Executive Advisors - Metropolitan Planning Council

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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

Carol Bernick

Chief Executive Officer, Polished Nickel Capital Management LLC

John L. Bucksbaum

Chief Executive OfficerBucksbaum Retail Properties, LLC

Jonathan C. Bunge

Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

David R. Casper

U.S. CEOBMO Financial Group

Robert M. Chapman

Chief Executive OfficerCenterPoint Properties Trust

Keating Crown

Managing PrincipalSterling Bay

Marsha Cruzan

Regional President, U.S. Bank

J. Michael Drew

Founding Principal, Structured Development, LLC

Robert Frentzel

Managing Director & Co-Head of Commercial BankingCIBC U.S.

John S. Gates, Jr.

Executive Chairman, TradeLane Properties, LLC

Nancy S. Gerrie

Ari Glass

Head of Real Estate, Mansueto Office Inc.

Steven N. Miller

Partner & Co-FounderOrigin Ventures

Charles J. Moore

Founder & PresidentThe Banc Funds

J. Marshall Peck

President, InterPark Holdings LLC

Joan Rockey

Chief Financial OfficerThe Mather Group

Mark G. Sander

President & CEOOld National Bancorp

Katherine M. Scherer

Managing DirectorDeloitte LLP

Scott Swanson

President, PNC 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

EXECUTIVE ADVISORS IN ACTION

Champion Fighter Award recipient (2019) John Rowe, Frank Clark, and Executive Advisor Scott Swanson

Executive Advisor Carol Bernick during an MPC presentation

Executive Advisor Ari Glass on a Chicago boat tour with MPC


For more information on joining this exclusive group, contact:

Rachel Roberts
Manager of Corporate Partnerships
312 863 6032
rroberts@metroplanning.org

Executive Advisors Overview (printable PDF)

Watch MPC's 2019 Annual Event with speaker Raj Chetty

This page can be found online at http://www.metroplanning.org/people/executive-advisors/index.html

Metropolitan Planning Council 140 S. Dearborn St.
Suite 1400
Chicago, Ill. 60603
312 922 5616 info@metroplanning.org

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Shaping a better, bolder, more equitable future for everyone

For more than 85 years, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) has partnered with communities, businesses, and governments to unleash the greatness of the Chicago region. We believe that every neighborhood has promise, every community should be heard, and every person can thrive. To tackle the toughest urban planning and development challenges, we create collaborations that change perceptions, conversations—and the status quo. Read more about our work »

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