Twelve New Board Members Increase Diversity, Entrepreneurial Experience, And Connections To Corporate Community
CHICAGO (June 19, 2015)—The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) today announced that twelve new board members have joined the Board of Directors of the CEC in the last six months. This brings to fifty the total number of board members leading the organization, whose flagship project is 1871.
“We are thrilled to welcome vibrant and diverse directors to our organization,” said Jim O'Connor Jr., Managing Director of William Blair and CEC Board Chairman. “The board members reflect all aspects of Chicago’s economy and will be crucial in supporting entrepreneurship and fostering opportunity in the Chicagoland area in the coming years. We are excited to get to work on some new initiatives and support the growth, expansion, and advancement of 1871 and the CEC.”
The new CEC board members include:
- Adam Stanley - Global CIO, DTZ
- Brenna Berman - Department of Innovation and Technology Commissioner and CIO, City of Chicago
- Jai Shekhawat - Founder and CEO, Fieldglass
- Jeff Miller - Corporate Vice President, Motorola Mobility
- Lloyd Semple - Managing Director, Accenture
- Matt Maloney - Co-founder and CEO, GrubHub Inc.
- Matt Summy - Vice President, Comcast Business Class
- Mike McMurray - President, Globetrotters Engineering Corporation
- Pam Netzky - Founder and former President, SkinnyPop
- Rishi Shah - Founder and CEO, Context Media
- Sunil Garg - Senior Vice President & Chief Information & Innovation Officer, Exelon Corp.
- Suzanne Muchin – Co-founder, Mind + Matter Studio
“Chicago’s startups benefit from the unparalleled connectivity between entrepreneurs and business leaders in the city,” said Matt Maloney, Co-founder and CEO of Grubhub and CEC Board Member. “The CEC and 1871 play a key role in furthering these relationships, which help contribute to Chicago’s growth as a global leader in the startup community.”
“The CEC and 1871 provide critical resources that help entrepreneurs have a better shot at creating successful businesses,” said Pam Netzky, Founder and former President of SkinnyPop and CEC Board Member. “I look forward to working with the CEC to promote innovation and foster entrepreneurial spirit throughout Chicago.”
“New technology businesses make significant contributions to job creation in Chicago and throughout Illinois,” said Rishi Shah, Founder and CEO of Context Media and CEC Board Member. “By supporting digital startups, the CEC and 1871 are facilitating major growth in the local economy.”
The CEC Board of Directors is responsible for a number of activities. Most notably, it supports the operations and activities of 1871, its flagship project. 1871 was founded in May 2012 with the intention of becoming Chicago’s premier entrepreneurial hub. Presently, 1871 has 800 individual members and 350 companies operating out of its space.
“The insight and experience of the CEC Board of Directors is critical to the success of 1871,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “We are honored to welcome these business leaders to the CEC board and look forward to working together to contribute to the current and future prosperity of Chicago.”
The CEC Board is also responsible for the production and execution of the annual Momentum Awards Dinner. Last year, the dinner honored Carole and Gordon Segal as the Entrepreneurial Champions, Motorola Mobility as the Corporate Champion, and kCura as the Merrick Momentum Award winner. This year, the eighth annual dinner will be held on October 8 at the Radisson Blu Hotel. It is the single largest fundraising dinner and gathering of Chicago's tech community.
The CEC is involved in a number of activities supporting entrepreneurship, including the hosting of Startup Bootcamp workshops and support of other organizations that work on entrepreneurial activities. In addition, the CEC is focused on fostering opportunities for women and entrepreneurship through 1871's WiSTEM program.
“The CEC plays a pivotal role in facilitating opportunities for women entrepreneurs and technology professionals,” said Laura Ferris Anderson, CEC Treasurer and Chief of Staff, Office of the Midwest Chairman, JPMorgan Chase. “These efforts include supporting 1871’s WiSTEM, an innovative program designed to improve the connectivity for women entrepreneurs to capital, technology, and community.
All of the board members are serving one-year terms. The full CEC Board of Directors includes:
- Chairman of the Board: Jim O'Connor, Jr. - Managing Director, William Blair
- Adam Stanley – Global CIO, DTZ
- Andrew Skoglund - Director, Private Banking, Credit Suisse
- Brenna Berman - Commissioner and CIO, City of Chicago
- Bret Maxwell - Managing General Partner, MK Capital
- Bryant Keil - Founding Chairman, Potbelly Sandwich Shop
- Chris Gladwin - Founder and Vice Chairman, Cleversafe
- David Tolmie - Partner, Edgewater Funds
- Dean DeBiase - Chairman, Reboot Partners
- Ellen Rudnick - Executive Director and Clinical Professor, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship
- Genevieve Thiers - Founder, Sittercity.com
- Gregg Kaplan - Operating Partner, Services, Pritzker Group Venture Capital
- Hank Adams - CEO, Sportvision, Inc.
- Howard Tullman - CEO, 1871
- Jai Shekhawat - Founder and CEO, Fieldglass
- Jeff Miller - Corporate Vice President, Motorola Mobility
- Jim Dugan - CEO & Managing Partner, OCA Ventures LLC
- Joe Shenton - Director, Barclays Capital
- Kevin Willer - Co-founder and Partner, Chicago Ventures
- Larry Eppley - Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
- Laura Ferris Anderson - Chief of Staff, Office of the Midwest Chairman, JPMorgan Chase
- Leslie Anderson - SVP, District Market Manager, BMO Harris Bank
- Linda Darragh - Executive Director, Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice, Heizer Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative
- Lisa Portnoy - Technology Partner, EY
- Lloyd Semple - Managing Director, Accenture
- Lon Chow - Partner, Apex Venture Partners
- Mark Tebbe - Operating Executive, Lake Capital
- Matt Maloney - Co-founder and CEO, GrubHub Inc.
- Matt Summy - Vice President, Comcast
- Matt McCall - Partner, Pritzker Group Venture Capital
- Matt Brown - Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
- Maura O'Hara - Executive Director, Illinois Venture Capital Association
- Mike McMurray – President, Globetrotters Engineering Corporation
- Pam Netzky - Founder and former President, SkinnyPop
- Pat Ryan, Jr. - Founder & CEO, Incisent Labs Group
- Rishi Shah - Founder and CEO, Context Media
- R. J. Melman - Executive Partner, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
- Robert Blackwell Jr. - President, Electronic Knowledge Interchange
- Sam Guren - Principal, Guren Capital Management, LLC
- Sam Yagan - CEO, Match Group
- Scott Swanson - President, PNC Bank
- Sonal Mane - National Programs Director, Microsoft
- Steve Collens - CEO, MATTER
- Sunil Garg - Senior Vice President and Chief Information & Innovation Officer, Exelon Corp.
- Suzanne Muchin - Co-founder, Mind + Matter Studio
- Talia Mashiach - CEO and Founder, Eved
- Ted Souder - Head of Industry, Google
- Tim Stojka - CEO, Agentis Energy
- Tom Thompson - Managing Director, WP Global Partners, Inc.
- Troy Henikoff - Managing Director, Techstars Chicago; Managing Director, MATH Venture Partners
