Patricia Besser, Managing Director, is responsible for leading teams in Chicago focused on the wealthiest families in the world. Pat joined Bank of America’s private wealth group in 2001 following over 20 years in corporate...

Since 2022, Gina has served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Perkins&Will: a global design firm with over 2500 employees and 32 studios worldwide. In this role she is focuses on elevating the firm’s brand...

Heather is a committed leader in the Chicago education community. She has experience building new teams and initiatives within education nonprofits, accomplishing ambitious goals as a teacher and administrator in Chicago Public Schools, and providing...

Roseanna Ander serves as the founding Executive Director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the University of Chicago Education Lab, established in 2008 and 2011, respectively. These research institutions, which have offices in...

Kapila is a seasoned board member and audit committee chair/financial expert on public and private companies.She was KPMG’s former National Partner-in-Charge: Public Policy Business Initiatives, responsible for coordinating the U.S. Firm’s response to Public Policy...

Ann Marie Wright is the U.S. Chief Risk Officer for BMO Financial Group. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring that the organization is effectively identifying and managing the risks in the business and...

Natalie A. Brown is the former Chief Executive Officer of Mesirow. As CEO, she oversaw firm-wide growth and profitability, the execution of strategic initiatives, and shareholder value creation, partnering with the firm’s Executive Chairman and...

Andee Harris is the founder and CEO of Franklin Heritage, private equity firm that invests in cutting-edge technology and manufacturing. Formerly the CEO of HighGround Software, which she successfully sold to Vista Equity Partners in...

President and CEO Chicago Urban League Andrea Zopp, a distinguished corporate and civic leader who has lead transformative change in the public and private sectors, was appointed as President and CEO of the venerable Chicago...

After the sudden loss of her father and Lifeway founder Michael Smolyansky in 2002, Julie Smolyansky became the youngest female CEO of a publicly traded company when she took over Lifeway Foods at the age...