Chicago Program

	Sheila Penrose Director & Chairman of the Board, Jones Lang LaSalle Sheila Penrose is a Director of three corporate boards, McDonald’s, Jones Lang LaSalle, and DataCard Group. She is Chairman of the Board of Jones Lang LaSalle, chairs the Nominating and Governance Committees of two companies and serves on five other board committees. Sheila co-founded and chairs Corporate Leadership Center, a partnership between major corporations and Kellogg School of Management. She formerly served on the boards of Nalco Chemical and eFunds Corp and was Executive Advisor to Boston Consulting Group. The first woman named to Northern Trust Corporation’s management committee, Sheila was President of Corporate and Institutional Services, a billion dollar business with client assets of $1.5 trillion in more than 80 markets worldwide. Before she joined Northern Trust, she was Economic advisor to the British Treasury. Sheila received her undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Birmingham in England and her graduate degree from London School of Economics and Political Science, subsequently attending the Executive Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is active in a number of civic and philanthropic organizations.
	Sheli Rosenberg Retired CEO, President & Vice Chairwoman, Equity Group Investments, Inc. Sheli Z. Rosenberg is the retired Chief Executive Officer, President and Vice Chairwoman of Equity Group Investments, Inc. She joined Equity in 1980 as General Counsel. Equity is a Chicago-based, privately held investment company, led by Samuel Zell, whose $10 billion in annual revenues is generated from 27 privately held companies, direct controlling interests in 15 publicly traded corporations, and a 600 property real estate portfolio. Ms. Rosenberg has been instrumental in the structuring and managing of six investment funds with total assets of over $2 billion resulting in acquisitions and dispositions of over $10 billion in assets and seven initial public offerings of New York Stock Exchange companies. She sits on the boards of five New York Stock Exchange corporations: CVS/Caremark Corporation, Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., Equity Residential Properties Trust, Ventas, Inc. and Nanosphere, Inc. Prior to joining Equity, Ms. Rosenberg was one of six managing partners at Schiff Hardin & Waite, Chicago, specializing in real estate, finance and corporate law. A forceful advocate for women in business, Ms. Rosenberg is a past president of The Chicago Network, and director of The National Partnership for Women & Families, and The Women’s Issues Network Foundation. Most recently at J. L. Kellogg Graduate School she is a co-founder and president of the initiative for the new Center for Executive Women. Crain’s Chicago Business named her one of the 100 Most Influential Persons in Chicago and is listed in Who’s Who in America. Ms. Rosenberg is a graduate of Tufts University and Northwestern University School of Law. She has two grown children and resides with her husband in Chicago.
	Dr. Victoria Medvec Founder & Executive Director, Center for Executive Women, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University Dr. Victoria Medvec is the Adeline Barry Davee Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, as well as a founder and the Executive Director of the Center for Executive Women at the Kellogg School. The Center focuses on moving more women onto corporate boards and into senior leadership positions in Fortune 1000 companies. She speaks across the country on topics relating to women in leadership, corporate governance, and board decision making. As CEO of Critical Decision Partners, she teaches negotiations and strategic decision making to CEOs and senior-level executives from companies around the world. Her clients include: General Electric, Merck, McKinsey, Fidelity Investments, McDonalds, Bristol Myers Squibb, CBRichard Ellis, Hewlett Packard, 3i, DDB, Exelon, Abbott Labs, Ernst & Young, BP, PWC, Leo Burnett, Booz Allen and Hamilton, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Kaiser Permanente, Baker & McKenzie, United Healthcare, Akzo Nobel, YPO, DraftFCB, SAC, Novartis, Shell, Warburg Pincus, and Microsoft. A renowned scholar in the areas of negotiations and decision making, her research is published in top academic journals such as Psychological Review, highlighted in numerous popular media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Today Show. Dr. Medvec serves on the board of directors and the Compensation Committee for Guaranty Financial Corp., a publicly traded company. She also serves on the advisory board for Shields Meneley Partners, a private global career management company specializing in CEO transition.
	Panel Facilitator Debra Nelms Founder, Network Search, Inc. Debra is the founder of Network Search, Inc., a consulting firm focused on strategic initiatives that “move the needle for women.” Leveraging her 25 years of executive coaching, executive search and organizational build-out leadership she specializes in developing high impact executive and board of director programs that are innovative and results based. They include Board Selection Strategies, Gap Analysis, Board Candidate Vetting and Senior Executive Development services that serve as catalysts for more women and inclusion on corporate boards. Prior to Network Search, Debra was a partner at Baker, Nelms & Montgomery, a boutique executive search firm based in Chicago. She co-founded the Professional Services business unit which specialized in Direct Admit Partner Searches, Board of Director Searches, The Emerging Technology Consultancy practice and The Advisory Board Services group focused on developing and managing advisory boards and councils within public, private and not for profit organizations. As a speaker, webinar and workshop developer, Debra is sought out for her passion and expertise on diversity at both corporate and board levels. Recent engagements include the Independent Directors Association (IDA), USA–Russian Business Forum and the Center for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, Russia; Balancing the Boardroom. For W2W Link (www.w2wlink.com) a 3 Part Web-based seminar on Board Readiness. The Women Foodservice Forum (WFF); Roadmap to your Board Seat and The Committee of 200; Where are the Women on Corporate Boards? Deb is an alumnae of The Art Institute of Chicago, resides on Chicago’s north side and is an active mentor and board coach. She also participates in several community and civic organizations.