West Bend Mutual, Blast Cleaning, Exterior Pros win Top Workplaces leadership awards

The chief executive officers of an old line Milwaukee-area insurance company and two other businesses have won the leadership awards in this year's annual Milwaukee Journal Sentinel list of Top Workplaces in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Kevin Steiner, of West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.; Carl Panzenhagen, of West Allis-based Blast Cleaning Technologies Inc., and Sussex-based Sheila Hibl, of Exterior Pros LLC, received the awards for large, midsize and small companies, respectively.

Here's a rundown on the award winners.

What is the award's criteria?

The leadership award recipients were chosen based on scores for employee responses to a survey statement: "I have confidence in the leader of this company."

Employees rated the statement on a seven-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Kevin Steiner, of West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.

Steiner has been with West Bend Mutual since 1994, serving in such roles as corporate sales manager, vice president of sales, vice president of marketing and senior vice president.

He was named executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2007, president in 2008 and chief executive officer in 2009.

Steiner "leads the organization by example and places high value on relationships, excellence, integrity and responsibility," according to a company statement.

West Bend Mutual has received high ratings from A.M. Best Co. for its financial strength. Those ratings reflect the company's "consistently strong risk-adjusted capitalization, stable regional market presence, and conservative risk management culture," it said.

With retaining and acquiring talent a challenge in 2022 for many industries, West Bend hired nearly 250 new associates to backfill retirements and turnover, and fill new positions due to growth. West Bend has a workforce of more than 1,500 associates.

"Kevin is a wonderful human," one employee said on the survey. "He really cares about people, he engages with people and makes time for them. He's positive and uplifting even in tough situations. He has such a good vibe that you want to be better just being around him."

Carl Panzenhagen, of Blast Cleaning Technologies Inc.

Panzenhagen has been in the shot blasting and finishing industry for over 37 years and has served as president and CEO of Blast Cleaning Technologies since 2005.

His vision for Blast Cleaning Technologies "is to bring new and innovative solutions and systems to customers."

"Carl leads with great passion, a strong drive and embraces challenges to provide customers with the very best products and services while proudly being made in the U.S.A.," according to a company statement.

Blast Cleaning Technologies has grown from 30 employees in 2009 to 240 employees in 2023. The company has had multiple expansions over the last five years and is planning another expansion for later this year.

"Carl is a strong believer in the Dale Carnegie Training Program where numerous employees have learned the knowledge, skills, and practices to bring that value to BCT," the statement said. "Our purpose and mission equal the success of our customers."

"Seeing Carl on the shop floor really gives a morale boost to the guys on the floor," one survey respondent said.

Sheila Hibl, of Exterior Pros LLC

Hibl has been CEO at Exterior Pros, a home remodeling company, since she launched the firm in 2012. She previously worked in the automotive consumer financing and property and casualty insurance industries.

Exterior Pros' services include roofing, windows, exterior doors, siding and bathroom remodels.

"My overall leadership strategy is to lead by example with our company's core values and core focus," Hibl said.

"These include having a positive energy and goal focused attitude, creating a rewarding culture for our employees and their families, and to fully and confidently stand behind everything we do," she said.

The company just completed its best year, exceeding its 2022 sales goals while improving its efficiency, Hibl said. Exterior Pros has 50 employees.

In the employee survey, one respondent praised Hibl for the "positivity she portrays every day" as well as her "pride and determination."

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.