CEOs You Should Know: Recent Episodes
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Art Rendak joined Inland Mortgage Capital (“IMC”) in 2000, rising up to the rank of president in 2011. His career has been principally devoted to commercial real estate finance. Since arriving at Inland, Mr. Rendak has been focused on all aspects of its bridge lending program, including originating, underwriting, marketing, portfolio management and capital raising. During his career at IMC, Mr. Rendak has been involved in nearly $1 billion worth of financing.
Kathy Higgins, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, is a national expert on health care and philanthropy, having previously served as the president and CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. Higgins leads Healthier Generation’s team of nearly 100 professional staff across the nation working to make the healthy choice the easy choice for all children.
As CEO/Executive Director of Metra, James M. Derwinski oversees one of the nation’s largest, busiest and most complex commuter rail systems. Metra, which has 242 stations, 11 routes and some 1,200 miles of track, serves as an economic engine that extends far beyond its service area.
Following a long, distinguished career with Metra, Mr. Derwinski was unanimously elected CEO/Executive Director by the Metra Board in 2017. Prior to this appointment, he served as Metra’s Chief Mechanical Officer managing the work of 650 professionals assuring the safe operation of nearly 1,200 railcars and locomotives. Among his many responsibilities were oversight of Metra’s railcar and locomotive rehabilitation programs, department contracts, and the installation of Positive Train Control, bringing a new level of safety to an agency that provides nearly 290,000 passenger trips each weekday.
Mr. Derwinski began his career at Metra in 1997 as an electrician, rising steadily through the ranks, holding positions of ever-growing responsibility as a foreman, general foreman, shop superintendent, director of systems maintenance, locomotive superintendent, division director, and senior director of mechanical operations before assuming the role of Chief Mechanical Officer in 2013.
A six-year U.S. Navy veteran, Mr. Derwinski served our country as an electrician in America’s nuclear submarine fleet. Upon leaving the service, he began his career with the Chicago & North Western Railroad in 1993.
A longtime champion of public transportation, Mr. Derwinski is both a founder and chairman of the Commuter Rail Coalition (CRC), an advocacy organization that launched in 2019. The CRC is an association of commuter rail agencies, operators and other interested parties acting together to educate and engage stakeholders on the importance and value commuter railroads bring to the nation as a whole and the communities they serve. Throughout the CRC’s crucial first two years, Mr. Derwinski has steered the direction of the association as Chairman of the Board of Directors, invested in the association’s growth and impact, and has represented the CRC on Capitol Hill, before House and Senate Committees, and in the media.
Also, Mr. Derwinski is a member of the American Public Transportation Association Board of Directors (APTA), serving on several key committees; is a member on the Safety Operations and Management Committee of the Association of American Railroads; and the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. Board of Directors.
As CEO/Executive Director of Metra, James M. Derwinski oversees one of the nation’s largest, busiest and most complex commuter rail systems. Metra, which has 242 stations, 11 routes and some 1,200 miles of track, serves as an economic engine that extends far beyond its service area.
Following a long, distinguished career with Metra, Mr. Derwinski was unanimously elected CEO/Executive Director by the Metra Board in 2017. Prior to this appointment, he served as Metra’s Chief Mechanical Officer managing the work of 650 professionals assuring the safe operation of nearly 1,200 railcars and locomotives. Among his many responsibilities were oversight of Metra’s railcar and locomotive rehabilitation programs, department contracts, and the installation of Positive Train Control, bringing a new level of safety to an agency that provides nearly 290,000 passenger trips each weekday.
Mr. Derwinski began his career at Metra in 1997 as an electrician, rising steadily through the ranks, holding positions of ever-growing responsibility as a foreman, general foreman, shop superintendent, director of systems maintenance, locomotive superintendent, division director, and senior director of mechanical operations before assuming the role of Chief Mechanical Officer in 2013.
A six-year U.S. Navy veteran, Mr. Derwinski served our country as an electrician in America’s nuclear submarine fleet. Upon leaving the service, he began his career with the Chicago & North Western Railroad in 1993.
A longtime champion of public transportation, Mr. Derwinski is both a founder and chairman of the Commuter Rail Coalition (CRC), an advocacy organization that launched in 2019. The CRC is an association of commuter rail agencies, operators and other interested parties acting together to educate and engage stakeholders on the importance and value commuter railroads bring to the nation as a whole and the communities they serve. Throughout the CRC’s crucial first two years, Mr. Derwinski has steered the direction of the association as Chairman of the Board of Directors, invested in the association’s growth and impact, and has represented the CRC on Capitol Hill, before House and Senate Committees, and in the media.
Also, Mr. Derwinski is a member of the American Public Transportation Association Board of Directors (APTA), serving on several key committees; is a member on the Safety Operations and Management Committee of the Association of American Railroads; and the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. Board of Directors.
Dr. Scanlan was appointed by the Oak Point University Board of Directors to the position of President in June 2016. Prior to this role, she served as Interim President from March – June 2016 and as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer where she led a multitude of governance, legal, construction and financial initiatives through the University’s enormous period of growth. For the past 10 years, she has held significant positions throughout the University’s history; from the former West Suburban College of Nursing to what is now Oak Point University.
In 2010, the University embarked upon a change of control process to become an independent organization from the non-profit parent health system: a very involved, detailed and lengthy process. During this conversion, Dr. Scanlan was instrumental in leading the contract, financial, governance and regulatory aspects of the process.
In addition to the control process change, the University was also planning, constructing and relocating from Oak Park to Chicago. Dr. Scanlan led these initiatives, managed the change, and kept the University community and its constituents informed and involved. In December 2012, the University moved to its new location ahead of schedule, where it now stands and continues to grow inside the walls of Presence Saint Elizabeth Hospital at 1431 N. Claremont in Chicago.
Dr. Scanlan’s vision for the University has continued into 2016 with the development of a new 14-room state-of-the-art Interprofessional Education Simulation Learning Center at Oak Point, which replaces the one-room Simulation Learning Center that was built in 2012. This new center allows our students the opportunity to work collaboratively on interdisciplinary patient care teams in both colleges through didactic clinical, classroom and simulation education, which will generate graduates who practice patient-centered, integrated team-based healthcare.
In addition to her work at Oak Point University, Dr. Scanlan has held various administrative positions within different sectors of higher education and non-profit management. These positions include District Director of Student Revenue for the City Colleges of Chicago, Regional Director at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and Director of Financial Aid at both DeVry Chicago and Governors State University. Dr. Scanlan also was a faculty member in the School of Education at Capella University.
Neeraj Gunsagar is the CEO and President of byte®, a direct-to-consumer aligner company that is revolutionizing the orthodontic industry. Byte was recently acquired by Dentsply Sirona for $1.04 billion to expand its DTC Aligner business to dentists across the world.
Prior to joining byte®, Neeraj was the Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Revenue Officer and SVP of Finance & Operations at TrueCar, Inc (NASDAQ: TRUE). In his various roles, Neeraj was responsible for the Company’s overall marketing strategy, corporate communications, consumer acquisition, research, finance and business operations (BizOps). Neeraj helped the Company go public in 2014 and played a significant role in profitably scaling the business from $70M of revenue in 2012 to over $350M in 2018.
Prior to joining TrueCar, Gunsagar spent the first 15 years of his career as a Private Equity/Venture Capital Investor. He was Vice President at both Matrix Partners’ India and Garnett & Helfrich Capital, and a Financial Analyst with Qualcomm Ventures.
Gunsagar started his career on Wall Street at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ), where he advised companies such as Worldcom and Iridium on complex restructurings and acquisitions.
Gunsagar holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Marilynn Kelly Gardner is a visionary, strategist and passionate advocate for Chicago. As President and CEO of Navy Pier, one of the Midwest’s top-attended cultural destinations and leading mission-driven institutions, Gardner continues to build on her reputation as one of the region’s most respected leaders.
Appointed to her current role in 2011, Gardner has been the driving force behind transforming the Pier’s 50 acres of premier waterfront space into the multifaceted cultural destination it is today. Her stewardship has inspired nearly $380 million of philanthropic and private capital investment in Navy Pier’s current redevelopment. Since construction began in fall 2013, Gardner has overseen every aspect of the effort—from design and redevelopment to programming and fundraising. For Gardner, impactful endeavors—like programmatic partnerships, the Community Rides program, and the Pier’s first employer initiative, to name just a few—are essential to positioning the Pier in its second century.
Gardner has spent the better part of two decades establishing Navy Pier as one of the top-attended destinations in the Midwest, typically welcoming nearly 9 million annual guests. To ensure the future vitality and growth of the People’s Pier, Gardner led efforts to secure several multi-million-dollar gifts from prominent private and corporate donors. In 2014, Navy Pier received a historic $20 million legacy gift from the Polk family through their Foundation, the Pier’s single largest private gift. These funds were essential to revitalizing the Pier’s entrance, now Polk Bros Park, complete with an interactive fountain and two performance lawns making the Pier one of the most highly sought-after venues for arts and culture in Chicago. In 2015, under her leadership, Navy Pier secured a multi-year, multi-million gift from the Aon Corporation to underwrite the Pier’s summer firework series and Grand Ballroom, further establishing Navy Pier as a world-class programmatic destination. In 2018, two further multi-year partnerships enabled construction of the People’s Energy Welcome Pavilion and a revitalization of the Fifth Third Bank Family Pavilion. The Sable, a 220-room boutique hotel, will welcome its first guests in fall 2020.
Throughout her career, Gardner has proudly told the Navy Pier story to millions of Chicagoans and guests. She began at the Pier during its first redevelopment effort in 1994 as the Assistant Director of Public Relations. She subsequently held a variety of positions before leading the Pier’s transition to a nonprofit in 2011 and accepting the role of President and CEO, becoming the first female leader of Navy Pier. Due to her more than 25-year tenure at Navy Pier, Gardner’s distinct vision is apparent in all facets of the Pier’s continued growth and evolution.
Gardner has been featured as a guest speaker at events hosted by the City Club of Chicago, YPO Gold, Harvard Business School Alumni Organization, Global Cultural Districts Network, Urban Land Institute, and Choose Chicago. A lifelong Chicagoan, Gardner is a member of the Civic Committee, The Chicago Network, and Economic Club of Chicago. She shares her experience as a member of the Regional Advisory Committee of the Ireland Funds—America, the Magnificent Mile Association, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the board of CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy).
Gardner attended St. Ignatius College Prep on the near west side of Chicago, where she now chairs the Mission and Academics Committee as a member of its Board of Directors. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and currently serves on its National Alumni Board of Directors and as a longstanding valued mentor in the university’s alumni mentorship program.
In 2015, St. Ignatius recognized Gardner’s many contributions to the Chicago business community with the Alumni Business Leadership Award, the first to be awarded to a woman leader. She also received Marquette University’s ‘Communicator of the Year’ award in 2017. That same year, the Public Relations Society of America’s Chicago Chapter recognized her as the 2017 Chicago Skyline Executive of the Year. She is also the recipient of the Clarion Award from the Association of Women in Business, which recognized her extraordinary leadership in advancing Navy Pier’s Centennial Vision. The Executive’s Club of Chicago named her their 2018 Innovator of the Year, and Crain’s Chicago Business included her in their 2019 list of Notable Women Executives Over 50. Most recently, Chicago Magazine recognized Gardner as twenty-ninth among list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Chicago in May of 2020.
Prior to opening KOVAL Distillery, one of the largest independent and woman-owned craft distilleries in the US, Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart spent over a decade as a full professor in both the United States and Germany. In 2008, she gave up tenure in hopes of a different quality of life; one that would afford an opportunity for her to work with her husband, give up commuting, and return to the city she loved: Chicago.
As owner and president of KOVAL, she has spearheaded product development, distribution, and marketing, turning her family business into an international presence with availability in over 55 export markets. In light of the COVID-19 health crisis, she led KOVAL's transition into producing much-needed hand sanitizer for those on the front lines, including medical organizations, first responders, and community non-profits. Sonat is also involved in a number of philanthropic organizations, was named Illinois Business Person of the Year by the National Small Business Association, is a federally appointed member of the Illinois Export Council, and has been inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier.
Sheryl D. Lang / President & CEO / VisitGreenvilleSC
Sheryl Lang serves as the President & CEO of VisitGreenvilleSC, the official destination marketing organization for the City & County of Greenville, South Carolina.
With over 25 years of multi-property responsibility in both branded and independent hotels & resorts, Lang is an accomplished expert in hotel sales, marketing, and customer experiences. Her expansive and highly-honed skill-set crosses multiple disciplines including hospitality, wellness and luxury goods. Before joining VisitGreenvilleSC, Lang held numerous sales and marketing positions with prestigious brands including Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, the Camberley Hotel Collection, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Morgans Hotel Group, AHG, and Crescent Hotels and Resorts. Most recently, Lang performed in a consulting capacity for LGS Group as the Chief Strategic Officer.
With an unwavering passion and commitment to excellence, Lang is a proven, energetic leader with an exceptional ability to ignite performance, drive improvement and consistently produce industry-leading results. She fundamentally believes that one’s approach to work is a reflection of who we are at our core as individuals.
On a personal level, Sheryl is passionate about travel, a lover of music, an accomplished pianist, and is always packed and ready for a spontaneous trip to the beach or lake.
Evan Kirkham is the Co-Founder and CEO of Colorcast, a live audio commentary app for sports fanatics, aspiring broadcasters, armchair quarterback, and everyone in between. Kirkham took home first place at the SXSW 2021 1-Minute Pitch Competition, is a thought leader in the social audio space, and is known to over-share on LinkedIn. Before founding Colorcast, Kirkham obtained his Juris Doctorate from SMU Dedman School of Law and practiced commercial litigation at the Dallas-based Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal. Kirkham is an adventurer, a hockey player, and a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan. He spends his weekends hiking the Texas Hill Country with his wife.
Keith D. Lampi has served as a Director and Chief Operating Officer of Inland Private Capital Corporation (“IPC”) since 2012, and was appointed President effective January 2015. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Lampi has helped to shape IPC into a market leader in the private real estate securities industry. As President of IPC, Mr. Lampi is responsible for directing the company's strategic growth plans, while ensuring that Inland's core principles, including its investor-focused approach, are reflected throughout the organization. During his career, Mr. Lampi has been involved in over $10 billion in real estate transactions across retail, office, industrial, student housing, self-storage, senior housing, hospitality, medical office and multifamily property types. Mr. Lampi also served as a manager of Inland Real Estate Services, LLC, Inland Residential Real Estate Services, LLC and Inland Venture Real Estate Services, LLC, since May 2016.
Mr. Lampi served on the Board of Directors of the Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association (ADISA), the nation's largest alternative investment securities association, from 2014 to 2018. Mr. Lampi was elected as the 2017 President-Elect of ADISA and served as its President in 2018. In addition, he has previously held the positions of Secretary and Chairman of its Marketing and Membership Committee. He also serves as a Director of the ADISA Foundation, which assists with scholarships and special projects to grow the study and appreciation of the alternative and direct investment arena. Mr. Lampi was the recipient of the 2016 ADISA Distinguished Service Award, an award presented to individuals and companies that have provided exceptional service to ADISA, the alternative investments industry and the overall community. Mr. Lampi also was featured in the October 2013 edition of Real Estate FORUM Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40."
Mr. Lampi received his bachelor degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds Series 7, 24, 63, 79 and 99 licenses with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
JinJa Birkenbeuel is an award-winning strategist and creative executive with over 20 years of experience, including enterprise brand strategy and creative development of mid to large size organizations, establishment of visual identity systems and research, development and execution of customer and talent acquisition strategies. She is credited as a collaborating architect of Google’s Digital Coaches Program, Google’s training initiative for underrepresented US-based business owners.
The programs she has collaboratively designed for global technology companies have reached:
- 10+ international companies have revamped their online platforms
- 10+ international companies created new digital and social media strategies
- 1000+ businesses
- 100+ Black business owners
- 100+ LatinX business owners
- 100+ influencers and leaders in diverse communities
- Created new opportunity for the diverse leaders
- Helped 100+ workshop attendees pivot and up skill their offering to be better positioned for jobs
Currently JinJa is CEO of Birk Creative, one of the country's premier multichannel brand strategy, digital transformation and visual identity agencies. She is also the founder of The Honest Field Guide(™) podcast, where JinJa hosts discussions dedicated to winning in business with Grammy-Award winners, successful entrepreneurs, sports-team owners, best-selling authors and inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
She recently was awarded by Campaign USA the Female Frontier Award for "Transforming Technology" recognizing innovative and impactful women in advertising.
Prior to Birk Creative, JinJa was a senior brand strategist and creative at Andersen, Lipman Hearne, Field Museum and other small brand strategy businesses in Chicago.
Her specialties include writing, brand development, social media strategy, personal brand and thought leadership training, women's business initiatives, brand transformation, digital transformation, brand management.
As a personal brand trainer, JinJa Birkenbeuel, CEO of Birk Creative, is passionate about creating economic opportunities for businesses currently underrepresented on the web. Hands-on training workshops include curriculum development, training on applications, software and devices, digital marketing and advertising, social media strategy, personal branding and also education around tech innovations for small business.
JinJa recently launched Journey of Gratitude Books which represents the manifestation of her creative vision designed to help small American businesses that were severely impacted and vanishing overnight as a result of the U.S. government’s failure to protect entrepreneurs and innovators during the pandemic. The “Journey Of Gratitude” featured three hand-selected American and Midwestern women artists to give them visibility and complimentary copies of a custom-designed book, subsidized by Birk Creative.
JinJa also founded Birkdigital, which is a division of Birk Creative, which develops, designs and publishes high quality interactive eBooks, ePubs, and PDFs for corporate communications marketing and provides integrated digital publishing solutions to effectively elevate the company brand and market and advertise books.
JinJa is also a co-songwriter for her band Utah Carol, a band that blends equal parts country and alt-folk. They have released three albums with music that has been licensed by MTV, OWN, People.com, Borders Perrin and Norrander, Verve Life, Chevy and other film and advertising agencies.
JinJa is on the founding board of The Women in Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University's Coleman Entrepreneurship Center. It is the nation’s first comprehensive Institute for women founders that integrates academic learning, research, incubation, funding and public policy. She is also a founding member of The Jewish-Black Business Alliance, a foundation focused on economic justice and based on the social justice legacy of the American Jew and their advocacy of Blacks during Jim Crow.
JinJa Birkenbeuel is the mother of three school-age sons. She loves to write, cook, read and spend time with her husband in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago.
A casino executive for nearly two decades, Dawn Reynolds Pettit is currently the Vice President of Human Resources for Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana. Dawn’s passion for developing talent and instilling a passion for learning started at an early age. While pursuing her master’s degree from Purdue University Northwest in Organizational Communications, Dawn taught communication courses and would remain on with the college after graduating as an adjunct instructor for several years while working in the healthcare industry. A decision to join the gaming industry in 2001 would change the course of Dawn’s life as she began to forge a career as a female executive in a somewhat male dominated industry.
It was during this time Dawn’s passion ignited as an advocate for other females inside and outside the gaming industry. Through this, her work as a mentor began, including being a moderator for two Lean In Circles. She is a community advocate both personally and professionally and has served on local boards and partners with community organizations for charitable giving and volunteer efforts. Presently, Dawn is a Purdue University Northwest Board Member (College of Business & College of Humanities, Education & Social Sciences), Food Bank of Northwest Indiana and Girls On The Run.
Dawn has been recognized with an OnCon Top 50 HR Professionals Award (2019), Caesars Entertainment Excellence In Leadership Award (2011), and Northwest Indiana Influential Women Award in Tourism/Hospitality (2011).
She is a certified Lean In Moderator, Senn Delaney Culture Instructor and holds a Senior Human Resources Management certification.
Author to the published book, “The Highmore Circle,” Dawn enjoys a crazy yet very rewarding life with her family in Northwest Indiana.
Nine days after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993, Geoff Alexander joined Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE). After two decades of working on multiple concepts within LEYE’s portfolio, Alexander took over LEYE’s three unit Wow Bao concept in 2009.
Under Alexander’s leadership, Wow Bao revolutionized the way diners would interact with restaurants by being a pioneer in technology and social media. More than a decade ago, Alexander implemented mobile ordering, self-ordering kiosks, bicycle delivery, domestic shipping, and made Wow Bao one of the first Chicago brick & mortar restaurants to take to the streets with its BAO-Mobile Food Truck.
Alexander has overseen Wow Bao’s inclusion into airports, NFL/MLB/NHL/NBA stadiums, university campuses, music venues, and more than 300 grocers sell Wow Bao’s frozen retail line.
In 2018 Alexander changed the landscape for fast casual dining by introducing Wow Bao 2.0 – a fully tech enabled front of the house environment, where guests order via an iOS or Android device, and pick up their food from an animated personalized cubby.
Shortly after being named to Nation’s Restaurant News 2020 Power List, Alexander evolved the restaurant industry once again by launching 300 Wow Bao Dark Kitchens in more than 130 cities in less than a year. This new extension of the business is not only allowing Wow Bao to grow a national footprint, it is also helping restaurant operators across the nation grow top line sales and increase bottom line profits.
CEO's You Should Know: Dr. Gloria J. Gibson, President, Northeastern Illinois University
Charles “Hank” Salemi is Park President of Six Flags Great America & Hurricane Harbor Chicago and Hurricane Harbor Rockford. With over 23 years at Six Flags, Hank has been in his current role since 2006. As Park President, he is responsible for a staff of 165 full-time and 4,500 seasonal team members and oversees all Finance, Sales & Marketing, Maintenance, Operations, In Park Revenue, HR/Safety activities for the parks.
Prior to his current role, Hank was chief marketing officer for Six Flags, overseeing all marketing and advertising for 40 parks worldwide. From 1997 – 2000, he was the marketing director at Six Flags Great America where he introduced Raging Bull, the world’s first hyper-twister roller coaster and the park’s tallest, longest, and fastest coaster at the time. Hank got his start in the industry with stints at Feld Entertainment before joining Ogden Corporation and then joining Six Flags.
During his tenure as Park President, Great America, one of the largest parks in the Six Flags system, has introduced a number of the most innovative attractions in the company and the theme park industry.
In 2011, Riptide Bay was added to Hurricane Harbor Hurricane Harbor Chicago. Featuring five unique attractions, including a pair of exhilarating drop slides and a children’s splash zone, Riptide Bay was designed for the whole family.
In 2014, Great America introduced Goliath. At its debut, Goliath broke three world records as the world’s fastest wooden coaster at 72 mph; world’s tallest drop for a wooden coaster at 180 feet; and world’s steepest drop for a wooden coaster at a near-vertical 85 degrees.
Great America’s most recent addition, the park’s 17th roller coaster, is the triple, record-breaking Maxx Force. This air launch coaster features the fastest acceleration in North America, taking riders from 0-78 mph in under two seconds. It also breaks two world records with the tallest double inversion at 175 feet and the fastest inversion with a 60 mph zero-g roll.
In addition to debuting Maxx Force in 2019, Six Flags Great America took over operation of Magic Waters Waterpark in Cherry Valley, Illinois. Rebranded as Hurricane Harbor Rockford in 2020, the waterpark is home to 15 world-class attractions and 11 heart-pounding waterslides, including Illinois’s largest wave pool.
Hank received his BS in Marketing and Communications from the University of Alabama and lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with his wife Kathleen and daughter Claire.
Chris Sherrell, President and Chief Executive Officer, founded Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets