On Nov. 5, Kum & Go LC moved its 300 associates from a handsome headquarters building in West Des Moines to an architectural stunner in downtown Des Moines. Preparing those workers for the move was its new president, Tanner Krause, son of CEO Kyle Krause and grandson of company co-founder Bill Krause and great-grandson of its other co-founder, Tony Gentle. 

Tanner Krause was part of a steering committee that listened to workers’ concerns and wants for the new building in an effort ease the transition. He was no stranger to the operation. He would show up at the Kum & Go at 60th Street and Ashworth Road a couple of times a week after school, beginning when he was 9. His college internships were spent studying the real estate and business intelligence sides of the operation. When the Krause family bought a 180-year-old winery in the Piedmont region of Italy, Tanner Krause was sent to run the operation through its annual grape harvest and familiarize the winery’s workers with his family’s values. His timeline of late has carried some key dates: In September 2017, he was married in Italy to Hannah McHale; in June, he was named president of Kum & Go; on Oct 29, daughter Simone Alba was born; on Nov. 5, the family business and affiliated companies moved to their new building across the street from the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park.

Let’s start with the move. Were you in charge of any particular piece of delivering a 300-person workforce from West Des Moines to Des Moines?

I was on a steering committee. Niki DePhillips [senior vice president of store development at Kum & Go], Charles Campbell [secretary and general counsel] and myself at a high level led the associates’ side of the buildout. Renzo Piano Building Workshop, OPN Architects, Ryan Cos. led the design side in terms of how we were going to craft the space to be purposeful for our associates. The steering committee led that, and we were supported by the transition team. The transition team included a representative from every team inside all the companies in the building.

What was the preparation like?

The move went really well. This move and all the change management that occurred to support the move is now the standard bearer for major initiatives inside the organization, which is a great sign. And as we lead other projects and other changes inside the companies, we’ll hear our associates say, “If we handle it like we did the new KGC [Krause Gateway Center], I think that’d be a good thing.”

What changed with the move?

We’ve moved from the suburbs to the city center. So people’s commutes changed. We’ve moved from a more traditional office setting to a more dynamic and progressive work environment; and then change is also highly personal. The transition team was extremely helpful in voicing the individual concerns so that we could try to manage change, not only at a high level as a steering committee, but also at the individual level.

This has been years in the making. It’s been a process that we’ve taken very seriously. We’ve worked with world-class architects, top change-management consultants, great vendor partners and contractors. And I think it really shows. We’ve gotten almost entirely positive feedback from our associates about their workspace. 

Every step of the way we did our best to incorporate feedback from the associates who’ll be using the spaces. So if it was the fitness room, we identified associates who are active in the fitness center that we had in the old building and got their feedback as to what they would want in this fitness center. We contacted those that bike to work or would like to bike to work and asked them what they’d like from a features and amenities perspective in the new building. And that goes for the Bistro, the vending machines … and certainly the workspace.

How long have you worked for Kum & Go?

In some aspect, my whole life. So I started working in our stores when I was 9 years old. I worked in our stores from 9 years old until I graduated from high school. In college, I did all four of my summer internships with Kum & Go, two years in real estate and two years in business intelligence. After college, I joined the E. & J. Gallo winery and worked in Gallo winery’s management development program for three years. I spent two years in Chicago and one year in New York City. After that stint with Gallo, which I really enjoyed, I rejoined the business as a district supervisor here in Des Moines. [I] had a fantastic year leading 15 stores across town, got reacquainted with the business, the problems we’re facing, the strategy. Then I exited again. I went back to Chicago and got my MBA from DePaul University in business strategy. I graduated two years later, rejoined the company in 2016, and I think, pretty sure, I’m here to stay.

What did you do when you were working at Kum & Go at age 9?

I worked Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, 4 to 6:30. I would arrive, sweep the floor, mop the floor, then I would stock the cooler. Then, depending on if it was nice or if it was cold, I would clean up litter in the lot or I would clean the inside of the store. If I was really lucky my general manager, who still works for us today, would let me run the register with her assistance. Those were fun days.

Was that here in town?

It was. It was at the store at 60th and Ashworth in West Des Moines.

Kum & Go has become a far-flung operation. You are much more than a convenience store chain. Is there any aspect of that that holds more appeal to you than others?

For me, nothing’s more appealing than Kum & Go. I absolutely love this company. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to work for Kum & Go. It’s pretty incredible today, sitting here, to say that I’m now the president of the company. It’s a dream come true. 

I had an opportunity to explore different parts of our organization. When I was getting my MBA, I spent my summer internship in Italy running Enrico Serafino. We acquired Enrico Serafino in June of 2015 and Dad tapped me to go lead the transition from the previous ownership to our family’s ownership and to instill our family’s values into this new company of ours. And it was our first venture into Italy at that time. I spent six months there, getting to know the team, the business and the community, and got us through that first harvest. I learned a lot, had an absolute blast. And admittedly, here I am with the opportunity to make this my full-time gig, president of a winery in Italy in my 20s — many people’s dream come true — and it was the shiny object that was new, and it was fun. But at the end of the day, my heart is in Kum & Go, and what I’m attracted to in Kum & Go is the opportunity to have a greater impact. Kum & Go employs 5,000 people. Kum & Go conducts 500,000 transactions every day. If we can make those transactions meaningful, and if we can take excellent care of our associates, then we’ve done a great job as a company.

Your dad has placed a great deal of faith and trust in you. Did you ever ask why?

Dad’s been extremely supportive always, whether I’m pursuing professional interests, or my athletic interests, or my romantic interests, no matter what it is, he’s helpful and trusting and empowering, and not just me, but of all of his children. I’ve never once stopped and asked why.

How old are you again?

31.

And you’re recently married?

Yes, sir. So I got married September of last year and became the president of Kum & Go on June 1, had our first child Oct. 29, moved into the Krause Gateway Center Nov. 5. It’s been a very fun year, very blessed. 

What were your athletic interests?

I played soccer for Loyola University Chicago for four years. I played for the Des Moines Menace when I was also playing for Loyola.

Your dad’s a young guy, you’re a young guy. You’re going to be working together for a lot of years. Do you talk about a vision for the company and for your new neighborhood in Des Moines?

We talk about a lot of things. He and I are both passionate about making Des Moines a great place, and that will be the driving force for any development that occurs around the Krause Gateway Center. First and foremost, what’s for the best for the city. We don’t know what it looks like today; we don’t have to know — we have time.

We have an emerging real estate business with new leadership who can come in and use their expertise and their ideas to activate the vision that our family will set for the surrounding area. 

It’s a separate team that leads the Kum & Go real estate initiatives. Then we have another growing team that is Krause Group Real Estate that leads the development activity that is not Kum & Go-related. And that’s primarily here in Central Iowa and over in Piedmont, Italy.

There’s a lot of potential in the smaller towns across the Midwest. And I think the most exciting project that we’re working on is the Bricker Price block in Earlham. I think it’s a great example of how when you have a passionate leader with a strong vision — I’m speaking of Sharon [Krause], not Kyle, when I say that — you can really develop some interesting and fun spaces for communities that really want to see that new type of energy and activity.

This is an interesting direction for the company to take. I don’t know whether it’s necessarily a natural step. How did that come about? 

You know, Dad does a fantastic job of looking at what our family owns and operates, the very long-term vision, and it’s a good principle of risk management to be diversified. You look at how we’ve diversified the family’s interest under his leadership, we’ve gotten into the wine business, we’ve gotten into sports, we’ve gotten into hospitality and we’ve gotten further into real estate. Real estate, in particular, is a great investment because the underlying asset, the land itself, is finite. The family committed to Des Moines for the long term; it makes sense for us to own and help develop the real estate in our community.

Do you have an interest in greenfield development?

Our passion in real estate is to create thriving city centers. We believe strongly that when you have density and diversity, great things can occur, the unplanned can occur, and our real estate holdings, our real estate development is focused on creating collisions in which the spontaneous and the unexpected can occur.

Can you give an example of those collisions? 

I’ll give you an example of a collision. So Monday [Nov. 5] is our first day in the Krause Gateway Center. One of our associates is walking to lunch across the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. She bumps into one of our brand-new associates. It was the first time they had spent any time together; they had met briefly in the hallway. They decided to grab lunch together. They walk across the street to one of the restaurants and ended up spending 90 minutes getting to know each other, talking about the business, talking about each other’s personal backgrounds. They came back to work with a stronger relationship so that when it comes time for those two associates to work together, they’ve got that bond created and it will make their work more successful. True story.

Is there any family significance to your daughter’s name?

My wife picked the first name. I picked the middle name. Alba is the city in Italy nearest to where we were married last year.