The Executives Breakfast Club

The Executives Breakfast Club taps into the heart and soul of leadership. With case studies presented by leading executives, we’re getting personal and exploring the significant, often difficult experiences that forge true leaders and build strong character. In the clubs' 54 years, more than 50,000 executives have been addressed by more than 300 special guests, including U.S. presidents, cabinet secretaries, White House advisors, Fortune 500 CEOs, best-selling authors, celebrities and Hall of Fame athletes. I am the Executive Director of the club. My job is to produce the events, direct the strategy for each season, write the bi-weekly email newsletters, create the art and social media, manage the media, generate the PR, and provide growth strategies to keep the club thriving and the Executive Council, guests, and speakers happy to return.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is the main attendance driver for the Executives Breakfast Club. Below are some samples of the introductory emails I’ve sent about our guest speakers. There are other types of Club emails that I send out, including member news, guest speaker stories, and other promotions.

Introducing Our Next Guest

Kelly Leonard is the Executive Director of Insights and Applied Improvisation at The Second City and The Second City Works. His book, “Yes, And: Lessons from The Second City” was released to critical acclaim in 2015 by HarperCollins and was praised by Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair.

He co-created and co-directs a new initiative with the Center for Decision Research at the Booth School at the University of Chicago that looks at behavioral science through the lens of improvisation.

Kelly also hosts the podcast, “Getting to Yes, And,” for Second City Works and WGN radiothat features interviews with thought leaders such as Simon Sinek, Adam Grant, Gretchen Rubin, Dan Pink and Brene Brown.

For over twenty years, Kelly oversaw Second City’s live theatrical divisions where he helped generate original productions with such talent as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Steve Carell, Keegan Michael Key, Amy Sedaris and others.

Kelly presented at The Aspen Ideas Festival, TEDx Broadway, the Chicago Ideas Festival, The Stanford Graduate School of Business and for companies such as Coca Cola, Microsoft, Memorial Sloan Kettering and DDB Worldwide. Meet Kelly Leonard on April 13 and have a backstage look at the science and lessons behind his work!

introducing our next guest

Andrew Limouris believes that true purpose—beyond financial gain—leads to meaningful accomplishments in business. He knows purpose can lead to satisfied employees, increased revenue and unified teamwork.

He’s delivered impressive results as CEO of Medix, an international staffing company, and now helps other leaders and teammates find purpose too. Andrew’s strong belief inspired him to author the book, Won With Purpose. He also hosts the Purpose Podcast on his Purposeful CEO site.

Since 2001 Andrew has been known as the Founder and CEO ofMedix, a leading provider of workforce solutions for clients and candidates across the Healthcare, Scientific and Information Technology industries. The Chicago-based staffing firm helps individuals find the right jobs and companies find the right talent. Medix is dedicated to showing up for its clients, talent and people.

“I founded Medix based on the mission and purpose of positively impacting lives. As Medix’s CEO, I lead the organization in being more than just a traditional staffing firm with innovative hiring solutions. I have worked to ensure that we achieve our core purpose of positively impacting 20,000 lives by formalizing that purpose in Medix’s DNA. This core purpose is rooted in everything that Medix does within operating the business, forging relationships and running our teams.

At Medix, we look beyond resumes to get to the heart of candidates’ competencies and skills. We find talent the right job, instead of sticking them in empty seats. As a result, our clients in the healthcare, science and IT industries enjoy the benefits of satisfied employees, increased revenue and unified teamwork. Medix has developed into one of the largest and fastest-growing staffing agencies in America.

I truly believe that giving people a real purpose – something beyond financial gain – leads to great accomplishment, and improves a company’s bottom line in the process. My book Won with Purpose details my efforts to cultivate a deeper purpose within teams as both President and CEO of Medix and as a youth football coach. ” — Andrew Limouris

Introducing our next guest

Paula Fasseas creates an event, but establishes a movement.

On May 30, 1998, PAWS Chicago was launched with an adoption event, Angels with Tails. The message that homeless pets needed to be saved was taken to the public. The event was held on the streets and in the boutiques of the Magnificent Mile where local businesses enthusiastically agreed to showcase the animals in their storefronts.

That single event brought the plight of homeless pets to the foreground, leading to continued public and media engagement that evolved over time: 

• First, a volunteer-run storefront Adoption Center on Clark Street

• Next, the opening of the Lurie Spay/Neuter Clinic

• Then, the momentous inauguration of the Pippen Fasseas Adoption Center 

• And the most recent openings of the Training & Foster Care Center and the Glenn L. Felner North Shore Adoption Center

Through it all, the growth and evolution of PAWS Chicago has been driven by public awareness and the recognition that every person can take action to help homeless pets.

This has culminated into a collective action that has had transformative results, with the killing in Chicago declining by more than 80% since PAWS Chicago’s founding

Paula Fasseas honored as Chicago magazine’s Chicagoan of the Year

In January 2008, PAWS Chicago founder Paula Fasseas was labeled a Transformer by Chicago magazine and honored as Chicago magazine’s Chicagoan of the Year.

Oprah Winfrey Features PAWS Chicago’s Lincoln Park Adoption Center on Her Show

On April 21, 2008 Oprah Winfrey aired her visit to the Pippen Fasseas Adoption Center, showcasing the state-of-the-art facility and lifesaving work. It aired on her show as a part of a three-part series on puppy mills. The show put PAWS Chicago on the map as a national leader in No Kill.

Maddie’s Fund Grants Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine and PAWS Chicago Shelter Medicine Grant

No Kill leader Maddie’s Fund helped launch the field of shelter medicine in veterinary schools through generous grant-making.

In September 2008, Maddie’s Fund granted Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine one of its largest grants, with a portion of the program develop a teaching medical program with residencies and fellowships available for veterinary students at PAWS Chicago.

Watch this video for more on the story of PAWS Chicago, and then register below for the event! Tickets will go quickly for this last EBC of 2018 with our inspiring guest!

CultureCon

event program - 2018

CultureCon is a non-profit organization with a mission to impact the workplace by connecting humans to spread positive change around organizational culture. It is an annual two-day event hosted in beautiful Madison, WI. The event includes: keynote speakers, workshops, leadership tracks, a philanthropy event, touring of The Innovation Hall, and much more. I am on the Program Committee and the copywriter of the program for the inaugural CultureCon 2018. Honored to have been asked to write the program for this groundbreaking event, because I believe that this is more than an event: it is the first big breath of a cultural shift that will extend beyond the workplace to affect how we live, and how we think about our work/life integration and personhood.

Iconica

Iconica is a design-build firm handling multi-million dollar projects. This firm's differentiator is that it takes care of both the architecture and the construction of its clients' projects-- it's an all-in-one. I wrote the copy on the home page and gave the website design a refresh. There was too much content on the site to do a complete overhaul, so the client and I agreed that I would take care of the most high-traffic pages, such as the projects pages and the blog. With the exception of the logo and font, which were there before my time, I created full visual branding for the company, and established its presence on Facebook and LinkedIn. I also addressed human resource recruitment needs by developing a strategy to focus on Iconica team members and to showcase them as individuals, experts and thought leaders. As a result, talented designers with ideas to offer became more attracted to the company and reporters reached out for interviews. Finally, I worked with an architectural photographer to establish visual assets and highlight them across multi-media channels, as well as the site. Clients and associates noticed the changes and the company received positive feedback. Explore the samples below, and think about how your company can benefit from something like this.

Iconica home page

On this home page the copy articulated the brand message that it is an upscale status quo disruptor. The design refresh made the site look cleaner, more cutting edge, yet visually compelling. The client wanted to keep a personal, conversational tone while communicating that this is a premium brand. 

Ribbon cutting- river valley bank

This piece doubled as a press release and a blog article. I wrote it on behalf of Iconica but River Valley Bank also used it to promote its brand.

Hot Traffic on the Ice in a Design-Build Showcase at The Edgewater

This piece had a double focus: human resources, and community engagement. Part of my mission in working with Iconica was to help recruit the best talent. Engineers and architects are notoriously hard to recruit because they tend to stay put for long periods of time. So, how could we make Iconica a desirable place to work? One way was to highlight team members who do neat extracurricular projects that also help the community. Who wouldn't want to be recognized for doing interesting and helpful things? The second focus was to show that the company is involved in its community and gives back through community engagement.

The Beacon

The Beacon is a comprehensive day resource center for people who are experiencing homelessness in Dane Co., WI. It is the first of its kind because it brings many services under one roof that serve to address the root causes of homelessness, by giving people access to things such as laundry machines, computer stations, mailboxes, childcare, showers, access to a variety of health services, and more. I directed the public relations, and copywriting on this project. I led the community involvement strategy, customer journey, name and tagline writing, content writing, organized three highly-public press conferences with the mayor’s office, and established the social media marketing strategy.  Currently, The Beacon is in operation and is serving the homeless, like no other provider-- with many preventative and essential services all under one roof.