Each year the Business Record honors a member of a previous Forty Under 40 class to recognize their contributions since being named a Forty. The 2020 Forty Under 40 Alumnus of the Year is Renee Hardman.

Hardman is an at-large councilwoman and mayor pro tem for the city of West Des Moines and is also the CEO of Big Brother Big Sisters of Central Iowa. She was the first African American woman elected as a councilperson in West Des Moines.

Previously, Hardman served as principal owner of Hardman Consulting, a full-service human resource company specializing in employee development, diversity audits and training, workplace investigations, executive coaching, and leadership development. She has also worked at Bankers Trust Co. and for the state.

She is the chair of the West Des Moines public safety committee, city liaison for the West Des Moines Library and Development Services, board member of the Polk County Housing Trust Fund, board of trustees member of Des Moines University, board member of the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center, and member and past president of Des Moines Chapter of the Links Inc. She has previously been involved with several other community initiatives.

Hardman is a Drake University graduate, holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology and an MBA.

Hardman, who is a member of the inaugural Forty Under 40 class in 2000, was also named a Woman of Influence by the Business Record in 2004. She has been inducted into the Iowa Women Hall of Fame, among numerous other honors.