Larry Levy is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Chicago-based Levy Restaurants as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of his real estate development company, The Levy Organization.
Since its founding in 1978, Larry has built Levy Restaurants into a dynamic culinary and hospitality business known nationwide for award-winning restaurants, and as the innovator and market leader of sports and entertainment dining. With Larry’s guiding creativity, Levy Restaurants has blos-somed from a single delicatessen in Chi-cago into a specialized food service organization with a network of interna-tionally acclaimed restaurants, the leading market share of high-end ¬sports and entertainment facilities throughout North America and England, and a new growth initiative in resort and hotel dining. Larry’s commitment to excellence and passion for quality in each of the business groups have made Levy Restaurants one of the fastest growing foodservice companies in America.
From its base in Chicago, Levy Restaurants pioneered the concept of premium dining in sports and entertainment venues back in 1982. From its base of award-winning restaurants, including Spiaggia and Bistro 110 in Chicago, and Fulton’s Crab House and Portobello Yacht Club at Walt Disney World Resort, the company has grown to 66 sports and entertainment locations including convention facilities, music/performance venues, and stadiums and arenas for all major sports leagues in 39 markets worldwide. Throughout the company’s 25 year history, Levy Restaurants has hosted and continues to cater events such as the Kentucky Derby, World Series, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, Super Bowl, GRAMMY Awards, U.S. Open Tennis Tournament and the NHL and NBA All-Star Games.
Larry’s vision for real estate has also guided many of Chicago’s major real estate projects in the last three decades including: One Magnificent Mile, Woodfield Lake Office Campus, Waterfall Glen Office Park, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center and Butterfield Center for Business. The Levy Organization is currently Managing Partner for River Bend, a two million square foot mixed use development on the Chicago River and for One South Dearborn, the new home offices of Sidley, Austin, Brown and Wood currently under construction.
In 2006 a new resort development investment initiative was started with the purchase of Esperanza Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and the Fairfax Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.
Larry has been recognized by his industry and peers with numerous awards including: the 1999 IFMA Gold Plate Award as Restaurateur of the Year in the United States as well as the Ivy Award, the restaurant industry’s Academy Award, in 1992 for Spiaggia, for Bistro 110 in 1993, and in 2003, the Sports & Entertainment Group received the first Ivy Award ever given to a sports and entertainment foodservice company. Larry was awarded the prestigious North¬west¬ern University Alumni Award in 1982, the Kellogg School’s Shaffner Award in 2003, and was honored by the creation of an annual student enterprise, which funds The Larry Levy Entrepreneur Scholarships at Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Most recently, Larry and his wife Carol founded the Levy Institute of Entrepreneurial Practice at Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Larry is a Trustee of Norhwestern University.
St. Louis-born, Larry’s love for Chicago was inspired and cultivated during his days at Northwest-ern University, where he received his B.S. in 1966 and his M.B.A. in 1967. Larry’s commitment to Chicago and its ongoing development continues through his varied personal and professional contributions to Chicago’s business and charitable communities. Larry was the Chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the AMX Corporation, a market leader in advanced control and automation devices for com-mercial and residential markets and the GRAMMY Foundation, which was founded in 1989 to cultivate the awareness, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music on American culture. Serving the community, he is a director of the Chicagoland Associa¬tion of Commerce and Industry, the Chicago Central Area Committee, a member of the Board of Advi-sors of North¬western's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a member of the Board of Trus-tees of the Lincoln Park Zoo and Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation. Larry also served on the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee for 6 years, later acting as its Chairman.
Larry received St. Coletta’s Crystallus Award in recognition the company’s charitable contributions nationwide and the Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League. In 2001, Larry received Ernst & Young’s Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Illinois. In 2007, Larry re-ceived the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.
CHERYLE JACKSON
Cheryle Robinson Jackson
President & CEO
Chicago Urban League
In October 2006, Cheryle Robinson Jackson was appointed the first female president and CEO in the 90-year history of the venerable Chicago Urban League, one of the city’s most respected social and civil justice organizations. The League focuses on the city’s African American workforce and business community to empower and inspire individuals to reach and exceed their economic potential.
Prior to her history-making appointment at the League, Jackson served in the administration of Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, most recently as deputy chief of staff of communications and before that as communications director and chief press secretary, making her both the first woman and African American to hold the position in the state’s history.
Before joining Gov. Blagojevich’s administration, Jackson spent three years in senior-level government affairs positions with Amtrak as vice president for communications and government affairs. She was responsible for Amtrak’s state and local government affairs and served as spokesperson in 41 states, often during times of crises, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In addition, she served in various capacities at National Public Radio (NPR), including as vice president of communications and brand management, director of corporate communications and director of corporate identity and information. Among her charges, Jackson served as national spokesperson and oversaw the network’s national marketing, advertising and public affairs operations.
Jackson serves as a director on the boards of the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Field Museum, the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the 2016 Chicago Olympics Committee and the Daniel Burnham Anniversary Planning Committee.
Jackson is a native of Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University in 1988. She and her husband, Charles, reside on Chicago’s South Side.
BILL WHITE
William White, a professor in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University since January 1998, received a 2004 Northwestern Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award. His book From Day One: CEO Advice to Launch an Extraordinary Career was published by Pearson/Prentice Hall in November 2005.
Prior to joining the Northwestern faculty he served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bell & Howell Company. Earlier, Mr. White held executive positions with USG, Mead, and Hartmarx Corporations.
An Industrial Engineering graduate of Northwestern’s McCormick School, White received an MBA from Harvard University. He serves as a director of a number of organizations including The Reader’s Digest Association, Packaging Dynamics Corporation, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, and The Field Museum.
HENRY S. BIENEN
Henry S. Bienen was elected the 15th president of Northwestern University on June 13, 1994. He took office on January 1, 1995. Mr. Bienen was the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University prior to his appointment at Northwestern.
A political scientist with interests in political and economic development, comparative politics, civil-military relations, and U.S. foreign policy, Mr. Bienen began his association with Princeton University in 1966 as an assistant professor. He was named associate professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton in 1969 and professor of politics and international affairs in 1972. He was appointed the William Stewart Tod Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton in 1981 and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in 1985.
Mr. Bienen has been a visiting professor at Makerere College in Kampala, Uganda (1963-65), at University College in Nairobi (1968-69), at Columbia University (1971-72), and at the University of Ibadan (1972-73). He was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (1976-77), a Polsky Fellow at the Aspen Institute (1982-83), and a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton (1984-85).
Mr. Bienen has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of State (1972-88), the National Security Council (1978-79), the Agency for International Development (1980-81), the Central Intelligence Agency (1982-88), and the World Bank (1981-89).
He also has been a consultant to Hambrecht and Quist Investment Company, The Boeing Corporation, and the Enserch Corporation as well as to The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Mr. Bienen is a member of the board of directors of The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Matthews International Capital Management, LLC and a member of the board of trustees of the John G. Shedd Aquarium. He is a member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations, Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, American Political Science Association, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Mr. Bienen received a bachelor’s degree with honors from Cornell University in 1960 and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1961. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Chicago in 1966.
Mr. Bienen and his wife, Leigh, a senior lecturer at Northwestern University School of Law, have three daughters. www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/bio/bienen.htm
