Landon H Rowland

Landon Rowland, who led the expansion of Kansas City Southern Railway and was instrumental in establishing the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, died December 28 2015 after a long illness. He was 78. In his corporate life, Rowland led the railway along with Kansas City Southern Industries, Stilwell Financial Inc. and Janus Capital Group. A signature achievement was being part of the team that acquired a major Mexican railroad to extend Kansas City Southern’s reach, said his son, Josh Rowland. Rowland also helped establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and was an important supporter of the American Royal Horse Show and the American art collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Rowland was chairman for 23 years of the Local Investment Commission, an area nonprofit. That nonprofit, better known as LINC, works to improve the lives of area children and families. As such, Rowland and the commission pushed to create the health foundation when the for-profit HCA hospital system bought the Health Midwest hospital group in 2003. When Rowland, a graduate of Harvard Law School, thought HCA wasn’t living up to its sale commitments for hospital improvements and care for the needy, he pushed the foundation in 2009 to sue HCA. A judge recently ordered HCA to pay $433 million as a result of the suit, a judgment HCA is appealing. Besides heading the Local Investment Commission, Rowland’s civic roles included serving as chairman of Swope Ridge Geriatric Center and the Metropolitan Performing Arts Fund. He was a director of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the American Royal Association, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and the Orthomolecular Medicine & Research Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Kansas. He was a trustee of the Linda Hall Library, the Midwest Research Institute, the Liberty Memorial Association and the Committee for Economic Development. In business, he was chairman of Janus Capital Group from 2000 to 2004 and a director from 2000 to 2011. Before July 2000, he was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Kansas City Southern Industries. In July 2000, the transportation and financial services operations of KCSI were separated and the financial services operations were incorporated in Stilwell Financial Inc., of which he was chairman, president and CEO. In September 2003, all Stilwell Financial subsidiaries were merged into Stilwell and the name was changed to Janus Capital Group, where Rowland continued as chairman until January 2004 and as director until May 2011. Rowland joined Kansas City Southern Industries in 1980, became president and chief operating officer in 1983 and CEO in 1987, continuing in that capacity until 2000. Rowland was president and CEO of Kansas City Southern Railway from 1990 to 1991 and chairman from 1987 to 2000. Before joining Kansas City Southern Industries, Rowland was a partner in the law firm of Watson, Ess, Marshall & Enggas of Kansas City from 1962 to 1980 and was a professorial lecturer in antitrust law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1977 and 1978. He also was an arbitrator and member of the American Arbitration Association. Rowland received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1959 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1962.