Since taking over the Bolingbrook-based beauty chain in 2013, the former U.S. Cellular CEO has dazzled the retail industry: Last year, the company saw a rise in earnings of more than 20 percent, with its stock price surging 32 percent. Dillon’s five-year plan? Add 100 new stores a year (there are currently 765 locations) and … Read more
Without this high-energy Boston native, the modern food industry could well grind to a halt. Gordon has been successfully running this Westchester maker of, well, ingredients (processed from corn, wheat, etc.) for nearly six years now.
Eric Lefkofsky’s longtime sidekick in tech investing, Keywell may be better known these days for Chicago Ideas Week, the annual smart-person confab he helped start in 2010 (and that he uses to burnish his personal brand).
Under Zimmer, now in his eighth year at the U. of C., the school’s endowment reached a high of $7.5 billion in 2014. The university also opened the Chicago Innovation Exchange, a startup incubator with $20 million in venture funding, a boost to the South Side. But after being the presumed favorite to win the … Read more
Facing slumping sales and a stagnant stock price, McDonald’s new honcho finds himself, like his ousted predecessor, Don Thompson (see “The Company Man”), in a pickle. Can this Brit help revive the quintessential American brand? Stay tuned.
Yes, Time Inc. fired Griffin as its CEO in 2011, but he landed on his feet. This magazine vet now runs the print half of the recent Tribune Co. split. Will his suburban newspaper purchases pay off? Investors have their fingers crossed.
He made headlines recently for paying a record-setting $19.5 million for a Glencoe mansion. But he slides 33 spots on this list because of Groupon’s equally precipitous 30 percent stock plunge in 2014—even after a switch in focus away from daily deals.
Rahm Emanuel Occupation: Mayor, City of Chicago Age: 55 Five reasons Rahmbo almost lost this year’s top spot … 1 Two Chicagos. While he regularly touts the city’s improved economy—rising household incomes, surging construction, booming tourism—Emanuel can’t seem to shake his image as Mayor 1 Percent, who puts downtown corporate interests (think DePaul’s arena) ahead … Read more
The first Hispanic chief judge controls the fates of more than 700 federal drug offenders who may be eligible for sentence reductions.
Duffy’s big push into new trading technologies, new products, and even new markets (bonjour, Europe!) seems to be paying off: The world’s largest futures exchange rang up all-time record trading activity last year—nearly 3.5 billion contracts traded, worth roughly $1.1 quadrillion.
