Executive Advisors

MPC’s Executive Advisors is a prestigious executive-level membership group focused on connecting corporate and civic leaders to the issues that matter most to our region. The first Executive Advisor cohort was launched in 2002 by a former Northern Trust leader, Bill Osborn, who identified the enormous opportunity in uniting influential executives in conversation around transformative civic change.

MPC Executive Advisors’ breadth of expertise, entrepreneurialism, and stewardship of resources empower dynamic thought leadership and action on issues ranging from the global economic climate to local transportation policy, from Chicagoland’s shortage of affordable housing to the power of visionary development, from the revitalization of Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood to the financial and political tools that enable progress. In short, MPC’s Executive Advisors drive civic change.

There are no required meetings or time commitments. Rather, MPC gathers Executive Advisors for thought-inducing conversations that drive our work.

Executive Advisors bring expertise in fields including real estate development, tech, corporate finance, law, community-centered entrepreneurialism, communications, and more. This chorus of perspectives creates an unique, vital, and dynamic conversation around power and civic change.

As they share resources and ideas, MPC’s Executive Advisors benefit from group membership in ways including:

Visibility. Executive Advisors and their companies will be listed on MPC letterhead, named in MPC’s Annual Report, and identified in materials distributed to corporate partners and donors.
Connections. Executive Advisors receive exclusive invitations to participate in conversations featuring notable civic and business leaders.
Access. Executive Advisors have access to all MPC virtual events, workshops, panels, and seminars.
Knowledge. Executive Advisors receive private issue briefings or workplace Lunch & Learns with dynamic leaders and MPC experts. These are issues that matter, before they hit the front pages of the local newspapers.

Executive Advisors’ $15,000 investment supports MPC’s partnership with communities, businesses, and governments to unleash the greatness of the Chicago region.

Current Executive Advisors

Wilfried Aulbur

Senior Partner, Member of Supervisory Board, Roland Berger

Carol Bernick

Chief Executive Officer, Polished Nickel Capital Management LLC

Keating Crown

Managing Principal, Sterling Bay

Marsha Cruzan

Regional President, U.S. Bank

J. Michael Drew

Founding Principal, Structured Development, LLC

John Ettelson

Chairman, William Blair & Company

Robert Frentzel

Managing Director & Co-Head of Commercial Banking, CIBC U.S.

John S. Gates, Jr.

Executive Chairman, TradeLane Properties, LLC

Nancy S. Gerrie

Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
Co-Chair, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice

Ari Glass

Head of Real Estate, Mansueto Office Inc.

Michael L. Keiser

Owner, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Steven N. Miller

Partner & Co-Founder, Origin Ventures

Charles J. Moore

Founder & President, The Banc Funds

J. Marshall Peck

President, InterPark Holdings LLC

Joan Rockey

Chief Financial Officer, The Mather Group

Katherine M. Scherer

Managing Director, Deloitte LLP

Michael Scudder

Chairman, President & CEO, First Midwest Bancorp, Inc.

Kristofer Swanson

Vice President and Practice Leader, Forensic Services, Charles River Associates

Scott Swanson

President, PNC Bank, Illinois

Stephan B. Tanda

President & CEO, AptarGroup, Inc.

Edward J. Wehmer

Founder, President & CEO, Wintrust Financial Corp.

Theodore Weldon, III

Executive General Manager-Development, Lendlease