People Design president Kevin Budelmann makes 40 Under 40 list of business leaders

Grand Rapids, MI – November 3, 2009 – The Grand Rapids Business Journal has named Kevin Budelmann, president of People Design, among its 2009 class of West Michigan business leaders to watch in the publication’s biennial 40 Under 40 list.

National publications such as Forbes, Fortune, and Crain’s each regularly publish their own 40 Under 40 lists. The Grand Rapids Business Journal list recognizes this region’s most dynamic, up-and-coming, young business leaders every other year. Honorees are nominated on the basis of strong leadership, professional associations, awards, and community service. Joining Kevin on the 2009 list are professionals from Metro Health, Ernst & Young, Warner Norcross & Judd, and the State of Michigan Senate Office, to name a few. A reception scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5, celebrates the accomplishments of this year’s honorees as well as past 40 Under 40 alumni.

“I was thrilled and honored to be selected to West Michigan’s 40 Under 40 list of business leaders,” says Kevin Budelmann. “These are all highly esteemed professionals in the region, some of whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I look forward to meeting the others and being a part of this group.”

Kevin is a well respected designer and business consultant sought out by executive clients as a partner and trusted adviser. Kevin has studied the inner workings of many businesses in many industries over the past 15 years, learning how messages travel, how leaders communicate, how sales stories are crafted and told, and how to help clients deliver what their customers need. He’s fascinated by large organizations, communications problems large and small, and how new technologies are both fixing problems and creating new ones. His work is listed in Encyclopedia Britannica under Graphic Design: The Digital Revolution and he is currently co-writing Identity Essentials, a book about brand identity, with partner Yang Kim.

Kevin is a national board member of APDF (The Association of Professional Design Firms), the president of AIGA West Michigan, an adviser to Design West Michigan, and a member of the Grand Rapids Magazine Design Panel.