Board of Directors

Himal serves as CFO for Braviant Holdings, a $100 million revenue fintech platform in Chicago. He helps lead company strategy, capital markets activities, and oversees the finance, accounting, and corporate governance functions. Prior to joining Braviant, Himal completed more than 50 debt, equity, and M&A transactions over ten years in both private equity and investment banking. Most recently, he served as the Senior Vice President of Private Equity and as an investment committee member at New Island Capital, an impact investment firm in San Francisco with $1.5 billion under management. Previously, he worked for leading investment banking firms Credit Suisse, William Blair, and Livingstone Partners. Himal also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Millennium Bank, an Illinois-based community bank with over $250 million in assets. He received his B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA in Finance and Strategy from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Eric is Executive Vice President of Product Solutions & Market Strategy at Quad. In this role, he is responsible for setting and executing the transformation strategy for Quad. Additionally, Eric is President of Quad Agency solutions, Quad’s division responsible for coordinating complex cross-media campaigns spanning online, instore and in home.

Eric is a growth-focused leader with more than 25 years in business leadership. Before joining Quad/Graphics in 2015, he was President of SGK, Inc. He joined SGK in 2003 and held positions as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Growth Officer before becoming president in 2012. Previously, Eric was founder of BlueMint Associates, a next-gen integrated marketing services agency that he sold to SGK.

Eric also has served in various marketing roles with companies including Colgate-Palmolive, The Clorox Corporation and Levi Strauss & Co. Eric holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Francisco State. His work has earned numerous CLIO awards for communications and design and EFFIE awards for advertising effectiveness.

Tracey is head of the Global Markets Division in the Midwest, Canada and the Southern Region responsible for managing the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) and Equities businesses. She is also co-head of the Chicago office and Midwest region. Tracey is a member of the Partnership Committee and the Global Markets Division OpComm. She also serves as the Americas Global Markets Division Recruiting Champion and is an investment champion for Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ $500 million commitment to invest in companies and investment managers with diverse leadership.

Tracey joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 as an associate in FICC. She was named managing director in 2005 and partner in 2010.

Prior to joining the firm, Tracey worked as an investment banking analyst at Salomon Brothers Inc.

Tracey serves on the boards of the Chicago Children’s Choir and Lincoln Park Zoo as well as the Chicago boards of the Positive Coaching Alliance and Year Up. She is a member of the National Board at Team IMPACT and a trustee of the US Olympic and Paralympic Foundation. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Network, the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council and the N Club.

Tracey earned an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1995. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, earning a BA, with honors, in Mathematical Methods and Economics from Northwestern University in 1991.

Heiji Choy Black is the founder and CEO of Jeune Otte, a sustainable clothing line for women and young women based and made in Chicago. Currently, she serves as chair of the Fashion Council at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which raises funds to provide scholarship funds to emerging stars from the Fashion Department at the SAIC.

She is an active contemporary art collector, and serves on the board of the Renaissance Society, the Arts Club of Chicago, and the acquisitions committee of the Architecture and Design Department of the Art Institute of Chicago.

She has served in many roles in the fashion industry from fashion and style editor at Chicago Magazine, to boutique owner of hejfina in Wicker Park in the early aughts and lecturer on fashion history. She graduated from Tufts University in 2000 with a BA in International Relations. Her husband and three children live in Lincoln Park.

Patrick is a retired partner with KPMG. During his 37-year career at KPMG, he served as lead partner or SEC review partner on numerous clients across the U.S.

Patrick’s experience includes investment managers, registered investment companies, alternative funds, collective trusts, investment partnerships and broker dealers.

Patrick is a licensed certified public accountant in Illinois and has been involved in a number of community and professional organizations.

Erin started her career as a securities and M&A attorney at large law firms in New York City and then Chicago. For more than ten years, she has worked at Alight Solutions, a leading provider of human capital solutions in various roles. Erin currently manages a team of commercial attorneys and is responsible for supporting the global commercial functions at Alight.

Monica Carney is an accomplished marketing strategist and business leader, with significant experience in brand repositioning, innovation strategy, and business strategy. Currently she leads the Marketing team for U.S. Wealth Management at BMO Harris Bank, N.A. Prior to this role, Monica spent over 5 years leading the Depository line of business at a Chicago-based community bank. Previously, she spent 15+ years in the consumer products industry, most recently as the Director of Marketing and Innovation for The Kellogg Company, leading channel marketing and innovation for the club channel. She has spent time in her career with industry leaders as Procter and Gamble and Pepsico, and led her own marketing consultancy for over 2 years.

She is a recognized coach and educator, who has guest lectured at University of Illinois, Notre Dame University and University of Michigan. She also served as a Marketing coach for community based entrepreneurship courses. She is also a recognized civic leader, as she was a 2015 Fellow in Leadership Greater Chicago, an experiential program that brings together Chicago’s business, public and civic leaders. She holds a B.A. from University of Illinois, and an MBA from University of Michigan. Monica is married to her husband, Max, and has one son, Xavier. She is also an alumna of Chicago Children’s Choir.

Caroline is currently the Chief Marketing and Creative Officer for The Female Quotient. Prior to that, she was founding partner of Have Her Back Consulting, a female-owned business backed by IPG. She works with brave companies to tackle equity for all - differently and authentically. Moving companies from good intentions to intentional actions, she leverages her creative craft to solve workplace and culture inequities in unique ways that inspire and deliver impact. She spent her 25-year career as a creative leader, most recently as Chief Creative Officer at Golin where she delivered award-winning creative campaigns - from Cannes Lions to PR Week to Clios for McDonald’s, Clif Bar, Unilever among others. Prior to that she served as a creative leader at Edelman. She was inducted into PR Week’s Hall of Femme in 2019 and in June of 2020 she gave a thought-provoking TEDx Talk “During Times of Crisis, Does America Have Her Back?”

Prior to the launch of Have Her Back Consulting, she was the creator of the Have Her Back mission, which launched in 2018 as a progressive stance – and call out to the marketing industry – to welcome female creatives back and propel all women’s careers forward with tangible actions toward shared empowerment. The Have Her Back mission received honors from the Holmes Sabres, Campaign Power of Purpose Awards and IPG’s Inclusion Awards. In 2018, she was honored by the 3% Conference with the Three Cheers Award for advancing diversity and was also recognized as an inaugural Female Frontier Award recipient as a Champion of Change by Campaign US. As founding partner of Have Her Back Consulting, she was most recently honored as a Top 25 Innovator by the Holmes Report.

Caroline is the mother of three teenage boys and she feels a particular responsibility to raise good men. Contrary to popular belief, her career thrived as a creative when she became a parent and she believes her parenting is stronger because of her career as a creative and vice versa. While she wouldn’t trade being surrounded by her sons and husband for the world, she did just bring more equity into her family with the addition of a beloved female Alaskan Malamute named Billie.

Suzanne is an accomplished business leader with 20 years experience specializing in digital transformations, brand strategy, growth marketing, entrepreneurship and startup operations. Following 13 very successful years leading innovation and growth strategies at several global brands (IBM, HSBC, GE Healthcare, and SapientNitro) Suzanne’s passion for entrepreneurship led to her career shift to building startup businesses.

Beginning in 2012 Suzanne joined Power2Switch as Chief Marketing Officer, a deregulated energy shopping platform, which was acquired in 2013 by Choose Energy, a portfolio company of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers. After the acquisition Suzanne continued with Choose Energy as Vice President of Marketing leading brand development and growth marketing taking the energy marketplace across all deregulated energy states. In 2015 she joined another startup, Mira Fitness, as Creative Director leading product design, growth strategy and marketing.

In 2016 Suzanne became CEO & President of Uplift Data Partners, drone technology SaaS and service platform for the construction industry, funded by Clayco Construction’s private equity fund Treehouse Ventures, where she led it from inception to acquisition. Uplift Data Partners was acquired by PrecisionHawk, the largest privately held drone technology company, adding the construction vertical to their existing offerings in energy, agriculture and telecommunications.

Today Suzanne is an active Venture Capital Investor with the W Fund and sits on the Board of Directors for technology startups in data governance and health remote monitoring startups. Suzanne is a Founding Member of Chief, sits on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Children’s Choir and Northern Illinois University’s College of Business Board of Advisors to the Dean.

Theo Epstein began his career in baseball as the Director of Baseball Operations for the Padres from 1997-2001. He was named the youngest general manager in MLB history in 2002 when he began working for the Red Sox and went on to become the youngest GM to win a championship at age 30. Epstein earned his undergraduate degree in American Studies from Yale and his law degree from the University of San Diego while working full time for the Padres.

In 2005 Theo and his twin brother Paul Epstein launched The Foundation to Be Named Later, to invest in the next generation of citizens and support the non profits that champion them. The foundation has impacted over 200 non-profit through $11 Million in grants and has send over 200 young people, who have overcome tremendous obstacles, to college through their Foundation To Be Named Later Peter Gammons College Scholarships in Boston and Chicago. CCC is one of Foundation To Be Named Later’s important beneficiaries and performs at their signature concert event, Hot Stove Cool Music, celebrating music, baseball and giving, each summer in Chicago.

Bob is Co-founder and President of ALUMinate, Inc., a provider of data analytics services to universities, colleges, and nonprofit institutions. He is founding Managing Director of Limerick Investments, which invests in early-stage technology companies in the educational and health services markets.

Bob retired as President, Chief Operating Officer and Director of The Duchossois Group, a $3 billion privately held company holding diversified interests. He previously founded Duchossois Technology Partners and served as Chairman of the Illinois Innovation Accelerator Fund and Chicago Ventures. In addition, he was a founding board member and past Chairman of the Illinois Venture Capital Association and Chair of its Political Action Committee. He currently is a member of the Board of Directors of Churchill Downs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHDN), where he Chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee and serves on the Executive and Compensation Committees, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Panduit, Inc. He was a co-founder of New Asia Bancorp, Chicago’s leading Chinese American bank, which was sold to Cathay General Bancorp.

His not-for-profit work includes serving as a current trustee, immediate-past Chairman, and Interim President of the University of Cincinnati Foundation, board member and past Chairman of the Chicago Children’s Choir, trustee of The Morton Arboretum, a partner in Social Venture Partners. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Lindner College of Business and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2013, and the Presidential Medal for Excellence in 2017.

Jude Fernandes is a Partner in KPMG Chicago’s Asset Management practice. He has more than 15 years of experience providing audit and accounting advisory services to clients in the investment management and banking industries. Jude has deep industry experience with business development companies, community banks, investment advisers and managers and their broker/dealers. Jude has spent most of his career in Chicago where he has led audits of public and private companies.

Prior to his role in KPMG’s Asset Management practice in Chicago, he was in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice (DPP) in New York, NY. In his role in DPP, he spent three years as a firm resource on various auditing, technical accounting, and SEC related issues including consolidation, fair value, SEC reporting, investment company accounting, and internal controls.

Jude moved to the United States from India as a teenager to attend Marquette University, where he received a bachelor’s and master’s in accounting. Jude lives in Lakeview with his wife Diana and their two-year-old son Ethan.

Ebba is Counsel in the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins LLP in the Restructuring & Special Situations group. She advises both company-side and creditor clients on complex restructurings and bankruptcies. She represents clients from a wide array of industries on matters such as chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, cross-border restructurings, out-of-court restructurings, and distressed mergers and acquisitions. In addition to her restructuring work, Ebba has an active pro bono practice and serves as the firm’s liaison to the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, through which she has represented numerous nonprofit organizations from across the city.

At Latham & Watkins, Ebba is a Global Leader for the firm’s Black Lawyers Group and is actively involved in the firm’s various diversity and inclusion and recruiting efforts. Ebba is also a Co-Chair of the Turnaround Management Association’s Network of Women’s Global Committee.

Ebba holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.

Ebba lives in Chicago with her husband, Euler Bropleh, and their daughter, Blaen, and son, Tabor.

Jacqueline Griesdorn M.Ed., Ph.D, MS Child Development resides in Lincoln Park with her two daughters Audrey (Lab Senior), and Gretchen (Lab Junior) and husband Kevin Matzke. Jackie has been working in Education for over 25 years. Jackie has worked in the Learning Sciences at Northwestern University as Research Assistant Professor and Jackie taught students of all ages from Graduate education to Junior Kindergarten. Most recently she completed a MS in Early Childhood Development with a bilingual specialization from The Erikson Institute. Jackie spent several years over the last decade teaching in PreK and K in a variety of Schools in Chicago. Jackie is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, a Play for All Advocate, a supporter of the Global Fund for Children. Jackie is passionate about the rights of children. Jackie enjoys traveling with her family, plays competitive Paddle, loves nature, art, writing and cooking and has taught Sunday School at St. Chrysostom’s Church for the past 17 years.

Christina Hatherly is a certified music educator and professionally trained composer who has devoted a great deal of her life to advancing the access of music education to underserved youth. Prior to becoming a board member, Christina served on the staff of CCC for 9 years as Director of Choral Education conducting school and neighborhood choirs as well as providing overall direction to the curriculum and conducting staff.

In addition to her board service with CCC, Christina is actively involved in youth arts programs in Arizona as a consultant to The Solid Rock Teen Center in Phoenix (founded by the shock rock legend, Alice Cooper). Christina currently splits her time between homes in Scottsdale, Arizona and her residence in North Barrington, Illinois. Besides music and social justice her passions include road biking, hiking, golfing and spending time with her husband, John, her daughter Celine (Denver University), and son Sean.

Richard is a Managing Director at Citigroup based in Chicago focused on the Automotive Sector. Richard serves as a relationship and execution leader across the automotive sector globally and, in this capacity, is actively involved with management teams and Board of Directors’ in new idea generation, capital raising transactions, strategic and valuation/defense reviews, acquisition and divestiture implications and capital structure reviews.

Richard has nearly 15 years of investment banking experience. Prior to focusing on automotive sector coverage, Richard was a managing director in the mergers & acquisition group at Citi, covering a variety of industries, including the automotive sector. Richard graduated in three years with a BBA in Finance (Honors) and a Minor in Economics with a concentration in Mathematics from the business honors program at Southern Methodist University. He lives in Chicago with his wife and has two daughters. He is actively involved and volunteers in a number of civic capacities within the Chicago community.

Jeff leads Bain's Divestitures and Spin-offs practice globally. He is also a leader in the Americas Healthcare and Life Sciences practice.

Jeff has spent the last 20 years in consulting and has helped companies in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals (small and large molecule), medical devices, healthcare payer, healthcare provider, automotive, insurance, distribution (cold chain and non-cold chain), packaging (rigid and flexible), retail, restaurant and agriculture.

Jeff focuses on advising leadership teams on their M&A strategy which includes guiding them through acquisition, divestiture, and spin-off transactions. In that capacity, he has led 50 corporate and private equity due diligence assessments and advised on 30+ acquisition, divestiture, and spin-off transactions with a cumulative value of $250B+.

Jeff earned an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BBA, with honors, from the University of Michigan.

In his personal time, Jeff enjoys rock climbing with his wife Laura and daughters Evelyn and Eleanor, trying his hand at K-Pop drop in dance practices, and exploring all of the wonderful nooks and crannies of our great city of Chicago. Evelyn and Eleanor are both alums of the Nettelhorst school choir of Uniting Voices.

Melissa S. Kibler is a Senior Managing Director in the Chicago office of Mackinac Partners, an Accordion company, and has approximately 30 years of experience providing financial advisory, restructuring and turnaround management services to Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies and their stakeholders. She also has extensive investigative, litigation and valuation experience, including insolvency-related litigation, avoidance actions, fraud investigations, merger and acquisition disputes, director and officer claims, and other commercial litigation support. Melissa recently served as Chief Restructuring Officer in the bankruptcies of Rubio’s Restaurants, a Mexican coastal grill, and Juno USA, previously the third-largest ride-hailing company in New York, and as the Chief Financial Officer of Edmentum, a leading provider of online learning solutions.

Melissa was previously a senior managing director in the Chicago office and an executive committee member of Mesirow Financial Consulting following its 2004 acquisition of the corporate recovery practice of KPMG LLP, where she had served as partner-in-charge of the Midwest Region Corporate Recovery practice and the Pacific Northwest Corporate Recovery and Forensic & Litigation Services practices since 1999. Melissa spent the first nine years of her career in the Financial Advisory Services practice at Price Waterhouse.

Melissa is a Fellow and currently serves as president of the American College of Bankruptcy. Prior roles in professional associations include president of the American Bankruptcy Institute, director of INSOL International, and chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Bankruptcy Task Force. She holds the Certified Public Accountant, Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (CIRA), Certified Turnaround Professional, Certified in Financial Forensics and Certification in Distressed Business Valuation credentials. Melissa has received recognitions including the Global M&A Network 2021 “Women’s Leadership Award;” the Consulting Magazine 2013 “Leadership Award for Women Leaders in Consulting;” the AICPA/Illinois CPA Society 2011 “Women to Watch” award for experienced leaders; the IWIRC 2010 “Woman of the Year in Restructuring;” Crain’s Chicago Business 2004 “40 Under 40;” and the AIRA 2003 “CIRA Gold Medal Winner.” She earned her B.B.A. in accounting summa cum laude from Texas A&M University and her M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University, graduating first in her class.

Melissa lives in Hinsdale and has three sons, Alex, Cody, and Bailey. Her significant other, Vince Lazar, is a bankruptcy attorney with Jenner & Block. Her interests and hobbies include music, tennis, skiing, biking, hiking, and generally spending time in the outdoors. Melissa is a long-time member of the Chicago Children’s Choir board whose tenure began in 2004 and included a term as Chair from 2008 through 2010.

David Koo is retired. Prior to his retirement, he was a Senior Advisor of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, a healthcare focused private equity buyout firm based in Lake Forest, IL. Mr. Koo joined RoundTable at its inception in 2001 as a Principal, then Partner and then Senior Partner. He serves on the board of many of RoundTable’s portfolio companies. Mr. Koo previously spent seven years in healthcare investment banking at Credit Suisse. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Koo also serves as the Board Chair of The Latin School of Chicago and as a Trustee of the John G. Shedd Aquarium. At the University of Notre Dame, he is a member of the Graduate Studies & Research Advisory Council and the Wall Street Leadership Committee.

Erin Lane is Chief of Staff in the Office of the President for the University of Chicago. In this role Erin serves as an advisor and senior staff member to the University’s President to help advance the President’s agenda. She is responsible for overseeing presidential strategic initiatives, convening groups across academic and administrative units of the University, and developing partnerships within and outside the University. Since arriving at the University in 2014, Erin has held a number of positions, most recently Assistant Vice President for Science and Strategy in the office of the Executive Vice President for Science, Innovation, National Laboratories and Global Initiatives. With deep and varied experience working with people across disciplines and sectors, Erin specializes in driving forward large, interdisciplinary collaborations. This skill set leverages years as a practicing social worker.

In her career as a social worker, Erin worked directly with families in medical, mental health, and juvenile justice settings in Philadelphia and Chicago. Erin has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Hyde Park with her husband and two children – all of whom enjoy making music and engaging the rich musical offerings of Chicago.

Deneese Walia Levin is a corporate partner who primarily focuses her practice on debt financing transactions. Deneese represents private equity groups, commercial lending institutions and other private and public companies in connection with the negotiation, structuring and documentation of secured and unsecured financing transactions for both borrowers and lenders, including senior, mezzanine and subordinated debt transactions, acquisition financings, and loan workouts and restructurings, including debtor-in-possession financings.

Deneese holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and American culture from Northwestern University and a juris doctor from University of Chicago Law School. She is on the board of High Jump, and lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.

Ann Marie Lipinski is Curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, overseeing an international fellowship for journalists and a portfolio of publications and programming to strengthen journalism. Previously she served as the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune and Vice President of Civic Engagement and senior lecturer at the University of Chicago.

Ms. Lipinski is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting, an award she and two other Tribune reporters earned for their coverage of corruption in the Chicago City Council. In 2003, she was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board, the body that oversees all of the prizes in journalism, letters, drama and music. She served as co-chair in her final year on the Pulitzer Board.

Ms. Lipinski holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of Michigan and was awarded the Nieman Fellowship for Journalists at Harvard University. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and is a trustee of the Poynter Institute. She and her husband Steve have a daughter, Caroline, an alumna of the Chicago Children’s Choir.

Jim was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He has been a stockbroker for over 45 years and presently is a Senior Vice President and Financial Consultant with the Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management team. He has been a vital supporter of Chicago Children’s Choir since joining the board in 2004. He and his wife Ginger also support the Boys and Girls Club, Civic and Arts Foundation of the Union League of Chicago as a Life Trustee and the Lincoln Park Conservancy.

He has three children and four grandchildren and enjoys the theater, bridge, and creating ideas for the institutions with which he is involved.

Kala has been with Workday, an enterprise software organization, for 9 years. She has focused on account management for Workday’s largest and most strategic customers based in the Central region of the US. She currently manages a portfolio of 10 strategic Workday customers. Kala has over 20 years of experience in the software industry and is a graduate of Miami University. The Moynihan family have been avid supporters of the choir for the past 10+ years and had the privilege to co-host Red Jacket Optional in 2019.

Suzanne Muchin is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Kellogg School of Management, and is best known for teaching, “Selling Yourself and Your Ideas,” as well as teaching classes in entrepreneurship, innovation and women’s leadership. Suzanne is also Co-Founder and Exec Chair of Bonfire, a company created to ignite the power of women to change the rules of the modern workforce. With her co-founder, Rachel Bellow, she co-hosts the popular Bonfire Podcast. Suzanne is a leader in Chicago’s entrepreneurship community, helping build the brands and social impact strategies for some of the city’s most well-known organizations and initiatives including 1871, MATTER, MHub, Impact Engine and P33. In 2012 she was inducted into the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. She is on the Board of Directors of 1871, and is an Independent Board Member of Fooda. In 2022, she and her husband David Brown were given the Human Rights Medallion from the American Jewish Committee for their work to create a more enlightened and compassionate society. She lives in the city where she can often be found running or walking on the lakefront, accompanied by her husband or one of her five, adult children, depending on her mood, and theirs.

Michael A. Nemeroff serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Vedder Price P.C. He is a member of the Executive Committee and the firm’s Board of Directors. Mr. Nemeroff counsels corporations in mergers and acquisitions transactions and governance matters. He provides private equity firms and hedge funds with experienced direction in leveraged and management buyouts and guides financial institutions in complex finance transactions. Further, Mr. Nemeroff negotiates and structures executive compensation arrangements for companies, management teams, compensation committees and executives. His many clients include The Edgewater Funds, Ally Financial, L Squared Capital Partners, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, CIT Group, Bank of America, CIBC Bank, Oil-Dri Corporation of America, GrubHub, Duchossois Capital Management, Wynnchurch Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Balmoral Funds and Vance Street Capital.

Mr. Nemeroff is one of two legal advisors to the G100, an elite international organization of leading Chief Executive Officers from Fortune 500 publicly traded corporations who meet regularly to share practical collective experience about leadership challenges. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE: ODC). Mr. Nemeroff, an authority on M&A and finance matters, makes frequent appearances on broadcast television and is often cited in prominent publications.

Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University. He is a member of the Illinois Bar, The Commercial Club of Chicago, The Economic Club of Chicago, American Bar Association, and sits on the Board of Directors of several corporations and charitable organizations including as the Board Chair of The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California

Matthew Parr is a Partner in the Strategic Advisory Group at PJT Partners, based in Chicago. For over 20 years, Mr. Parr has advised a broad range of industrial companies in the Americas, Europe and Asia on their most important strategic initiatives. He has led advisory teams on public and private takeovers, cross-border mergers, corporate separations, takeover and activist defense, corporate restructuring, acquisition financing and IPOs. Prior to joining PJT Partners, Mr. Parr spent five years as a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, most recently as Co-Head of Midwest Investment Banking based in Chicago. Prior to that, Mr. Parr spent eight years at UBS Investment Bank, most recently as Head of European Industrials and Co-Head of Global Automotive, based in London. He spent his first ten years in the industry at Credit Suisse in Chicago and New York. Mr. Parr graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a BA in Economics. Mr. Parr is a Director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Youth Guidance and Chicago Children’s Choir, and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Diane is the retired Chief Executive Officer and President of Hickory Farms, LLC, a leading multi-channel retailer of food gifts and specialty foods. She held this role from March 2016 through January 2022, where she led a transformation of the company to reinvent the brand and become the best retailer in the food gifting space. Under Diane’s leadership, the company transformed from a holiday-only tradition to a more modern and digital premier retailer that offers expertly curated gifts for any holiday or occasion. She accomplished this through the introduction of hundreds of new products; completing a rebranding; aggressively growing the eCommerce business; increasing profitability; building out a talented leadership team; and successfully completing three acquisitions, including Wicked Good Cupcakes, a Shark Tank company.

From May of 2015 to March of 2016, Diane held the position of Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Finance for Garrett Brands, LLC, a privately held Chicago-based retailer of gourmet, handcrafted popcorn with over 40 locations globally. Immediately prior to joining Garrett, Diane spent four years as the Senior Vice President of Operations and Merchandising for Redbox Automated Retail, LLC. Diane joined Redbox as the Senior Vice President of Finance in May of 2010. From 2001 to May of 2010, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of Crate and Barrel. Diane began her career with Amoco Corporation in 1980, and over a period of twenty years held a variety of financial positions in the corporate finance, treasury, accounting and technology areas.

Since 2004, Diane has served as a director for MSA Safety, Incorporated, where she currently chairs the Finance committee and serves on the Audit and Law committees. In May of 2018, she joined the board of Basic American, Inc, where she chairs the Audit and Finance committee. Diane also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business and is a member of the board of the Chicago Children’s Choir.

Diane was named one of Crain’s 2019 Notable Women Executives over 50 and was recognized as one of Women Inc Magazine’s 2019 Most Influential Corporate Directors. In 2020, she was selected to become a member of The Chicago Network.

Diane graduated Bronze Table with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois – Urbana and holds an MBA in Finance, with honors, from DePaul University. She and her husband Jim have been married for more than three decades. They enjoy playing golf, fine dining and relaxing with a good glass of wine.

DJ, Musician, Entrepreneur. As a DJ, Matt Roan has played all over the world from Miami to Milan and has performed at Lollapalooza twice. As a musician, he’s helped record numerous albums with bands Written in the Sand, INNKEEPERS, The 1900s and P1XEL and the Silver Sphinx. As a business owner, he and his friend Emilio Abadia co-founded Crossfader King, a boutique talent booking agency that has helped numerous local DJs get their start. In 2021, Roan continues to move dance floors at his Chicago residencies as well as entertaining the masses at numerous corporate and private parties. Last year alone he worked with the likes of The Waldorf Astoria, Major League Soccer, The Chicago Blackhawks, Gucci, Moet... the list goes on and on.

Renee Salomon is life-long Chicago-area resident and for the past 25 years has lived in Chicago. She is a certified public accountant and former managing consultant at LECG and Navigant Consulting. Prior to her career in consulting, she was a financial statement auditor at Deloitte & Touche. As a managing consultant, Renee managed large teams of consultants advising Fortune 50 clients on matters including financial fraud investigations and accounting for financial damages in multi-million dollar disputes. Renee holds a B.S. in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Currently, Renee focuses her time on raising her family and serving her community. Renee has been extensively involved in community organizations with an emphasis on addressing the needs of children in Chicago.

Among Renee’s varied volunteer experiences, she has served on Congregation Sinai’s Social Justice committee working on the advancement of social justice issues in Chicago. She has volunteered for Chicago Public Schools in an underserved classroom and at Lurie Children’s Hospital in the Family Life Center and as an infant specialist. Renee has served as co-chair on numerous committees at her children’s school. Renee is currently serving on the Chicago Children’s Choir Family Engagement Task force and had the honor of co-chairing the 2021 RJO gala. Renee lives in Bucktown with her husband and two children, including one that is a member of the CCC’s Lincoln Park/DePaul Neighborhood choir.

For over three decades, Joe Shanahan has been a renowned independent promoter in the Chicago music community. As owner of Metro, smartbar, and GMan Tavern, he has championed artists of all disciplines at local, national, and international levels. He has helped cultivate Chicago’s cultural fabric by participating in industry panels and music business conferences, along with hosting Columbia College Chicago’s Biggest Mouth competition, YCA’s Louder Than A Bomb poetry slam, and Theo Epstein’s Hot Stove, Cool Music benefit concert. In addition to Chicago Children’s Choir, he serves on the board of Young Chicago Authors The Frankie Knuckles Foundation and leads philanthropic efforts supporting the ACLU, Lakeview Pantry, Planned Parenthood, The Night Ministry, and other local grassroots charities.

Kanwar Singh presently acts as Managing Director of Merrill Lynch. Previously, Kanwar co-headed the UBS Chicago Wealth Management Group, a team that develops and implements advanced wealth plans and strategies for a select clientele. Prior to UBS, Kanwar was Partner at Baker & McKenzie, a prominent international law firm and an attorney at Kirkland & Ellis. In business, Kanwar has held senior and executive positions at Valence Capital Group, a boutique investment management and private equity firm, Monsanto Company, and Brightsage, Inc., a technology firm. Kanwar earned his B.A. from Northwestern University and his J.D. (cum laude) from the Boston University School of Law, where he served as a senior editor of the Law Review.

More importantly, since the age of 5, Kanwar has been fully exposed to principles of mindfulness, meditation and yoga by his family and spiritual tradition and continues to be an avid practitioner of the same. Kanwar is also very active in public service, including participation in the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and serves as a Member of the Board of Public Allies, a national not-for-profit entity focused on providing leadership and training opportunities to underserved youth, and the Northwestern Memorial Center for Integrative Medicine & Wellness. Kanwar presently lives in the Chicago area with his wife Avanti and two daughters

Mr. Steele currently serves as President-Specialized Lending of CIBC BANK USA – which recently acquired The Private Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Chicago, where he has worked since 2007. Mr. Steele was a founding member of The Private Bank’s Transitional Management Team, and is currently a member of the bank’s Executive Committee and Loan Committee, where his responsibilities include operations, compliance, bank-wide performance and credit approval. From 1992 to 2007, Mr. Steele worked in various capacities at LaSalle Bank, N.A., including serving as Group Senior Vice President from 2001 to 2007. From 1982 to 1992, he served in a variety of roles at National Boulevard Bank of Chicago, including Vice President and Co-Head of Commercial Banking. Mr. Steele has previously served as a board member of the Harris Theater, Shedd Aquarium, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, Better Government Association in Chicago and has taught as a guest lecturer at Indiana University Kelley School for Business and the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. Mr. Steele received his bachelor of science in finance from Indiana University and completed a graduate program in banking management at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

Laura Stern is a founder, owner and managing director of Doyenne Wealth Advisors, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor advising clients on over $2 billion in assets. Prior to establishing Doyenne with five colleagues, Laura was a principal at Brownson Rehmus & Foxworth. Her career encompasses over 25 years of investment expertise, including 12 years at Prudential Retirement Services as well as a variety of roles in investment consulting and asset management.

Laura earned an MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management and a BA with honors from the University of Chicago. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation, she is a member of the global organization CFA Institute, and she is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner. She joined the board and the investment committee of VNA Foundation in 2013, a successor organization originally founded by Jane Addams, and currently serves as Chair of the Board. Laura has also served the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago since 2007, previously as Chair of the Retirement Committee, currently as a member of the Finance Committee. An active member of the CFA Society of Chicago, she served on the board from 1998-2004, holding the role of President in 2002-2003.

In addition, Laura volunteers on several finance committees for non-profit organizations, including First Unitarian of Chicago, where the Chicago Children’s Choir originated in 1956. Laura raised her family of three children in Hyde Park, including Elena, who joined the Hyde Park Choir at the age of 8 and graduated as a senior from Voice of Chicago.

Co-Founded the Ambassadors Board in FY10

Michael Teplitsky is a Partner at Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., a private equity firm with $5.7 billion of regulatory assets under management, where his responsibilities range from investment origination, execution, and monitoring. Michael has over 20-years of experience in private equity investing and corporate finance. He began his career at UBS in its Investment Banking Department in New York. Michael’s experience includes transactions involving family businesses, corporate carve-outs, underperforming companies and restructurings. He focuses on the diversified industries sector including business services, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and natural resources.

He holds a B.A., honors, from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from The Kellogg School of Management. Michael completed Kellogg’s Board Fellows Program, a two-year intensive training program in nonprofit board governance. Michael enjoys spending time with his kids, travel, golf, reading and across various civic causes. He is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago and active volunteer with The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). He is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program. At Kellogg School of Management, he is the Midwest Regional Chair of Kellogg Finance Network (KFN).

Eduardo is a business and marketing leader with more than 20 years of experience in launching, building and turning around brands and products across different industries. He has broad global expertise and has managed businesses across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

In his role as Associate Vice President of Global Marketing at Shure, Eduardo leads global brand strategy, digital transformation, and all aspects of marketing for both the Professional and Consumer audio divisions, developing premium audio solutions for Consumer Electronics, Live Sound, Broadcasting and Theater categories. He takes keen interest in creating initiatives that support Musicians and Creators in the early stages of their careers and played a leadership role with the core team in charge of rebranding this legendary Chicago company with 96 years of history.

Eduardo started his marketing career in Mexico City working for Procter & Gamble and then Mattel, Inc. He later joined global teams relocating to New York City and then Los Angeles, managing iconic brands like Fisher-Price, Monster High, and Hot Wheels. During his tenure at Mattel, he gained deep insight on how the socio-political context, technology, and entertainment trends impact kids around the world in order to develop initiatives that are not only engaging, but also add developmental value.

Eduardo has actively supported various Diversity & Inclusion efforts throughout his career from increasing recruitment for public school candidates at P&G, taking a leadership role in the Latinos EN Mattel. He now serves as part of Shure’s D&I Council where he has focused on building and empowering the Racial & Equity, Women in the Workplace and LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Groups as well as leading the team in charge of building the D&I Training and Development infrastructure. He and Shure have been involved with Chicago Children’s Choir for several years.

Eduardo has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (U.N.A.M.) where he graduated with honors. He participated in an International Exchange Program with McGill University based on academic performance.

In his personal time, Eduardo is an avid gamer, music lover and fitness enthusiast. However, his favorite activity is to explore different corners of the world with his wife Lindsey.

Brian Vandenberg is Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at the American Medical Association (AMA), the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States. The mission of the AMA is to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. The AMA is leading meaningful innovation to enable a better health system for patients, physicians, and the country.

Before joining the AMA, Mr. Vandenberg General Counsel at Livongo Health – a fast-growing digital health company focused on diabetes management and other chronic conditions – and 7wire Ventures, an early stage, healthcare venture fund. Earlier, he was Senior Vice President & General Counsel at Allscripts, a leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions for physicians. He has also served as General Counsel at Origin Healthcare Solutions and uBid.

Brian received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse and his Juris Doctorate from DePaul University. He and his wife Jamie have three sons together. In his free time he enjoys cycling.

Ron Weiss is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist and founder of Chicago Eye Consultants. He has served the Chicagoland community for over 25 years. He is a comprehensive ophthalmologist and specializes in cataract surgery.

In addition to practicing medicine, Ron is a Managing Partner of InFocus Capital Partners, a venture capital investment firm specializing in ophthalmic related businesses.

Ron is also an Assistant Professor at Rush University Medical Center where he oversees and mentors ophthalmology residents.

Ron received his undergraduate degree from Emory University and graduated with his Medical Degree from Northwestern University. He completed his residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Chicago.

Ron and his wife Patty live in Chicago with their two children. In his free time he enjoys training, skiing, hiking and collecting art.

Steve is a Partner in PwC’s Deals Strategy team based in Chicago, and leader for the Industrial Products and Services topic. He focuses on M&A and other strategy topics including target identification, commercial due diligence, aftermarket strategy and parts & services capture for clients across a variety of industrial markets and segments spanning both equipment and services.

Before joining PwC, he was Partner & Associate Director for Aerospace and Defense at BCG. Steven holds a PhD from Northwestern University, where he was a professor in the physics department. He served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps and leads PwC’s Deals Veterans Diversity & Inclusion Network.