Boardroom Media (CEO News)
At CEO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Illinois based CEO’ operating in the Hospitality space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected]
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Chris Kempczinski
President and CEO of McDonald’s
With an eye toward delivering a modern, progressive customer experience, Chris Kempczinski oversees strategy, planning and new concept innovation for McDonald’s. His role is to serve the business units and franchisees by identifying new ideas and best practices to accelerate their growth and grow the overall value of the system. Kempczinski has significant experience in strategy and operations with some of the world’s leading consumer companies, including Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and most recently, Kraft Heinz. He has a proven track record of driving transformative change, which is invaluable as McDonald’s evolves its restaurant experience and business model to consistently deliver top-tier shareholder returns. Most recently, Kempczinski was Executive Vice President of Growth Initiatives and President of Kraft International, where he oversaw Kraft’s global corporate growth agenda and was responsible for driving the business in 80 countries outside of the United States, making up roughly $3 billion in net revenue. Kempczinski has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in public policy and economics from Duke University.
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About McDonald’s: McDonald’s is a global foodservice retailer generating revenue through company-owned restaurants, franchise royalties, and licensing pacts.
Scott Kubly
Founder & CEO of Cabana
Scott Kubly is director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. Appointed by Mayor Ed Murray in July 2014, Scott oversees transportation policy, capital project delivery, transportation and maintenance operations, transit and mobility improvements, and management of the City’s right of way. He led the creation of the award winning Move Seattle Plan, which outlines Mayor Murray’s 10-year vision for transportation in Seattle, and delivers a comprehensive strategy for connecting and enhancing the city’s many ways to travel. Scott was also a lead architect of the voter-approved Levy to Move Seattle, which provides $930 million to improve safety, maintain streets and bridges, and invest in reliable, affordable travel options for a growing city. Scott additionally serves as the vice president of the National Association of City Transportation Officials.
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About Cabana: Cabana is a travel startup that turns vans into bookable mobile hotels.
Carey Cooper
Co-Founder & CEO of L3 Hospitality Group
Carey is our CEO Extraordinaire. His early success as president of Redi Cut Foods, the largest regional processor of vegetables, made him a supply chain expert. His entrepreneurial spirit has only grown since then and nothing has brought him as much professional joy as becoming a restaurateur. We refer to him as Mr. Positive. He’s the go-to guy in his community and at work… not to mention he can tell you the origin of an avocado by the way it spins on the table.
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About L3 Hospitality Group: L3 Hospitality Group is a restaurant operating company.
D. G. Macpherson
Chief Executive Officer of W.W. Grainger
D.G. Macpherson was named Chief Operating Officer for Grainger in August 2015. In this role, he is responsible for all operating units of the company globally, as well as Enterprise Systems. Most recently, Mr. Macpherson was Senior Vice President and Group President, Global Supply Chain and International, where he led the development of corporate strategy and continuous improvement, the global supply chain organization, the company’s single channel online business model and international operations in Asia and Europe. Prior to that, Mr. Macpherson was Senior Vice President and President, Global Supply Chain and Corporate Strategy. Mr. Macpherson joined Grainger in 2008 from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where, from 2002-2008, he was Partner and Managing Director. In that capacity, he served as a consultant to Grainger on a number of strategic and operational efforts including availability improvement, pricing strategy, product line expansion and sales force effectiveness. At BCG, Mr. Macpherson was a member of the Industrial Goods Leadership Team with strong experience in production systems and continuous improvement methodologies. Early in his career, he was an operations manager for Rain Bird Sprinkler Manufacturing Company and a test engineer with the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Macpherson holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2015 sales of $10 billion, is North America’s leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products, with operations also in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
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About W.W. Grainger: W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW), with 2008 sales of $6.9 billion, is the leading broad-line supplier of facilities maintenance products serving
Charlie Mills
Chief Executive Officer of Medline Industries
Charlie joined Medline in 1986 where he started as a sales representative. Since then he has held various positions within the company including sales management, vice president of marketing and vice president of manufacturing. In 1997, he was named CEO. Prior to joining Medline, Charlie was a sales rep with IBM. He received his B.S. degree in Engineering and his MBA from Cornell University.
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About Medline Industries: Medline Industries, Inc., based in Mundelein, Illinois,
Kathleen Wilson
CEO of The Minte
CEO, Founder at Sofie.
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About Sofie Tech, The Minte: The Minte offers hotel-style housekeeping services.
Daniel Estrada
Co-Founder and CEO of 86 Repairs
Daniel Estrada is the co-founder and CEO of 86 Repairs, the repair and maintenance management platform built for the restaurant industry. He has over 20 years of experience in technical and leadership roles, including as a software engineer, project manager, consultant to startups and Fortune 500 companies, and as the practice head in a global digital consultancy. Daniel is a first generation American, multi-citizen, and speaks 3 languages.
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About 86 Repairs: 86 Repairs is a subscription service that optimizes and manages end-to-end equipment repair and maintenance for restaurant groups.
Mark Hoplamazian
President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyatt
Mark Hoplamazian has been a member of our board of directors since November 2006. He has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since December 2006, as interim President from July 2006 to December 2006 and Vice President from August 2004 to December 2004. From April 2004 to August 2009, Mark Hoplamazian served as President and Director of TPO. Mark Hoplamazian served in various capacities with TPO since its formation in 1997 and with its predecessors prior to its formation, including managing its merchant banking and investment activities. From August 2009 to December 2010, Mark Hoplamazian was a Vice President of TPO. Mark Hoplamazian is the current Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise. He serves on the Advisory Board of Facing History and Ourselves, the Council on the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the Board of Directors of New Schools for Chicago, the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of World Business Chicago, and the Henry Crown Fellowship Program Board of Overseers. Mark Hoplamazian is a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council and the Commercial Club of Chicago, and is a member of the Discovery Class of the Henry Crown Fellowship.
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About Hyatt: Hyatt is a global hospitality company with widely recognized, industry leading brands and a tradition of innovation.
Nick Kokonas
CEO of Tock
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About Alinea Restaurant, Tock: Tock is a cloud-based platform with flexible data structures that provide comprehensive restaurant and event booking services.
Mark A. Thierer
Chairman & CEO of Catamaran Corp.
Mark A. Thierer is chairman and chief executive officer of Catamaran Corporation, a pharmacy benefit management services and healthcare information technology solutions company and is a member of Catamaran’s board of directors. From 2008-2011, Mr. Thierer was president and chief executive officer of Catamaran and from 2006-2008, he served as its president and chief operating officer.
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About Catamaran Corp.: Catamaran offers a true alternative to the status quo in pharmacy benefit management.
Viktor Makarskyy
Founder and CEO of Menu3
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About Menu3: Menu3 is a software company that develops 3D enabled products and platforms.
Matt Singley
Founder & CEO of ReloShare
Matt Singley is the Founder/CEO of ReloShare and partner at Pinnacle Furnished Suites.
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About Pinnacle Furnished Suites, ReloShare: The first and only real-time booking marketplace in Corporate Housing.
Jim Rozell
Founder and CEO of Hotel Compete
Jim Rozell serves as Hotel Compete’s Founder and CEO. Jim’s background in data mining, modeling and manipulation started before there were fancy words for such activities. He has experience at virtually every level of the travel and hospitality spectrum having worked for American Airlines, Carlson Hotels, Travelweb, Mark Travel and several of his own endeavors. Jim has developed models that predict revenues, determine aircraft allocations, optimize room inventory, manage rates and assess competitors. He has been the architect of some of the largest travel data structures in the industry and many of the projects he left behind are still actively used to this day. To say Jim is “inquisitive” is an understatement. There is no level of data that doesn’t interest pique his interest in some way.
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About Hotel Compete: Hotel Compete is a company founded on a simple principle.
Travis Johnson
CEO & Co-founder of Foodjunky
CEO & Co-founder at foodjunky
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About Foodjunky, NTL Consultants: Foodjunky is an online platform that allows people in small or large groups to order food from restaurants.
KK Kotapati
Founder and CEO of Instabids
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About 1871, Instabids, The Real Reputation: Instabids is a mobile app that allows the restaurants to bid, select the best instant discount expercience for diners.
Soheil Ebadat
Co-Founder & CEO of Airspace
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About Airspace: Office Management, Office Services, Technology, Data Analytics, Commercial Real Estate
Daniel Valenti
Founder / CEO of TripWeave
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About TripWeave: Explore some of the world’s coolest places with your peers on a self-led journey.
Lance Bell
President and CEO of POS Partners
Career centered on food and technology. Utilizing my spiritual gifts of Leadership and Teaching, I enjoy assisting team members and clients develop awareness, solve problems, and get more out of life.
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About POS Partners: Hospitality and Healthcare industries
Dapo Kolawole
Co-founder / CEO of Citispoon
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About Citispoon: Citispoon App learns your taste buds and matches it with wait-times at restaurants to get good food into your mouth!
Marsha McVicker
Founder & CEO of Errand Solutions
Marsha McVicker is the founder and CEO of Errand Solutions. She received her bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and it was during her MBA program that Errand Solutions was created. What started as a white paper for a scholarship requirement turned into a business idea, which went on to win a business plan competition and a spot in the Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship (WAVE) program. Through WAVE, Marsha collected feedback from local Wisconsin business owners, raised money from individual investors (the first equity holder being the University of Wisconsin itself) and landed her first client, Kraft. To accelerate growth, Marsha completed the Entrepreneurial Masters Program at MIT, informally known as the “Birthing of Giants”. Marsha has been a guest lecturer on entrepreneurship, work/life balance, rewards and recognition and numerous other subjects at a variety of national and international conferences and academic settings, including Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Women’s Business Development Center, and Crain’s Business Forum and Springboard, the platform for the top female owned businesses in America. She has been featured on MSNBC and MSN Business on Main, and was interviewed by Robert Reich for National Public Radio’s “Future of Success” series. Additionally, Marsha was inducted to the UIC Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, recognized as one of the fastest growing companies by Fortune 500/5000 and is a chair of FEJ – a Haitian Foundation run by Haitians to create sustainable communities.
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About Errand Solutions: Errand Solutions makes employees happy and companies popular.
Jennifer Gary
Co-Founder/CEO of FLIG, LLC
Jennifer loves the synergy that happens when great people and unique ideas generate momentum. Wanting to create a niche brand within the Chicago music industry, she hopes to initiate a massive shift in the status quo. As co-founder, she paints the broad vision and forms critical partnerships to iterate into the future. Her greatest desire is to give individuals the opportunity and the means to pursue their life’s purpose.
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About FLIG, LLC: FLIG, LLC is a platform for an industry-curated community, where talented people come together to create memorable experiences..
Denis Hennequin
CEO of Cojean International
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About Cojean International: Cojean International operates a juice bar and healthy eating restaurant as well as a lifestyle blog.
