Jason Kuilan is the new executive director of Great Bend Economic Development.
Kuilan was introduced at Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting by GBED Board member Paul Snapp.
“We’re pretty excited,” Snapp said. “Jason brings a very rich business background working with leadership positions in large corporations and also as an entrepreneur himself.”
Kuilan said he had been on the job “one week and one day.”
He is the franchise owner of Kitchen Guard, a commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning service provider in northwest Arkansas. He graduated from Northwestern State University and earned a master’s degree in business analytics from Imperial College London. As a former Walmart supplier, his professional background includes experience in business management and operations.
Kuilan told the Great Bend Tribune that he learned about the GBED position from his wife, Dr. Jessica S. Pries, MD, who came to Great Bend back in April for her interview with The University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend campus. She’s since started as the new permanent General Surgeon.
He told the city council that Great Bend reminds him of Natchitoches, Louisiana, about 10 years ago.
“That’s where I grew up, and that’s where I’m from,” he said. “I go back and it feels like a completely different town. They’ve really done a great job revitalizing their downtown area. It feels like a bigger city when you’re down there, because everybody is down there of all ages — there’s a lot of activities, there’s a lot of buzz. They’ve got the right mix of retail [and] residential shops. They do a ton of events year-round to keep that business going.”
He went on to describe a project in Natchitoches that started as a haunted house and grew into a year-round venue that brings people from all around the state and has been nationally recognized.
“And it started off as one family with a dream of building a little haunted house. I go down there and it just feels very similar.”
After arriving in Great Bend, he quickly saw many volunteers and committees “that are really pushing things forward.” A lot of the volunteers are retired.
“So when you ask me, what’s my vision, it’s how do we get the youth involved to replace them?” In that regard, he has met with Barton Community College President Dr. Marcus Garstecki as well as Great Bend City Administrator Logan Burns.
About Jason Kuilan
Kuilan spent part of Tuesday morning making a site visit to the Innovation Center, a GBED project under construction on 10th St. In the afternoon he sent additional information about himself.
“I was raised as a military brat by my mother, Susie Kuilan, who is currently a 2-star general in the Army Reserves commanding all the operational Military Police. She also has her PhD in Early American Literature from LSU and works as a lead faculty for the National American University. She currently resides in Florida with her husband and their two four-legged children. The rest of my family live across Arkansas.
“While I moved around often as a child, I call Louisiana home, specifically Natchitoches, where I graduated high school and college at Northwestern State University. I received a degree in Applied Mathematics and Physical Science with plans to attend Pharmacy School. After taking a gap year to work in SAAS (software as a service) for a large company in Dallas, I decided to forgo pharmacy school and instead enrolled at Imperial College London where I went on to receive my MSc in Data Science. After graduating from Imperial, I returned to Northwest Arkansas where my Mom and grandparents lived at the time and shortly after found a job working for a data consultancy firm (NPD, now Circana) supporting Walmart. I worked at NPD for 2.5 years, consulting the entertainment department merchants and leadership as well as leading a multi-company data project that was used by the Walmart CEO and CFO on their pubic earnings releases. After leaving NPD I would go on to various positions in Category Management and Sales working in laundry, household cleaning, toys, and lastly protein.
“My last position was the team leader overseeing both Walmart and Target accounts, managing a $300 million PnL (Profit and Loss) across nearly 7,000 stores and over 100 products in the omni-channel. In mid 2024 I transitioned my career to start my own business. Kitchen Guard of NW Arkansas is a premium service provider for restaurants and other commercial clients – providing services in hood exhaust cleaning, filter exchange, and other preventative maintenance services. Having just crossed our one-year mark of operations, we continue to expand our customer base, recently signing an agreement to start servicing Walmart stores.
“With the move to Great Bend, I am excited to translate my education and professional experience into a role that impacts so many different organizations, industries, and local residents. I see Great Bend Economic Development as an opportunity to change the lives of all people of all ages. Currently I am focused on learning the community, meeting local businesses, and connecting with people who want to partner together to better the community for everyone. If you’re reading this and feel like I am speaking to you, please reach out and let’s talk ( email director@gbedinc.com).”
On a personal note, Kuilan said he married Jessica Pries in June of 2024 overlooking Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. “We live a life full of travel – I’ve been to over 40 countries and counting, while Jess is working to catch up. We enjoy drinking wine and cooking together, reading thriller novels, staying active by playing pickleball and hiking, and playing with our five animals. We both grew up in small towns, Jess about an hour east of Great Bend and me in Louisiana, so moving to Great Bend and the way of life is something we are familiar with and happy to be back in a community we can call home. Once we get settled you’ll find us trying all the restaurants around town, having a beer at Dry Lake, playing in Rec League games, and exploring all the area has to offer.”
