Daniel Ludeman

Chairman & CEO
Concordance

Location: St. Louis, MO
Founded: 2015
Industry: Non-Profit

After achieving great personal and professional success in the brokerage industry as the CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, Daniel J. Ludeman retired in 2013, and he could have remained retired. Instead, he followed his spiritual calling and took on a societal crisis that has not seen any significant improvement over the past three decades.

As the chairman and CEO of Concordance Leadership Academy, a non-profit re-entry program with a mission to reduce recidivism rates by executing holistic, integrated, evidence-informed re-entry models, Ludeman remains influential as a leader.

Ludeman began his career at Concordance by gathering 70+ professionals to develop a strategic plan around solving the problem of reincarceration, especially after learning that 77% of individuals released from prison are arrested again within five years. By April 2015, after hiring the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University to research trauma-informed randomized controlled trials, the Concordance Academy of Leadership was officially founded.

The vision of Concordance is to be the best there is in understanding justice-involved adults as well as to work in partnership with them to heal. “Through our work, we are developing the leadership traits of strong character, wisdom and service while working to heal their past trauma, enhance their faith in God and build the skills that help them improve the vitality and safety of their communities,” said Ludeman.

Since the launch of the revolutionary and holistic program, with Ludeman at the helm, Concordance has lowered the rate of reincarceration among participants by 45 percent. According to his staff, Ludeman has been instrumental in making change. “Danny paved the way for the organization to be in a place to apply for and receive a three-year CARF accreditation,” they said. “He also created the Concordance Employment Agency, an alternative staffing agency with the dual mission of delivering staffing services while helping individuals overcome obstacles to employment.”

The success of the organization has been dependent upon strong leadership. “I believe leadership is creating a vision and a culture for your organization and inspiring other team members to fulfill that vision and culture,” said Ludeman. “At the core of this is a passion and commitment to creating true, authentic, trusting relationships.”

Ludeman also believes that the deepest hunger of the human heart is to be understood. “In doing so, you validate the self-worth of an individual and can help fulfill their needs whether it’s clients, team members or the community,” he said.

For his deep commitment to leading as an example to better the community, Ludeman has been named a Titan.