50 corporate board-ready Business Leaders of Color will be introduced 

CHICAGO, IL – November 16, 2021 – Ariel Investments Co-CEOs John W. Rogers Jr. and Mellody Hobson are this year’s Bridge Award honorees at the 2021 Chicago United Bridge Awards Celebration to be held on Thursday, November 18 th at Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Avenue. Ariel will be recognized alongside Chicago United’s 2021 Business Leaders of Color, a diverse group of board-ready leaders and game-changers in the business world. The Bridge Awards Celebration is the premier diversity and inclusion event in Chicago, celebrating excellence in diversity within corporate governance and fostering multiracial leadership at the highest levels of corporate America

Established in 2004, the Bridge Award recognizes a corporate CEO who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in achieving diversity and inclusion, especially at the board level. The selection process includes a rigorous review of publicly available data by prominent executives who are highly respected members of the Chicago business community. Ariel has continually demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the business world, and Chicago United is honored to recognize their extraordinary efforts

“Ariel’s leading the charge towards advancing an inclusive and diverse business culture,” said Tiffany Hamel Johnson, President and CEO, Chicago United. “Ariel stands out for managing change and inspiring others to follow. We couldn’t be more excited to recognize Ariel’s accomplishments at the upcoming Bridge Awards.”

The theme for this year’s Bridge Awards Celebration is “A Movement not a Moment.” Chicago United is and has always been a respected thought leader, convener, and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Chicago United will also salute the 2021 Business Leaders of Color at the Bridge Awards Celebration. A group of 50 dynamic executives, these individuals hold a vast range of experience in a variety of industries and are among the most influential, diverse and inclusive leaders in the Chicago business community. These exceptional corporate and civic leaders are ready to contribute, as board directors for Fortune 1,000 companies. They provide shareholder value in our ever-changing business environment and inspire others as they continue to progress, innovate and lead. Since 2003, the Business Leaders of Color publication has featured 420 board-ready candidates have served in more than 300 corporate directorships.

The 2021 publication featuring profiles and photographs of these 50 individuals will be available for download on Chicago United’s website, and printed copies will be available at the Bridge Awards Celebration on November 18 th. A sneak peek of the publication was also included in the October 25 th edition of Crain’s Chicago Business for subscribers.

The celebration, presented by BMO Harris Bank, will be an in-person event. Sponsorships are available for the Bridge Awards Celebration. For details, contact Melanie Sillas, Chicago United Vice President of Membership and Philanthropy, at msillas@chicago-united.org .

About Ariel Investments

Ariel Investments, LLC is a global value-based asset management firm founded in 1983. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York City, San Francisco and Sydney. As of January 31, 2021, Ariel’s firm-wide assets under management totaled approximately $15 billion. The firm serves individual and institutional investors through five no-load mutual funds and 11 separate account strategies.

About Chicago United

Chicago United is a corporate membership and advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve parity in economic opportunity for people of color by advancing multiracial leadership in corporate governance, expanding the talent pipeline for executive level management, and growing minority businesses.

Founded in 1968, the organization is focused on transforming the Chicago region into the most inclusive business ecosystem in the nation by engaging the top publicly and privately held corporations in leading talent management and inclusive diversity practices. Chicago United’s signature programs include its Business Leaders of Color publication, which showcases a diverse pool of corporate director candidates, the Five Forward Initiative™, designed to invigorate job creation in communities of color by increasing the scale of large Minority Business Enterprises in the Chicago region, Inside Inclusion featuring the Corporate Diversity Profile, and the Corporate Inclusion Institute, the first-ever citywide business talent development program. Learn more at chicago-united.org.

Media contact: Blake Goble, bgoble@chicago-united.org

Corporate membership and advocacy organization presents accomplished executives as candidates for corporate directorships    

CHICAGO – July 15, 2021 – Chicago United has announced its 2021 Business Leaders of Color, 50 diverse, influential and accomplished individuals ready for corporate board directorships. Chosen from a highly competitive field of close to 100 nominees, the individuals selected demonstrate a broad range of professional experiences and proven track records of success in numerous industries. 

Chicago United presents this group every other year to expand the pool of diverse, board-ready candidates for corporate boards. Since 2003, there have been 420 individuals to receive this honor who have dispelled the myth that there are not enough qualified, dynamic, visionary and talented executives of color to step into corporate board directorships in Chicago and beyond. Currently, there are Business Leaders of Color who fill more than 300 directorships. 

Past Business Leaders of Color include former First Lady Michelle Obama; Manuel Cuevas-Trisán, Vice President, Human Resources, Harvard University; Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments; Gery Chico, lawyer and public official; Nancy Andrade, Commissioner for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations; Don Thompson, retired Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s Corporation and CEO and Founder of Cleveland Avenue, LLC; Dr. Karen Eng, President and CEO of CSMI; and Andrés Tapia, Global Diversity and Inclusion thought leader at Korn Ferry.

“Chicago United’s mission is about advancing multiracial leadership,” said Tiffany Hamel Johnson, President and CEO, Chicago United. “We are thrilled to honor these individuals and welcome this cohort into an assembly of history-making trailblazers who have been named bi-annually for almost 20 years. We will honor them along with one company that is a driving force in diversity, equity and inclusion at our upcoming Bridge Awards Dinner.”

Chicago United’s Bridge Awards Dinner, “A Movement, Not a Moment,” will be held Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, at the Hilton Chicago at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit https://awards.chicago-united.org/

2021 Business Leaders of Color

Verneda Bachus, CEO, Friend Health

Regina Cross, Vice President, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Dr. Roberto Curci, Vice Provost and Dean, Brennan School of Business, Dominican University

Melissa B. Donaldson, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Wintrust Financial Corporation

Jose Flores, President & Chief Operating Officer, Wynndalco Enterprises, LLC

Steve Flores, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP

Michelle Flowers Welch, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Flowers Communications Group

Jose Garcia, President/CEO, Northwest Community Credit Union

Cristy Garcia-Thomas, Chief External Affairs Officer, Advocate Aurora Health

Darius A. Gill, Senior Vice President, National Practice Executive, Northern Trust

Jeanne M. Gills, Esq., Partner, Vice Chair, IP Department, Foley & Lardner LLP

Jesus Gonzalez, Deputy Global Practice Leader, Intangible Assets, Aon plc

Denitra Griffin, President, AGB Investigative Services Inc.

Jasmine Guy, Director of DE&I/Corporate Social Responsibility, Major, Lindsey & Africa

Nickol Hackett, Chief Investment Officer, Treasurer, The Joyce Foundation

Erik Hall, Executive Director, GCM Grosvenor

Douglas E. Harrell, Chief Financial Officer, Office of Special Deputy Receiver 

Lisa M. Harrell, Chief Human Resources Officer, Cleveland Avenue

Stephen Harris, President, Medicaid, Health Care Service Corporation

Glenn Harston II, President, The Gemini Group LTD

Anuradha Hebbar, Partner, HR & Talent Advisory, Global DE&I Solutions Leader, KINCENTRIC, a Spencer Stuart Company

Lee Henderson, Assurance Partner and Americas EY Private Leader, Ernst & Young LLP

John O. Hudson III, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nicor Gas

Julieta LaMalfa, Director, Stout

Gordon C.C. Liao, Founder & Managing Partner, Promise Holdings

Gregg Lunceford, SVP, Wealth Advisor, Mesirow Financial

Suzet M. McKinney, DrPH, MPH, Principal, Director of Life Sciences, Sterling Bay

Samara Mejia Hernandez, Founding Partner, Chingona Ventures

Deidra Merriwether, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Lourdes Mesa Gonzalez, Senior Vice President, Primera Engineers

Martín Montes, Vice President, Large Customer Services, ComEd an Exelon Company

Reginald Moore, Vice President & General Manager, Newell Brands

Tracie Morris, Chief Human Resources and Inclusion Officer, BMO Harris Bank N.A.

Marisol Pantoja, SVP, Chief Audit Executive, TransUnion

J. Todd Phillips, CEO, Parson Partners

Nadia Quarles, Esq., Assistant Vice President, Office of Business Diversity, University of Chicago

Sumant Ramachandra, President, Pharmaceuticals and Chief Science & Technology Officer, Baxter International

Sendhil Revuluri, Managing Director, PEAK6 Capital Management

Craig Richey, Senior Managing Director - Strategy & Consulting, Accenture

Derreck James Robinson, Managing Director, National Sales Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP

Louis Sandoval, President & Chief Executive Officer, Knnected Inc. Dba SupplyHive™

David Segura, CEO, VisionIT

Anne Shaw, President, Shaw Legal Services, Ltd.

Thurman "Tony" Smith, Senior Vice President, Community Development Banking - Market Manager, PNC Bank

Sunitha Thomas, Senior Vice President, National Portfolio Advisor, Northern Trust 

Cedric D. Thurman, Executive Vice President/Chief Diversity Officer/ Group Head, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

Edna Uribe, VP Director of Sales, Univision Chicago

Lizette Williams, Head of Global Vertical Solutions Marketing, Facebook, Inc.

Suzanne Yoon, Founder & Managing Partner, Kinzie Capital Partners LLC

Weifang Zhou, EVP, President of Testing, Inspection & Certification (TIC), UL

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About Chicago United

Chicago United is a corporate membership and advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve parity in economic opportunity for people of color by advancing multiracial leadership in corporate governance, expanding the talent pipeline for executive-level management, and growing minority business. Founded in 1968, the organization is focused on transforming the Chicago region into the most inclusive business ecosystem in the nation by engaging the top publicly and privately held corporations in leading talent management and inclusive diversity practices. Chicago United’s signature programs include its Business Leaders of Color publication, which showcases a diverse pool of corporate director candidates, the Five Forward Initiative™, designed to invigorate job creation in communities of color by increasing the scale of large Minority Business Enterprises in the Chicago region, Inside Inclusion featuring the Corporate Diversity Profile, and the Corporate Inclusion Institute, the first-ever citywide business talent development program. www.chicago-united.org