Kyle Krause

Kum & Go and Solar Transport

At age 35, Krause started Kum & Go LC, a venture operating four convenience stores independently of the chain run by his father, William "Bill" Krause. Within six years he had grown that operation to roughly 250 stores.In 2004, Krause became CEO and president of the combined company, merging his father's original chain with the business he had built. Under his leadership, Kum & Go grew into a chain of more than 400 stores across 13 states, with revenue roughly doubling and earnings increasing fivefold during his tenure; the company was named CSP magazine's Retail Leader of the Year in 2018. In 2018, Krause's son Tanner was named president of Kum & Go, with Kyle moving into the chairman and CEO role, and the company relocated its headquarters into the newly built, Renzo Piano-designed Krause Gateway Center in downtown Des Moines.

In August 2023, Krause Group sold Kum & Go and its affiliated logistics company, Solar Transport, to Utah-based Maverik (a subsidiary of FJ Management) in a deal reported to be valued near $2 billion, ending 64 years of Krause family ownership of the chain. Krause has said he had no plans to retire following the sale, citing the other companies in the Krause Group portfolio that continued to require his attention.^[2]

Krause Group

Krause founded Krause Group in 2021 as the family's holding company, organizing what had become a diversified set of businesses spanning convenience retail, logistics, real estate, agriculture, Italian wine and hospitality, and professional soccer. The organization states a commitment to donating at least 10% of its profits to the communities in which it operates each year. Following the Kum & Go sale, Krause indicated the group would look at further opportunities in areas such as food, fashion, media, and social investing, while continuing to build out its existing soccer, hospitality, and Italian wine holdings.^[2]

Parma Calcio 1913

In September 2020, Krause Group acquired a 90% stake in Parma Calcio 1913, an Italian football club with a championship history dating to the early 1990s but which had suffered bankruptcy and relegation to the lower divisions earlier in the 2010s.The deal, reported at roughly $100 million, made Krause the fourth American businessman to own a club playing in Italy's Serie A at the time, following ownership groups at AC Milan, Fiorentina, and AS Roma.^[3]

Parma's results under Krause Group ownership have fluctuated: the club finished 12th in Serie B in the 2021–22 season, reached the Serie B play-off semifinals in 2022–23, and won promotion back to Serie A by finishing first in Serie B in 2023–24. The men's first team has remained in Serie A since, finishing 16th in both the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons. By the club's fifth anniversary under Krause ownership in September 2025, Parma Calcio had four of its teams competing in their respective top divisions, including a women's first team that secured its own promotion that year. Krause has also discussed plans to expand the club's youth and training infrastructure and to continue investing in the women's program in Parma.^[3]

Des Moines Menace and Pro Iowa

Krause's involvement in soccer ownership predates Parma: he became majority owner of the Des Moines Menace, a USL League Two team, in 1998. Building on that foundation, Krause founded USL Pro Iowa in 2019 with the goal of bringing professional men's and women's soccer to central Iowa, anchored by a planned multi-use stadium and "Global Plaza" in downtown Des Moines, to be developed by Krause+, the Krause Group real estate arm, on the site of a former Dico Superfund property. As of late 2025, the project's roughly $75 million funding package included a $23–24 million personal contribution from Kyle and Sharon Krause alongside public and private partners including American Equity Investment Life, MidAmerican Energy, and Hy-Vee. With its capital stack completed in late 2025 and design work underway in 2026, the project anticipates fielding a men's team in the USL Championship and a women's team in the USL Super League before the end of the decade.^[4]

Italian hospitality and wine

Alongside Parma Calcio, Krause Group built a portfolio of Piedmont, Italy hospitality and wine assets, including the wineries Vietti and Enrico Serafino and the five-star sustainable resort Casa di Langa. Krause has described plans to continue expanding the group's footprint in Italian hospitality and to acquire additional wineries over time.^[2]