Children’s Mercy welcomes two new Board members

Children’s Mercy has welcomed two new community and business leaders to its Board of Directors.

Walter P. Porter II and Jeff Geheb recently were elected to serve three-year terms on the board of the non-profit, nationally recognized health system.

“We are fortunate and grateful Jeff and Walter have agreed to serve on our board,” said Betsy Braham, chair of the Children’s Mercy Board of Directors. “We look forward to working with them to advance our mission to transform the health, well-being and potential of children, with unwavering compassion for those most vulnerable.”

Porter is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, where he is the global and national leader of the ERP SaaS offering responsible for the Workday Financials, Infor and Hybrid Solutions practices. In his 20 years with Deloitte, Porter has focused on growing the practice through sales and strategic delivery across several industries including health care, financial services and higher education. He also focuses on process improvement to help organizations contain costs and improve profitability. Porter works with a number of academic medical centers and integrated delivery networks.

Porter’s leadership roles include the Inaugural Black Leadership Summit Dean and Tech Inclusion lead. He has participated in videos discussing the impact of Workday on the life as a CEO, as well as changes under health care reform. Porter received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from Hampton University and his MBA from Washington University, St. Louis.

Geheb is the Global Chief Experience Officer at VMLY&R, where he has advised some of the world’s largest and most progressive companies on their technology strategy and direction. He is part of an executive team that has driven 20 years of growth, including increasing from 100 employees in 2002 to more 7,000 employees in 100+ offices in 2019.

Geheb is the visionary behind VMLY&R’s customer experience practice and has spent over 20 years leading the company’s technology capability. Clients include Microsoft, Sprint, Sherwin Williams, Kellogg’s, Ford and Google. He also is a leader in the local Kansas City technology community. He has been recognized by Kansas City TechWeek’s Tech100 and Ingram’s, has been on the board of advisors for the Digital Sandbox for the KC Technology Council, and is working with a team of local leaders to develop the Keystone District. He received his bachelor’s degree and MBA in computer science from the University of Kansas. Jenny, Jeff’s wife, is a former DAISY Award-winning nurse practitioner at Children’s Mercy.

“Walter and Jeff both bring a wealth of business knowledge and skill, along with a commitment to community service that will help guide Children’s Mercy as we embark on the next chapter as one of the nation’s top pediatric health care systems,” said CM President and CEO Paul Kempinski.