New members approved at Sept. 23 board meeting
(Chicago)…..The
Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) is pleased to announce its newly elected
Executive Committee, Board of Governors and Resource Board, including incoming
Chair John A. Buck, chairman and CEO of the national real estate development
firm, The John Buck Company.
A
motion to approve 2004-2006 MPC officers and Executive Committee members passed
by unanimous vote at a meeting of MPC’s Board of Governors and Resource Board on
Sept. 23 at the Westin River North, 320 N. Dearborn, Chicago. The board also
elected new members and approved new appointments to the Council’s Resource
Board.
“More than 70 years ago, the Metropolitan
Planning Council was founded by a small, dedicated group of action-oriented
citizens who wanted to make
Chicago
a better place,” said MarySue Barrett,
president of MPC. “Since then, the Council has become one of the region’s most
effective sensible growth advocates, galvanized in no small part by our board
members, who follow in the tradition of our founders as committed leaders with
the expertise and courage necessary to address the right issues at the right
time.”
New
MPC officers, both of whom join the Executive Committee, are Chair John A. Buck,
chairman and CEO, The John Buck Company; and Secretary Valerie B. Jarrett,
executive vice president, The Habitat Company.
Current
board members Mary K. Ludgin, managing director, Heitman, and Bernard Loyd,
president, Urban Juncture, Inc., also will join the Executive
Committee.
The incoming members of the Board of Governors are:
Todd
Brown, Vice Chairman, Shorebank;
Karen
S. Butler, Senior Development Director, General Growth Properties,
Inc.;
Gery
Chico, Partner,
Chico
& Nunes LLP;
Ann
M. Drake, CEO, DSC Logistics, Inc.;
Robert
V. Fitzsimmons, Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP;
James
C. Franczek, Jr., Partner, Franczek Sullivan P.C.;
Maria
N. Saldana, Senior Vice President, Ramirez & Company, Inc.;
and
David
Wilhelm, President,
Woodland
Venture
Management.
New members of the Resource Board are:
Gloria
Castillo, President,
Chicago
United, Inc.;
Alison
L. Chung, President, TeamWerks; and
Robert
A. Kornecki, President and CEO Midwest Region,
Burnson-Marsteller.
Incoming
Chair Buck takes the helm from John S. Gates, Jr., co-chairman and CEO,
CenterPoint Properties Trust, a leading real estate development firm. Gates
served as chair since 2002 and will continue his involvement with MPC as an
executive committee member.
“Under
John Gates’ active and innovative leadership, MPC has focused its energies on
strengthening the ties between our various program areas,” said Barrett. “John
urged us to rethink the work that we’ve long been doing, to better connect our
transportation
agenda, for instance, to our housing initiatives. His leadership has helped the
organization
become more effective, and we are grateful for it.”
Buck has
served
on MPC’s Regional Development Committee and co-chairs the Council’s Bold Plans,
Bright Future campaign to raise $8 million for an endowment and special program initiatives.
As the developer of
one
of Chicago’s
signature attractions,
the
Sears
Tower, Buck brings a wealth of expertise
to the position.
“If you’ve done well in
business in the
Chicago
region, you owe some of your success to
the Metropolitan Planning Council,” said Buck. “This group has been a champion
of quality education, more efficient freight transportation, and housing
opportunities … all essential ingredients of a world-class business
environment.”
All
newly elected Board members will serve three-year terms. Officers and Executive
Committee members will serve for two years.