Signals A&BC’s Renewed Commitment to Strengthen Connections Between Chicago’s Thriving Arts and Business Communities

CHICAGO, IL. October 20, 2017 • The Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC), a non-profit organization that brings together members of Chicago’s arts and business communities, announced today that its Board of Directors elected two new members.

Judy Brennan, Managing Director of Reputation Management at Ogilvy & Mather and Evan Trent, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Heidrick & Struggles, have joined the Board to bring their respective areas of expertise in communications and strategy development to support A&BC’s mission to harness the strengths of Chicago’s cultural and corporate communities. 

“When Kristin Larsen joined as executive director earlier this year, we made a pledge to recruit the very best, most talented leaders to the Arts & Business Council’s already outstanding board,” said Joel Farran, Chairman of the organization’s Board of Directors. “Judy and Evan bring a passion for the arts and a combined expertise in communications, strategy development and leadership that will be critical as we double down this year to better serve our customers, strengthen our partnerships, and build value for our arts and business communities here in Chicago. It’s an enormously satisfying time to be part of this vibrant organization, and today’s announcement adds to our ability to deliver on our promises.”

“Chicago is an extraordinary marketplace for partnerships between the art and business communities,” Farran added. “The Arts & Business Council represents a unique platform to bring these two pillars of Chicago together in partnership and collaboration to underscore our city’s profile as one of the best places in the country to make art, make a living, and make a life.”

A public relations practitioner for over 20 years, Judy Brennan has deep experience in a range of communications disciplines spanning brand communications and issues & crisis, all focused on reputation management. She specializes in counseling companies and their leadership on articulating their vision and developing opinion platforms on issues impacting their business. She designs and leads integrated communications campaigns to help her clients raise corporate and management visibility, navigate challenging situations, and close the gap between reality and perception about their companies.

Evan Trent is Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development at Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ:HSII) the premiere global provider of executive search and leadership consulting to the world’s most successful organizations. At Heidrick, he is responsible for global enterprise strategy as well as delivering new growth platforms through mergers, acquisition, and joint ventures.      

A&BC has sustained a 32-year legacy by strengthening arts and cultural institutions’ organizational capacity and effectiveness through the expertise and innovation of Chicago’s private sector. With A&BC, business professionals enhance their corporate workplace performance through skills-based volunteering projects. Furthermore, A&BC trains individuals looking to become highly-qualified and sought-after leaders on boards of directors for nonprofit arts organizations throughout Chicago.

Visit http://artsbiz-chicago.org for more information.

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Arts & Business Council of Chicago

The mission of the Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC) is to strengthen non-profit arts organizations by bringing resources and expertise to the sector through consulting, training, research, and relationships. A&BC is a subsidiary of Americans for the Arts and the fiscal agent of ArtCore, a non-merging collaborative partnership between Arts & Business Council of Chicago, Audience Architects, and Chicago Cultural Alliance.

 

Contact

Name: Kristin Larsen
Title:   Executive Director
E-Mail: [email protected]