments that will improve the quality of life in his hometown for generations to come. And he does it all because of his passion for improving people’s lives. Talk about leaving a legacy.
“After Tandem (Diabetes Care), I realized I could be really helpful in Peoria. So that became my mission to do something significant here. Not significant in the sense of importance, but I want to be of significance to the community.“
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About Kim Blickenstaff
As the founder and chairman of KDB Group, Kim has brought several remarkable developments to Central Illinois. Born and raised in Illinois, Kim left the state after grad school to pursue a career in California. While he has a chain of success stories throughout his career, Kim is most recognized for his role as President and CEO of Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. from 2007 to 2019, and currently still serves as the Chairman of the Board. Last year, he was honored as the 2020 Director of the Year by Corporate Directors Forum for his work at Tandem. Since returning to his hometown a couple of years ago, he has been investing his own capital in improving his community. Through his numerous development projects, he received the Peoria Historical Society’s Preservation Award in 2020. Kim is a developer, entrepreneur, philanthropist — and most of all — a lover of nature. To learn more about his local development projects, you can follow KDB Group on Facebook.