Bob Chapman became the senior executive of Barry-Wehmiller in 1975 at age 30 when the 90-year-old business had $20 million in revenue, outdated technology and a very weak financial position. Despite the obstacles, Chapman applied a unique blend of strategy to grow the company through acquisition, creating a sustainable business model not susceptible to the whims of any one industry.
Alongside tremendous growth in his business, a series of realizations led Chapman away from traditional management practices to Truly Human Leadership® —a people-centric approach where his team members feel valued, cared for and integral to the company’s purpose. At Barry-Wehmiller, they have a unique measure of success: by the way they touch the lives of people.
Chapman’s experiences and the transformation he championed were the inspiration behind his 2015 WSJ bestseller Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. The book is coauthored by Raj Sisodia, founder and co-author of Conscious Capitalism. The book has been translated into eight languages and in 2025 was re-released in a revised and expanded edition with 90 additional pages of insights. In 2016, Barry-Wehmiller’s unique approach to business was featured in a case study by Harvard Business School, which is now taught at 70+ business schools around the world. Meanwhile, the company has evolved and grown from $1.7 billion in annual revenue with 100 acquisitions when the original book was published to $3.6+ billion with more than 145 acquisitions in 2025.
In 2013, Bob and his wife Cynthia launched a nonprofit, Chapman Foundation for Caring Communities, to bring the Barry-Wehmiller’s groundbreaking Listen Like a Leader training to communities. And, in 2015, the Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute was founded to bring the principles of Truly Human Leadership® to for-profit organizations through culture transformation and leadership training. In recent years, Bob has prioritized teaching caring leadership to tomorrow’s leaders through programs in a growing number of universities and is now targeting K-12 schools.
In 2022, Chapman was named the Tharseō CEO of the Year by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He’s been ranked as the #3 CEO in the world in an Inc. article, and a Top 10 Social Capital CEO by International Business Times.
After 50 years as CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, in 2025, Kyle Chapman, Bob Chapman’s son, was named CEO of the company. Bob Chapman remains Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder.
Chapman shares his story whenever he can, as it is an example of what’s possible at the intersection of great business strategy and profound care for people. He wants everyone to see that caring for people and giving them meaning, purpose and fulfillment through their work is not in disharmony with creating value.