Mike Hamra mulls gubernatorial run

Mike Hamra, president and CEO of Springfield-based Hamra Enterprises LLC, is mulling a run for governor of Missouri.

"I’m seriously considering a run for governor," Hamra said in an emailed statement to Springfield Business Journal this morning. "I’m likely to have a final decision later in the fall."

SBJ reached out to Hamra after the St. Louis Business Journal reported yesterday about his potential plans.

If Hamra chooses to run for governor, he said he would do so as a Democrat.

Missouri Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, earlier this week announced she would run for governor in 2024. Republicans Jay Ashcroft, Bill Eigel and Mike Kehoe also have launched bids for the office.

Hamra took over management of Hamra Enterprises from his father, company founder Sam Hamra, in 2011, according to SBJ archives. Mike Hamra in 2016 was one of SBJ's Men of the Year.

His Men of the Year profile indicates he has a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, ahis Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri and an MBA from Kennesaw State University.

He also has experience in government.

Following a stint in private practice, Hamra served the Clinton administration as a political appointee and special counsel to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where he assisted in drafting the 1996 Telecommunications Act, according to past reporting. From 1994-97, Hamra served as chief of staff and legal adviser for the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and in 2001 was commissioned by the U.S. Department of State to represent the United States in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, assisting its new government in rewriting telecommunications law.

For his efforts, Hamra was awarded the Commerce Department’s Bronze Medal for superior federal service.

Hamra Enterprises recently announced the expansion of its footprint in the Southern United States through an acquisition of 24 Panera Bread restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee from fellow franchisee CSC Investments. Hamra Enterprises also operates franchises under the Wendy’s and Noodle & Co. brands.

Earlier this year, Hamra Enterprises signed on as a franchisee of Caribou Coffee, with plans to open two dozen stores in the Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis markets, and the company opened a Wendy’s in Mount Vernon, its first restaurant in the town, according to past reporting.