The Greater Des Moines Committee announced Monday it will recognize Ray Cole, Robert J. Denson and Roger C. Underwood as the 2023 inductees to the Iowa Business Hall of Fame. The Iowa Business Hall of Fame honors the achievements of Iowans who have made outstanding contributions to the development and enhancement of Iowa’s business climate.

According to a news release, past Hall of Fame honorees under the leadership of chair Dr. Teri Wahlig, CEO of ChildServe, serve as the selection committee. Inductees are selected based on merit rather than endorsement, the release said. The criteria are:

• Business Leadership: The nominated individual should lead or have led a business that has provided valued jobs and economic development to their community and the state, creating both wealth and workforce opportunity.
• Community Development Impact: The nominated individual should have made an impact by improving the economies of the community and the state through their leadership in such organizations as chambers of commerce, economic development organizations or centers of education.
• Community Volunteerism/Leadership: The nominated individual should have personally given of their time and financial resources for the betterment of the community through support of charities and organizations.
• Strategic Leadership: The nominated individual should have contributed to community economic growth through visionary leadership and community problem-solving.
• Business Recognition: The nominated individual should be recognized by their peers as a business leader.

Ray Cole worked for New York-based broadcasting company Citadel Communications for 48 years, including 38 years as president and chief operating officer. He retired from Citadel in 2023.

Cole held various leadership positions in the broadcasting industry while serving on the boards of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Television Bureau of Advertising and the ABC Television Affiliates Association. He currently serves on the board of the Broadcasters Foundation of America.

In Iowa’s broadcast industry, Cole served on the board of the Iowa Broadcasters Association and was inducted into the Iowa Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2015. His other community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Principal Charity Classic, Iowa Hall of Pride and Partnership for a Drug-Free Iowa.

Cole graduated from Briar Cliff University and moved to Des Moines in 1994.

Robert J. Denson is the fourth president of Des Moines Area Community College. He was appointed in 2003 and is now the college’s longest-serving president. Denson entered higher education following a 19-year law career. He worked at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla., and as president of Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar and Dubuque before joining DMACC.

He serves on the boards of various community organizations, including the United Way of Central Iowa, Future Ready Iowa, the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, the Iowa Direct Caregivers Association, the Iowa Rural Development Council, the Greater Des Moines Partnership and Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Denson received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Iowa State University and graduated from University of Florida Law School.

Roger C. Underwood, an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, founded Becker Underwood in 1982 in Ames. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1980. The chemical company created a specialty colorant so farmers could mark their herbicide application. It scaled internationally, reaching $265 million in sales by 2012, when it was acquired by BASF Chemical Co. of Germany for $1.02 billion.

The Atlantic, Iowa, native participated in the Capitol Corridor Steering Committee, which resulted in the establishment of America’s Cultivation Corridor. He has also been involved with Iowa State, including providing a $1.5 million cash gift to establish the entrepreneurship program for students at the university’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Underwood is currently an investor and chair of Pivot Bio, a Berkeley, Calif.-based ag biotech company, and a board member of Muscatine-based Kent Corp.

The inductees will be honored during the Greater Des Moines Committee’s Annual Induction Event on Wednesday, May 1, at the Meadows Events and Conference Center. For more information about registration, click here.