CCB_20241209

How Grubhub lost its edge in food delivery

An industry pioneer got out anked by Silicon Valley rivals, but it gave Chicago tech cred at an important time | By

John Pletz

wenty years after it was founded, Grubhub remains one of the most beloved names in Chicago tech — if not necessarily one of its most enduring companies.

Grubhub was a pioneer in enabling consumers to nd and order restaurant food online. e company went public a decade ago and in 2021 fetched a $7.3 billion price when it was acquired by European rival Just Eat Takeaway.com.

Now it’s being sold to New York-based private company Wonder in what looks like a re sale that values the company at just $650 million — a deal that includes just $150 million in cash. Grubhub’s local headcount is down to roughly 750 from a peak of

Private-equity dealmaking set to surge in January

ago, 31 deals for Chicago companies were made.

By Mark Weinraub

Lower interest rates and clarity about the political environment should make for a revved-up dealmaking environment in 2025 from private-equity rms ush with cash.

e slow exit activity of recent years has made private-equity investors impatient as they wait for returns on aging investments, which also should contribute to an acceleration in deal ows, said Keith Campbell, global privateequity lead at Chicago consulting rm West Monroe. e rm esti-

mated there was $2.62 trillion in dry powder for private-equity shops to deploy as of July.

“We have seen, within the last couple of months, our private-equity clients begin to prepare their portfolio companies for exiting next year,” Campbell told Crain's in an interview. “We now have a good prediction for 2025 that things will pick up.”

A slower-than-expected 2024, stemming from delays in interest rate cuts and disparities between

what sellers are asking for their companies compared to what buyers are willing to pay, has made rms even more excited for a pickup in activity in 2025.

“ e bankers are giddy,” Campbell said. “We see sell-side prep already for next year.”

Activity in the Chicago market has already begun to perk up, with 60 deals for Chicago companies made in the third quarter of 2024, the second highest of 16 cities surveyed by KPMG. A year

DAN MCGRATH

Getting the coaching thing right hasn’t been the Bears’ strength. PAGE

West Monroe’s clients are readying their portfolio companies to hit the market in early January, with some putting together nancial data for potential buyers, a move that is often not done until a bidder has entered the space.

“What should we be thinking of doing?” Campbell said. “What should we shore up? How do we tell that sell-side story to try to maximize valuation? ere really are a handful of things that owners and private-equity sponsors will do.”

e early prep could mean many deals will be consummat-

ed by the end of the rst quarter. Campbell also said privateequity rms were eager to employ arti cial intelligence tools to boost the value of companies they acquire. He said applications to boost revenue growth and rein in costs were already available and seen as critical to success.

“ e private-equity rms themselves have hired data scientists and are soliciting the help of consultants to tell them if they buy the company where the opportunity is,” he said. “A lot of them are deploying AI already into their portfolios. AI is where a lot of these

A CHICAGOAN TO KNOW

Dr. Michael Adkesson is leading an ambitious Next Century Plan at Brook eld Zoo. PAGE 8

Keith Campbell

Coaching hasn’t been the Bears’ strength

For the rst time in their 104-year history, the Chicago Bears have red a coach midseason.

at’s a welcome break with tradition, if you buy into the plausible theory that the coach in question, Matt Eber us, had to go. He did. e botched handling of the nal half-minute of a 23-20 anksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions, and the look of bewilderment on the coach’s face as those 30 seconds ticked away, were reason enough.

Eber us also had priors, beginning with a 14-32 record for two-plus seasons, a six-game losing streak and an uncanny penchant for coming up short in the one-score games that separate the good from the bad in the NFL.

I type these words with no particular relish. Eber us had visited the school where I work a few times and came across as decent, down-to-earth and approachable. Kids can always spot a phony, but the verdict on Eber us was unanimous: genuinely good guy whom you could pull for to do well. But he didn’t, and the Bears did what they had to do to maybe too good a guy.

And as if to remind us that they’re still the Bears, they handled the ring as clumsily as they could, announcing it two hours after Eber us had held his weekly post-mortem with reporters and made one nal, futile attempt to explain the inexplicable, which probably made things worse. No one from the team’s brain trust (heh-heh) was available to take questions or elaborate on press-release statements or explain the thinking behind elevating to interim head coach a man with three games of coordinator experience to call upon.  at will come. In the meantime, we’re free to speculate on what’s next. If you have followed this team, that’s a scary proposition, although the presence of a real quarterback makes the job more appealing than it otherwise might be.

Whether it was Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron, Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy or Eber us, the Bears have not been able to get this coaching thing right since Mike Ditka stomped o into the sunset after 11 tumultuous but mostly successful seasons.

Maybe that’s because Jerry Angelo, Phil Emery, Ryan Pace and now Ryan Poles had a hand in the hires.

Of what we’ve seen, only Angelo would pass a course in Team

Building 101 — the Bears made four playo appearances in his 11 seasons and played in Super Bowl XLI under Smith.

Lovie didn’t distinguish himself in subsequent stops at Tampa Bay and the University of Illinois, but his 81-63 record is easily the best among the seven would-be Ditkas, and he was coming o a 10-6 season when he was dumped.

Too defensive-minded in an increasingly o ensive game, Emery o ered by way of explanation. His solution? Trestman. Mr. Incompetent, meet Mr. Inept.

Poor Eber us was still packing up his o ce when the usually credible Athletic put forth a list of 15 possible successors — boy, that narrows the eld.

e Sean McVay “tree” will be invoked as the process unfolds, as if the Rams’ coach were a majestic California redwood, branches shading and roots underpinning the pro game’s history. e man is 38 years old, but very much an archetype: young, pedigreed, o ensiveminded . . . the football version of eo Epstein, with former associates in high demand. Every team has to have one, even as 66-year-old Andy Reid, 62-year-old John Harbaugh and 60-year-old Sean Payton keep cranking out winners.

e Eber us denouement overshadowed another Bears-related item that had slipped back into the news for a minute: an acknowledgement that much is forgiven in Arlington Heights and the former racetrack property could be back in play as a stadium site.

It’s about time. ere could have been shovels in the ground if the Bears had made the commitment earlier.

Team President Kevin Warren is adept at using his full-bore ambition to get his way, but he misread the room in unveiling that lakefront Taj Mahal as his vision of the Bears’ new home. George Lucas’ Star Wars museum was a toolshed by comparison, but Friends of the Parks and fellow environmentalists succeeded in scuttling it — in their world, the lakefront remains free from commercial development.

Sam Zell estate puts riverfront of ce building up for sale

By Dan McGrath

A riverfront o ce building that late real estate mogul Sam Zell owned for nearly ve decades has gone up for sale as his estate looks to unload his properties more than a year after his death.

Zell's investment rm, Equity Group Investments, or EGI, has hired brokers from real estate services rm Eastdil Secured to seek a buyer for the 26-story building at 2 N. Riverside Plaza, according to sources familiar with the o ering. Zell, who died last year at age 81, originally bought the art deco building in the West Loop in 1975. ere is no speci c asking price for the 579,000-square-foot property, which served as the longtime home of the Chicago Daily News. But sources said bids are expected to be well short of the balance of a $65 million loan from lender Voya Financial that EGI borrowed against the property in 2016. at mortgage isn't scheduled to mature until 2036, according to Cook County property records.

A sale price below the outstanding debt would put 2 N. Riverside in the same bucket as many downtown o ce buildings that are mired in distress. e remote work movement fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed downtown ofce vacancy to a record high and combined with elevated interest rates to hammer o ce property values, wiping out massive chunks of equity for landlords and pushing many lenders to take painful nancial haircuts.

e pain has been especially acute for lower-tier, or Class B, ofce buildings with lots of vacancy, like 2 N. Riverside. Companies have

And against a backdrop of underperforming schools, underfunded pensions, decaying infrastructure and a perception that crime is everywhere, there’s not much appetite for public money going toward private stadiums for billionaire owners.

Especially owners who don’t demonstrate much aptitude.

predominantly cut back on workspace and ocked to the newest and most-updated buildings downtown as they look to inspire employees to work in person.

e Riverside building is just 54% leased, according to industry publication Real Estate Alert, which rst reported that the property was being marketed for sale. at's well below the 74% average for downtown o ce buildings. Equity Residential, a real estate investment trust previously led by Zell, is the tower's largest tenant.

e o ering comes as Zell's estate looks to sell o properties he personally owned amid a wideranging real estate portfolio. Another Zell-owned property, the 292unit Cobbler Square Lofts apartment complex in Old Town, is

More seats, more parking, more amenities, a dome . . . the new facility has to be built someplace where all that ts. Even the Bears should realize that.

Correction

◗ In Crain’s Notable Nonpro t Board Leaders that published in the Dec. 2 issue, Michael Monticello’s pro le should have noted that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago served a total of nearly 2 million people during his board leadership, not annually.

under contract to be sold to local investors for close to $90 million.

Spokesmen for EGI and Voya did not respond to requests for comment.

e Riverside building was the rst Chicago o ce tower built using air rights above train tracks when it was completed in 1929. e property stood out at the time for its expansive plaza adjacent to the tower and overlooking the river. Zell mulled plans over the years to develop another tower on that plaza. He hired an architecture rm in early 2008 to draw up plans for a new o ce tower on the site, but didn't pursue the project as the Great Recession set in.

Eastdil Secured brokers Bryan Rosenberg and David Caprile are marketing 2 N. Riverside for sale.

Dan McGrath

2 N. Riverside Plaza | COSTAR GROUP

Where Chicago ranks in tech workforce diversity

Brookings looked at the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, analyzing jobs that it classi es as ‘highly digital’ |

Chicago is among the top one-third of large cities when it comes to the diversity of its tech-related workforce, according to a new Brookings Institution study.

Brookings looked at the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, analyzing computer, engineering and management jobs that it classi es as “highly digital,” or involving intensive knowledge and use of computer technology, across all industries.

e data shows a Chicago digital workforce that is 35.9% female, in line with New York but slightly ahead of Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston. Hispanic people hold 11.7% of computer, engineering and

By John Pletz

Computer, engineering and management jobs with a tech focus play an outsized role in the economy.

@properties Christie’s to be acquired by Compass

Founded 24 years ago as a technology-driven upstart, the Chicago company grew to become the 8th-largest residential brokerage in the U.S.

By Dennis Rodkin

@properties, a real estate brokerage that launched in Chicago 24 years ago and grew to have international reach with the acquisition of the Christie’s real estate brand, is being acquired by New York-based Compass, the companies announced on Dec. 2.

e deal, terms of which were not disclosed, “is a very complementary union that respects our unique brands,” Mike Golden, co-CEO of @properties Christie’s, said in prepared comments in the press release announcing the sale. His coCEO and co-founder, ad Wong, told Crain’s they would not comment beyond the press release issued by Compass.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the rms, but Real Estate News reports the sale is a $444 million deal.

e sale should be nalized in 2025, according to the press release.

Since entering the Chicago market in 2017, Compass has grown its footprint here through a series of acquisitions, including signing the city’s top-selling real estate team, led by Je Lowe, and by attracting several bou-

tique brokerages with a technology package they were too small to a ord on their own.

Acquiring @properties Christie’s is Compass’s biggest gulp to date in the Chicago-area market. @properties Christie’s International Real Estate is the nation’s eighth-largest residential real estate brokerage by volume, according to RealTrends. It’s also

Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the rms, but Real Estate News reports the sale is a $444 million deal.

by far the largest in the Chicago area, with $14.4 billion in sales volume in 2022, the last year that RealTrends broke out its data expressly for Chicago. e brokerage with the next-biggest business, Coldwell Banker, had less than half the volume of @properties Christie’s that year.

Baird & Warner, ranked third in 2022 with $6.3 billion in sales

A look at MacKenzie Scott’s 2024 local donations so far

The billionaire philanthropist has given a total of $57 million to 24 organizations this year

By Brandon Dupré

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given big sums to Chicago nonprofits since she went on her donation spree in 2020. Here's how 2024 is stacking up.

Scott and her philanthropic foundation, Yield Giving, have donated a total of $57 million to 24 Chicago nonpro ts so far in 2024, according to her website, which includes the $15 million donation to the a ordable housing lender Community Investment Corp. reported by Crain’s yesterday, her largest single donation in Chicago this year.

In 2023, Scott recorded $62

million in donations to Chicago nonpro ts, according to her foundation’s records. In 2022, she gave over $160 million and topped $146 million in 2021 and $147 million in 2020.

While this year’s numbers are short of the high-water mark of donations made in 2022, the 2024 gures are sure to grow as there appear to be delays between her donations and what is listed on the site’s database. It’s unclear how regularly the site is updated and how exhaustive the list is.

Some donation listings do not disclose an amount.

On its website, the foundation says: “Information in this database is updated periodically,

following consultation with the organizations themselves to afford them an opportunity to share it in the ways that best

serve their e orts.” Scott on Nov. 25 broke a record at the nonpro t Community Investment Corp. with her $15 mil-

lion donation, the largest single donation in the nonpro t’s 50year history and the second from the billionaire philanthropist. She awarded the nonpro t $8 million in 2020.

“We’re thrilled and incredibly grateful (for this donation),” said Stacie Young, president and CEO of CIC, which lends capital to businesses and rehabbers of multifamily housing in low- and moderate-income communities.

“It's really unusual that we would have this kind of latitude (with a donation or grant), and it has really enabled us to ll gaps in what we see are needs in the marketplace that we couldn't otherwise do,” Young said.

In typical Scott fashion, the donation is unrestricted, allowing

F REE PIK

MacKenzie Scott

Italian Village opens basement restaurant Sotto

The fourth generation now involved in the century-old, family owned business is looking to appeal to younger neighborhood customers

By Ally Marotti

e almost century-old Italian Village restaurant complex in the Loop debuting a new spot in the basement, as the fourth generation of the family business looks to attract a younger neighborhood crowd.

Sotto, which opened last week, replaces La Cantina Enoteca, one of three restaurants that comprised Italian Village until it shut down during the pandemic.

An Italian wine bar that opened in the mid-1950s, La Cantina Enoteca had wood paneling and drew locals on cold nights to its cozy basement locale, said Jonathan Capitanini, president of the Italian Village complex. It was a spot for locals to grab a drink, not a place to wine and dine a business client.

e Capitaninis are going for a similar ethos with Sotto. ey renovated the space and modernized the plumbing and lighting in the circa-1800s building. ey reused the wood paneling and kept the original bar, but will roll out new drink and food menus with Italian-inspired dishes. ey’ll turn o the oldschool Italian tunes and operas in lieu of di erent music.

“We dubbed it an ‘Italian bar with Chicago sensibility,’ ” Capitanini said. “ is non-stu y place where you can get great drinks, great food and just relax. e heart of the Loop is oftentimes not a place people relax.”

Operating a restaurant in the Loop has been fraught with challenges in recent years, as post-pandemic exible work schedules have fundamentally changed operators' business models. Loop restaurants once catered to business diners or the lunchtime crowd, who ocked downtown en masse during the

work week and often stuck around after 5 p.m. for happy hour or dinner. Now, Chicago’s average o ce occupancy hovers around half of what it was prepandemic, according to data from real estate technology rm Kastle Systems. Mondays and Fridays see even fewer commuters.

Capitanini, whose title at the restaurant also includes “head dishwasher,” is not worried about that. He sees the situation as an opportunity for the Loop to shift toward residential occupancy and garner more of a neighborhood vibe. Sotto is aimed toward that shift.

e restaurant will be closed Sundays and Mondays. Capitanini said Sotto’s mid-week clients will likely be o ce workers, while Friday and Saturday they could be someone else — maybe tourists from nearby hotels or suburbanites in to visit a museum or watch a show.

“I come to work every single day and I look at the parking lots, the people walking around, and they are my age,” said Capitanini, 28. “It is young people that are here because they actually want to be at work. To some extent, there are limitations.

“We just have to be aware of what the trends are and change with them.”

Opening under a legacy restaurant umbrella will certainly help Sotto weather the challenges, said James Gray, CEO of food and beverage consulting rm Calibrate Coaching. e Capitaninis will need to be clear in their messaging to consumers and market their story as the new generation coming in to win over new, younger customers.

“Being Italian Village, they probably have an upper hand,” said Gray. “If it was anybody else going into downtown to do that

and trying something similar, I don’t know that I’d be nearly as optimistic.”

Capitanini’s great-grandfather, Alfredo Capitanini, opened Italian Village’s rst restaurant, e Village, in 1927. He had immigrated from a town in Tuscany a few years before, landing jobs as a dishwasher and working his way up through line cook and chef positions. When he was able to open his own restaurant, he modeled it after his hometown, adorning the walls with murals of the Tuscan foothills. He bought the building at 71 W. Monroe St. in the mid-1940s, a move his great-grandson said helped keep the business alive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next generation opened La Cantina Enoteca in the basement of the building in 1955. Styled to make diners feel they were walking into a wine bar in Florence, it evolved into a

steakhouse later. The family opened a fine-dining option called Florentine Room on the top floor of the building in 1961, at a time when Italian food was not considered elevated cuisine. The third generation turned Florentine Room into Vivere in 1989 to modernize the restaurant.

Vivere and La Cantina both closed during the pandemic, a time of extreme tumult for the restaurant world. Chicago restaurants were forced to halt inperson dining for months. When they started reopening in 2021, they were hit with in ation. e cost of eating out is up about 30% since 2019, and some restaurants struggle to maintain customer loyalty.

e Village subsisted on a strong take-out business, holiday take-home dinners and other revenue streams. Vivere is now only available as an event or

private-dining space. Capitanini said there are plans to reopen Vivere in the next few years.  Capitanini and his sister, 30year-old marketing manager Giovanna Capitanini, in recent years left other careers to enter the family business. She came on board about ve years ago; Jonathan Capitanini joined the business after the pandemic, following a career in consulting that included a stint at McKinsey and work in another restaurant group.  e two opened a pop-up in the basement space called Bar Sotto about a year ago to test their new concept. e family deemed it a success, as nearby hotels sent guests and the long dark basement turned lively again. Bar Sotto will reopen adjacent to Sotto.

“We’re reaching a di erent type of guest, which was our goal in the end,” Giovanna Capitanini said.

Fresh off a James Beard win, Lula Cafe starts something new

By Jack Grieve

Lula Cafe owner Jason Hammel has taken over the old Mini Mott lease and turned the Logan Square restaurant at 3057 W. Logan Blvd. into a dynamic space for musical performances, speaker series, pop-up culinary events and more.

LouLou, as the new space is called, seats about 50 guests and feels like a cross between an art gallery and a "really tiny, little, intimate restaurant," Hammel said. e space debuted Dec. 3 with the inaugural edition of "From e Pass," a new speaker series hosted by Hammel. Celebrity chef Rick Bayless was the rst guest.

Hammel's goal with LouLou is to continue the community element of Lula Cafe while minimizing disruptions to its restaurant service. Lula Cafe, which opened in 1999, has long hosted special events like the ones Hammel has planned for LouLou. But the restaurant has become more popular in recent years — it was Chicago's only 2024 James Beard Award winner — and while Hammel celebrates the success, "it takes away from our ability to host smaller events," he said. " is gives us a way of accessing the deep community roots that we've had for the 25 years we've been in Chicago," Hammel said. "It's a very small, intimate, artistic space where we are going

to be doing a bunch of esoteric, interesting events."

Most LouLou events will be open to the public through tickets on Resy. Admission to the "From e Pass" night with Bayless is listed at $85.

Hammel said parts of Lula Cafe's menu will be available at certain events on a curated basis. Again using the Bayless talk as an example, LouLou will serve appetizers before the discussion and a bu et-style meal afterward.

LouLou may also become a brunch restaurant with regular weekend service not tied to any speci c event, though Hammel said that remains a ways down the road.

Sotto replaces La Cantina Enoteca, one of three restaurants that comprised Italian Village. | GIOVANNA CAPITANINI

LouLou from Lula Cafe | WADE HALL VIA LOULOU

CEO’s murder raises some troubling questions for insurers — and for us all

First, a stipulation: No consumer complaint should ever be settled at the point of a gun.

One would like to think this truth is self-evident. And yet, in the wake of the Dec. 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, it seems necessary to restate the idea in the clearest possible terms, because the public reaction to the shooting — particularly on social media — has been almost as troubling as the crime itself.

We're still not exactly sure a beef with the health insurer is what motivated an unknown gunman to open fire on Thompson in broad daylight on a Mid -

of the book title "Delay, Deny, Defend," which describes tactics allegedly used by insurers to reject claims. And Thompson's wife, Paulette, told NBC News her husband had received threats and suggested they could have been related to a “lack of coverage.”

As the news of ompson's murder spread, social media expressions of shock, grief and sympathy were soon overtaken by a tsunami of venom directed at the industry in which he spent a nearly three-decade career. e commentary implying ompson somehow got what was coming to him doesn't bear repeating, but one Florida orthopedic surgeon succinctly captured the more civil essence of the discourse: " e fact that every doctor thought, 'I'm sure this is related to denying access to care' . . . shows how bad our system is."

There’s the unsettling realization that the Thompson shooting signals Americans’ growing acceptance of violence as a way to settle civil disputes.

town Manhattan sidewalk. But clues that emerged during the manhunt for the killer suggest it's possible. Bullet casings found at the scene outside the investor conference Thompson meant to attend were inscribed with words such as “delay” and “deny,” reminiscent

PERSONAL

VIEW

And that reality is what the insurance industry is grappling with now as its leaders, along with law enforcement and elected officials, search for answers in this case. To be sure, more regulation is hardly what's needed in the health insurance marketplace, but a more thoughtful and attentive application of the rules already in

place would be a step toward making the system work better for everyone. Industry figures show health care providers nationwide and their patients are dealing with more claims denials than ever, a trend that's forcing them to spend more on resources and staff dedicated to claims appeals. From 2022 to 2023, care denials from commercial and Medicare Advantage plans grew 20% and 55%, respectively, according to data from Chicago-based organizations the American Hospital Association and Syntellis Performance Solutions.

Just as a for-instance, an October  report from the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations shows many insurers have been using arti cialintelligence tools to deny claims from holders of Medicare Advantage plans. As reported in Quartz, the study found UnitedHealthcare's denial rate for postacute care — in other words, transitioning people out of hospitals and back into their homes — among Medicare Advantage patients rose 22.7% in 2022, up from 10.9% in 2020.

As Crain's Katherine Davis and Jon Asplund report, data on claims denial rates by specific insurance providers is unavailable. Although the Affordable Care Act permits regulators to require insurers to disclose information on

claims denials, the feds have so far not collected much of this data and have shared even less with the public, according to a 2023 ProPublica report.

And even as the reverberations of the Thompson case rocked the industry, word came that insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had introduced a proposal earlier this month that would set time limits on insurance coverage for anesthesia, stating it would deny claims for procedures that went on longer than allowed. After facing backlash from physicians and elected officials, Anthem announced Dec. 5 that it was backing away from the plan.

The disconnect between what customers pay for health care coverage and what they and their care providers actually get in return is a widely recognized chasm, representing a monumental public-relations crisis the insurance industry must now reckon with.

For the rest of us, there's the unsettling realization that the Thompson shooting signals Americans' growing acceptance of violence as a way to settle civil disputes.

"Now the norms of violence are spreading into the commercial sector," as Robert Pape, director of the University of Chicago's project on security and threats, put it to The Guardian. "That's what I saw when I saw this."

Mapping the next steps toward the world’s energy transition

The University of Chicago recently did something extraordinary.

Recognizing the urgent need to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the university opened a new, agship Institute for Climate & Sustainable Growth — the rst of its kind for Illinois’ top-ranked university.

In recognition, well-known names in politics, academia and energy ocked to the David Rubenstein Forum in downtown Chicago, including Gov. JB Pritzker; former U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, cofounder and chair of the One Country Project; U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin; and John Podesta, President Joe Biden’s senior adviser for International Climate Policy. I joined former Department of Energy Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar, and Shirley Meng, a world-leading researcher in energy storage technology, on a panel focused on the growth of battery storage technology and the demands on the grid from increased electri cation needs. ere was spirited debate and a shared commitment to driving action on climate change.

But now that the panels have concluded

and the launch celebration is behind us, how will this new institute do what it has committed: lead the way in developing solutions to the complex challenges of the world’s energy transition?

Despite an impressive push for startup funds, money won’t be the only answer. Even the laudable hiring of distinguished new faculty in elds ranging from climate economics and politics to geoengineering and materials science won’t do it. Not entirely.

If the institute is to be a success in its e orts to take on, in its own words, “the greatest challenge confronting the globe today,” it will need to link arms with a critical partner: its local energy company. Exelon, through our six local energy companies — including Commonwealth Edison, here in the Chicago area — is a leader in the energy transition. at transition is demanding transformational change across the entire energy system and the economy to achieve the net-zero carbon emissions experts tell us will help turn the tide on climate change.

E orts to decarbonize, achieve netzero or usher in new forms of renewable

energy all manifest at your car, home or business with critical infrastructure built and maintained by Exelon/ComEd. Our role as your energy company is to upgrade and operate an electric grid that can meet the needs of a clean energy future. e electron, if you will, starts and stops with us.

More is being required of the grid we know today — from dealing with greater and more frequent weather threats, to preparing for more electri cation of vehicles, more solar, wind and other energy resources, and accommodating the incredible surge in energy capacity needed to power data centers and the rise of articial intelligence.

We’re also focused on equity, making sure underserved and under-resourced communities — the ones most a ected by air pollution and other e ects of climate change — are not overlooked in the energy transformation.

Ultimately, the goal is not just a decarbonized energy system, but one that is also smarter, more reliable — a ordable and equitable.

But we can’t do it alone.

ough we have brilliant researchers in-house, we maximize our R&D impact by pursuing it in partnership with industry, national labs and universities. We are actively involved in research with many partners to test and scale emerging technologies needed for the energy transition. Locally, we have partnerships with Northwestern and the University of Illinois School of Engineering, for example, and Argonne National Laboratory in DuPage County, one of the most important research organizations in the country.

Although we are experts in our own right, utilities like Exelon/ComEd are not research organizations. We rely on the Ph.D.s, professors, researchers and specialists at universities and institutes — like the one just launched at the University of Chicago — who have deep scienti c knowledge and can test out nascent theories and cutting-edge technologies for us. But this is, and must be, a symbiotic relationship.

Universities and research institutes are doing groundbreaking conceptual work.

See ENERGY on Page 7

In a time of uncertainty, count on nonpro ts to keep innovating

One certain result of the recent elections is that there will be change. It’s just not clear what that change will be. For every sector of society — public, private and nonpro t — in organizations of all sizes, it is moments like this that put a spotlight on the importance of innovation.

Here in Chicago, we have had a front-row seat as the power of innovation has revealed itself as a key driver of the regional economy, and there is no question that the spirit of innovation will continue to thrive.

One sector that has received less attention as the region’s innovation economy has emerged is the nonpro t sector. But there, as well, the news is good. I believe the nonpro t sector in the Chicago region, because it is alive with innovation, is well-positioned to manage the challenges and opportunities that the coming years will bring.

at spirit of innovation in the sector was on full display recently at the 23rd annual Chicago Innovation Awards, which received more nonpro t nominees than any prior year. e winners demonstrate the impact of nonpro ts creating new solutions for unmet needs.

Here are a few examples:

◗ United Way of Metro Chicago won for 211 Metro Chicago, a free, 24/7, multilingual one-stop-shop helpline born out of the pandemic, when people were seeking essential services through what was previously a very fragmented system.

◗ Feeding America won for MealConnect, a mobile app that provides food banks, food pantries

ENERGY

From Page 6

e University of Chicago’s new institute will surely do the same. But research organizations need us to convey the practical applications — how the science and lab work apply to the utilities who will need to deploy it on behalf of customers.

As an example, Exelon is currently collaborating on a Department of Energy project led by MIT in partnership with Sandia National Labs and GTI Energy to develop a multilayer coating that can protect hard steels from material embrittlement in the presence of hydrogen. If successful, it will save utilities and customers money because we will be able to repurpose existing steel pipes, rather than having to replace them.

We have a tremendous need in our world to drastically slash carbon emissions, minimize our dependence on fossil fuels, keep up with the lightning-fast pace of new energy technologies and keep energy a ordable for all.

Universities and utilities must marry that need with practical solutions — solutions that only come when we work together.

Calvin Butler is president and CEO of Exelon, corporate parent of Commonwealth Edison. He serves on the board of governors of Argonne National Laboratory.

and food donors with real-time information and logistics management, increasing e ciency in the food rescue process nationwide.

◗ As DEI programs are being questioned, Chicago-area nonpro ts are working hard to demonstrate the value of ensuring that diverse voices have a seat at the table. Disability Lead is the only program in the U.S. that trains disabled people to take leadership roles and actively connects them to opportunities.

Proven in Chicago, they’re now expanding their model across the country.

◗ Chicago-region nonpro ts are focused on new technologies that have enormous promise but clearly will need guardrails. Spearheaded by Northwestern University and UL Research Institutes, the Center for Advancing the Safety of Machine Intelligence is a collaborative initiative designed to ensure that the proliferation of arti cial intelligence in all aspects of society is done ethically, safely and with the wellness of human beings as core principles.

◗ A remarkable example of government teaming up with the nonprof-

it sector is the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development’s win for its Manufacturing Reinvented program, which assists small local manufacturers with their highestpriority needs, such as workforce training, operational improvements and capital support.  ese are just a few examples of our region’s innovators in the nonpro t sector that were celebrated earlier this month for their unique solutions that create value for others. ere are many others in this powerful sector.

Fred Rogers, host of the beloved

“Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” famously said: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always nd people who are helping.’ “To put a twist on this good advice: In times of need, look for the innovators. ere are more than 13,000 nonpro t organizations in the city of Chicago ready to apply the Chicagostyle spirit of innovation in adjusting to whatever changes the coming years will bring.

Luke Tanen is president and CEO of Chicago Innovation.

Talent

Dr. Michael Adkesson of the Brook eld Zoo

Dr. Michael Adkesson is president and CEO of Brook eld Zoo Chicago, where he’s leading the organization’s ambitious 15-year Next Century Plan. Already completed is the $10 million renovation of the Seven Seas dolphin habitat. In progress is the $66 million Tropical Forests, scheduled to open next year with four new outdoor habitats for gorillas, orangutans and monkeys; a new Gorilla Conservation Center; and the new home to the King Conservation Leadership Academy for youth. Adkesson and his wife live in Lemont with their three children, ages 14, 11 and 2. I By

How did you get where you are?

At 8 years old, I joined the children’s “Zoo Crew” at Scovill Zoo in Decatur. It included classroom instruction and experience handling animals, and then we did chores such as cleaning the animal barn or skimming duckweed o a pond. I loved every minute, became a junior leader and then a part-time zookeeper.

A recent advance in veterinary medicine?

Brook eld Zoo is one of seven institutions working to develop the much-needed Zoo & Aquarium Radiology Database. Our goal is to amass more than 10,000 medical images of 500 species by 2025. Most unappreciated zoo animal?

Bats. ey get a bad rap, but from an evolutionary standpoint, their ability to echolocate and catch insects in mid- ight is magni cent. We would be drowning in mosquitos without them. And honestly, some of them are really cute. Our Rodrigues fruit bats have a very adorable, fuzzy face.

A hidden gem at Brook eld?

Swan Lake. People don’t venture out to that far western edge, but it’s a beautiful lake surrounded by a nature path that wanders through old-growth forest.

A memorable story about treating animals?

Four years ago we did a novel, one-sided hip replacement on a tiger here who had severe arthritis. Because tigers have so much force in their legs, she broke the implant, but our backup surgery was successful and it signi cantly reduced her pain. Free time fun?

My kids and I spend a lot of winter Saturdays building Lego sets and watching college basket ball. During the summer we go water skiing and wakeboarding at our cabin in Michigan. I love a good book, too.

What do you recommend?

“ e Alchemy of Air.” It de scribes the use of nitrogen for fertilizer, dating back to seabird guano in South America in the 1800s, and the conservation of birds to protect this resource. It then chronicles the discovery of

Laura Bianchi

nitrogen xation from air to produce fertilizer, which saved millions of people from starvation but was also used to make gunpowder and explosives that killed millions during two world wars.

A favorite quote?

“ e true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” When we planted numerous trees on our property, I told my kids to imagine that one day their grandkids might sit beneath them.

Sterling Bay proposes 39-story

Fulton Market apartment tower

The developer scrapped an 18-story of ce building it planned for Google, pivoting to a plan for a 573-unit residential high-rise

By Danny Ecker

Sterling Bay has scrapped plans for an o ce building across the street from Google's Fulton Market District home in favor of a 39-story apartment tower, adding to the drove of residential projects proposed in the trendy neighborhood.

e Chicago developer is seeking city approval for a 573unit apartment building at 350 N. Morgan St., according to a zoning application set to be introduced next week to the City Council. It's a pivot from the 18-story o ce building city ocials green-lighted in 2019 for the site, which Sterling Bay previously pitched with the address of 1000 W. Carroll Ave.

It's one of the largest proposed apartment buildings in the former meatpacking corridor, where developers over the past few years have built and rolled out plans for thousands of new rental units.

e once-gritty pocket of the West Loop has transformed over the past decade into a hotbed of o ces, trendy restaurants and hotels. And with more than 2,000 apartments now under construction or recently completed, according to data from Integra Realty Resources, Fulton Market is now evolving into a mixed-use district with a burgeoning population and some of the highest apartment rents in the city.

at landscape — combined with the remote work movement's assault on demand for workspace — made Sterling Bay's switch from o ces to apartments

a logical one. It's unclear, however, whether the developer would actually move forward with the project or just tee it up for someone else.

Sterling Bay earlier this year got the City Council to sign o on plans for a 390-unit apartment building at 370 N. Carpenter St. and a 559-unit apartment project at 345 N. Aberdeen St., two properties just steps from the vacant 350 N. Morgan site. But instead of forging ahead with either, the developer has hired brokers to seek buyers for both.

A spokeswoman for the developer did not immediately provide a comment on whether it would take the same approach at 350 N. Morgan. Sterling Bay has been looking to unload a series of properties in Fulton Market and near its stalled Lincoln Yards megaproject on the city's North Side as it navigates lingering fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic on its o ce portfolio and elevated interest rates hampering its ability to pay o maturing debt.

Best known for its o ce projects in Fulton Market like Google's Chicago o ce at 1000 W. Fulton St. and 333 N. Green St., Sterling Bay has dabbled in the corridor's residential boom. e developer landed nancing in early 2022 for a 282-unit apartment building at 160 N. Morgan St. just as interest rates were starting to spike, and completed that 30-story project last year.

e 350 N. Morgan tower would rise 434 feet and include a ve-story podium at its base, according to the zoning application. e building would comply

with the city's a ordable housing requirement ordinance by o ering 115 units, or 20% of the total project, at rates that are a ordable to households making an average of 60% of the area median income, the application said.

A Sterling Bay-led venture bought the 350 N. Morgan St. property just before the onset of the pandemic from Pioneer Wholesale Meat, one of the last remaining meat companies in Fulton Market that relocated to new facilities elsewhere in the city amid the neighborhood's changing character.

Sterling Bay had a deal around the same time to sell the site to Google and develop a new 18story building there for the company, part of a massive o ce expansion by the tech giant on the Near West Side, according to a lawsuit led in 2020 against the developer involving other Fulton Market properties.

But Sterling Bay's agreement with Google fell apart as the public health crisis upended the ofce sector, pushing Google and almost every company to evaluate their future o ce needs, the complaint said.

Sterling Bay razed the former Pioneer building on the property in 2022, and the site bounded by Morgan and Carpenter streets, Carroll Avenue and the Metra tracks running through the neighborhood has sat vacant since.

Google, meanwhile, has set its sights on a much larger o ce presence in the Loop, where it is transforming the James R. ompson Center into its future Chicago home.

The vacant development site at 350 N. Morgan St. | COSTAR GROUP

Engineering design rm Sargent & Lundy tapped to help build nuclear power plants in Ukraine

The rm will identify the best sites to convert into small modular reactors for cleaner energy and enhanced security

By Pawan Naidu

Sargent & Lundy, a Chicagobased engineering design rm, signed a deal to help increase Ukraine's nuclear capacity, joining U.S. e orts to support the Eastern European country amid conict with Russia.

e rm is partnering with ocials from the U.S. and Ukraine to transform coal- red power plants into small modular reactors, or SMRs, for cleaner energy and enhanced nuclear security. Sargent & Lundy will contribute engineering expertise to identify the best sites for conversion.

e e ort, known as Project Phoenix, is a response to the seizure of Ukrainian nuclear sites and the associated security concerns from those actions. “We are gravely concerned with the Russian Federation’s unlawful actions in Ukraine, including forcefully seizing control of nuclear facilities and other violent actions in connection with a number of nuclear facilities, nuclear and other radioactive material,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Crain’s.

President Joe Biden recently authorized Ukraine to use longrange missile strikes on Russia, according to CNN. e decision comes in the aftermath of attacks

on Ukraine's energy supply, which have reportedly caused severe damage to power plants used to power hospitals. “( e actions) have caused and continue to pose serious and direct threats to the safety and security of these facilities and their civilian personnel, signi cantly raising the risk of a nuclear acci-

Maple & Ash wants to open restaurants in four new cities next year

The owners of the beloved Gold Coast steakhouse will debut a new location in Miami in early 2025

By Jack Grieve

e owners of beloved Gold Coast steakhouse Maple & Ash are gearing up for national expansion. In addition to opening a new restaurant in Miami in early 2025, as Crain's reported in August, the team is now teasing three more cities where it hopes to expand next year.

Maple Hospitality Group has set its sights on Santa Barbara, Calif., Boston and New York City for future restaurants, likely in that order. e timeline is yet to be determined, but chef-partner Danny Grant said the goal is to open in 2025.

"It's been in the works for a long time, and now it's just getting to the point where all the dominoes are starting to fall in place and you'll start to see a lot of our new restaurants popping up around the country," Grant said. "We're ready to take the nation by storm."

Maple also plans to launch a private membership club going

"beyond the bounds of sit-down service" in January. "Membership will grant VIP access to all MHG restaurants, along with concierge services from the team’s top curators," the announcement read. " ink ve-star catering and staing for over-the-top events, airport transfer direct to their concepts, a helicopter experience through Miami, or wine trips to the South of France curated by the group's lauded sommeliers."

Partners Jim Lasky and Danny Grant have been eyeing expansion for years. e hospitality group had hoped to open a Maple & Ash in Miami in November 2022, but internal turmoil put those plans on pause when Lasky and former partner David Pisor had a falling out. Opening in Miami and eventually the other cities will not be the rst Maple & Ash ventures outside Illinois. A second restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz., opened just before the COVID pandemic.

dent or incident, which endangers the population of Ukraine, neighboring states and the international community,” the State Department spokesperson said.  e State Department says attacks and seizures of facilities have damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a ecting its ability to generate power. In one of the

more severe examples, the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has led to the reduction in Ukrainian power generation capacity by 6 gigawatts, or enough energy to power 4.5 million homes.

e project with Sargent & Lundy and a consortium of U.S.-based rms will help the ongoing war

e ort and also falls under the U.S. government's FIRST initiative, which aims to help allied countries build SMRs to meet clean-energy needs.

“We believe that supporting Ukraine’s development of new technological capabilities in the clean-energy sector will create the foundation for a modernized and decarbonized energy architecture in Ukraine,” the State Department said.

Since 2022, Ukraine has generated 55% of its electricity from nuclear energy and 21% from coal. Coal also contributes to 42.5% of Ukraine's CO2 emissions, making it the largest source, according to Sargent & Lundy. e impact of the war with Russia, which began in February 2022, on Ukraine's energy production remains uncertain.

e rm has experience working with other countries in similar pursuits. Recently, Sargent & Lundy formed a joint venture with Fluor, AtkinsRéalis and Ansaldo Nucleare to focus on clean-energy initiatives in Romania, which involved the expansion of a nuclear power plant in the town of Cernavod. e rm is also pursuing clean-energy e orts in the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Slovenia.

our panel of electrical contractor and labor leaders for a

Chicago-based virtual care provider founded by Obama alums raises $25M

B Capital, CommonSpirit

By Jon Asplund

Synapticure, a Chicago-based virtual care company for neurodegenerative diseases founded by two Obama administration alums, has closed a $25 million funding round led by B Capital, with new investors including CommonSpirit Health, CVS Health Ventures, RA Capital Management and Nexus NeuroTech Ventures.

The company says its virtual platform addresses unmet needs of patients and caregivers living with Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, Parkinson's and other neurological diseases.

Neurodegenerative disease community advocates Brian Wallach, a former assistant U.S. attorney who is living with ALS, and his wife and caregiver, Sandra Abrevaya, a former executive at youth advocacy nonpro t rive Chicago, founded Synapticure in 2022. e two met working for Barack Obama's rst presidential campaign in 2008 and later served in various posts within his administration. eir patient and caregiver journey was chronicled in the Amazon Prime Video documentary "No Ordinary Campaign." ey also founded their own ALS advocacy nonpro t, I Am ALS.

B Capital and other new investors join existing investors Google Ventures, Optum Ventures and Rock Health Capital in the Series A funding, Synapticure said in a press release last month.

e company said it would use the funding to expand part-

Health and CVS joined the fundraising round for Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya’s Synapticure

nerships with providers and payors, invest in further AIenabled analytics and clinical research on its platform, fasttrack clinical research, expand patient access to emerging treatments and clinical trials, and scale its national medical group by bringing on additional providers.

Synapticure said in the release it has been selected as a CMS Guide provider in all 50 states by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Additionally, it plans to operate a single, standardized clini-

cal operation across all 50 states with in-home research capacity, the release said, allowing it to enroll a diverse population of patients anywhere in the U.S. "Synapticure's mission to provide accessible, high-quality care for neurodegenerative diseases aligns closely with our focus on investing in transformative health care companies led by visionary founders," Adam Seabrook, partner at Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based B Capital, said in the release. "With the investor group's combined expertise and resources, we believe

this collaboration will continue to drive advancements in the treatment and care of patients living with Alzheimer's and related dementias, Parkinson's and beyond."

CommonSpirit, the Catholic health system with headquarters in Chicago, supports "innovation in health care both inside and outside the walls of our hospitals," Anu Anuradhika, vice president of strategic partnerships at CommonSpirit, said in the release. "We believe we go farther, faster when we work with partners who cham-

pion new models of care, and our patients bene t from it."

Synapticure currently serves several thousand patients providing comprehensive care and treatment for cognitive, neuromuscular and movement disorders, the release said.

"This investment will enable Synapticure to continue to democratize care for people and their families living with neurodegenerative diseases," Abrevaya said in the release. "As a caregiver for the last seven years, I've experienced firsthand how overwhelming it can be to carry the weight of someone else's well-being while navigating the complexities of care and treatment. For too long this struggle has been accepted as just another part of life, but Synapticure refuses to accept that. Synapticure is designed to not only make high-quality care accessible, but to ease the burden on patients and caregivers by providing immediate access to expert neurologists, comprehensive wraparound care, and caregiver support services. With the support of B Capital as well as both new and existing bluechip investors, I am proud Synapticure works to reach patients in any community across the U.S. living with one of these conditions so they can receive the expert, personalized specialty care they deserve."

e release notes neurodegenerative diseases a ect more than 10 million people across the United States, with demand expected to increase with the aging U.S. population.

Northwestern accelerates mental health efforts

The goal of the $8.6 million initiative is to increase access and provide earlier intervention in primary care settings

By Jon Asplund

An $8.6 million initiative backed by West Health promises to increase access to top evidence-based mental health services in primary care settings at Northwestern Medicine.

e initiative, a collaboration between Northwestern, senior heath nonpro t West Health and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, will establish the Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator, Northwestern said in a press release.

e accelerator's aim is to provide earlier mental health intervention by putting comprehensive psychiatric services for primary care practices throughout Northwestern Medicine, the

release said.

e initiative builds on a project launched by the health system in 2018. Northwestern Medicine's Collaborative Behavioral Health Program integrates mental health care into primary care settings to "help manage population health across all generations, and scale and optimize equitable treatment for patients," according to Northwestern.

In the past six years, the program has been made available to patients across 75 di erent primary care locations within Northwestern Medicine's system, the release said. Recent expansion led to West Health collaborating with Northwestern and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to

increase utilization of the program.

With the funding from West Health and development guidance from Meadows Institute, the health system touts the program as a potential model for others across the U.S. West Health, a San Diegobased nonprofit solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, is dedicated to lowering health care costs and enabling seniors to age in place. Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, originally focused on behavioral health in Texas, is an independent and nonpartisan group that provides data-driven policy and program guidance and "works to shift the focus of new investments toward early

intervention for children and families, address the mental health crisis in our jails and emergency rooms and help all people with mental health needs recover and be well," the release said.

“ e integrated care model (of mental health and primary care) is a proven, e ective way to ensure people receive the treatment they need as early as possible," Andy Keller, president and CEO of Meadows Institute, said in the release.

“We believe in taking bold moves and this collaboration could be transformative,” Shelley Lyford, CEO and chair of West Health, said in a statement. “We will leverage the unique resources, technologies,

capabilities and expertise of each organization and design a robust evidenced-based care model that can be optimized across health systems and regions throughout the country.”

“Across the United States and Chicagoland, the demand for high-quality treatments for the most common mental health conditions continues to grow,” Dr. Sachin Patel, chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern Medicine, said in the release. “ is collaboration with West Health will help transform mental health care by delivering e cient, e ective and equitable behavioral health services to patients while expanding access to care.”

Brian Wallach, left, and Sandra Abrevaya

West Monroe expects health care orgs to start getting practical about AI in 2025

The Chicago-based digital services rm says implementation efforts will be more focused, measurable and useful going forward

By Jon Asplund

Health care organizations will prioritize arti cial intelligence projects that will make a big impact on their operations without compromising ethical standards in the coming year, according to West Monroe's 2025 Healthcare Outlook, which will be released this month.

"We believe that AI will continue to be a large driver of investment, but health care professionals will take a more conservative approach to it," said Larry Briski, health care sector lead at the Chicago-based digital services rm. "It is not (about) taking people out of the process, but how AI can make organizations more efcient and free people up" to work on more important and fullling aspects of their careers.

e outlook examines four trends, starting with responsible AI, along with using AI and data to revolutionize cost control, setting up cyberattack resiliency and advancing health equity.

Practicality

Rather than experimenting with

"AI for AI's sake," Briski said, health care organizations need to "look at AI as another tool to work more e ciently, implementing smaller projects business case by business case, not with a 'build it and they will come' mentality."

e report predicts that the need to train health care professionals to get the most out of articial intelligence will drive investments in workforce development, including AI literacy and technical training, to "create a culture of learning around these technologies."

Cost optimization

Tied to that is a growing need to further automate administrative tasks as cost pressures mount.

AI can be brought to bear on tasks like claims processing, customer service and billing to streamline operations, reduce manual workloads and focus sta on higher-value work, the report says.

"If you have the right underlying data capacity, your speed to market is much, much faster," Briski said. "Moving people and

Ravinia Brewing closing taproom, teases second act and unveils new name

By Jack Grieve

Ravinia Brewing is closing its Logan Square taproom and rebranding in Highland Park under a new name after settling a trademark dispute with Ravinia Festival.

e company is now called Steep Ravine Brewing. It will continue to operate its taproom in Highland Park, but will close the Chicago taproom at 2601 W. Diversey Ave on Dec. 14.

Steep Ravine will still use the Logan Square space to make beer, and co-owner Kris Walker told Crain's the company plans to unveil something new for the space in the coming weeks.

In explaining the decision to close the Chicago taproom, Walker cited broader challenges in the craft beer industry, including in ation. Many other breweries have struggled in recent years, even without costly legal battles like the one with Ravinia. Walker also said the rebrand gave him and his partners a unique opportunity to re-evaluate their vision for the Logan Square space.

processes off legacy systems toward more value-added operations can improve cost optimization and make employees feel they're using the skills they want to use."

Cybersecurity

It isn't enough to keep building walls against cyberattacks, which inevitably develop cracks and expose networks to widespread dis-

ruption, the report says. "With more and more breaches at hospitals and other organizations, we need to turn to resiliency," Briski said. "You need to build operational resiliency to continue to operate without some core network functions and know how to get operations back up and running as quickly as possible following an attack."

e work in 2025 will involve

implementing network segmentation to isolate critical systems, a measure to limit the impact of a cyberattack and protect sensitive data, according to the report. With cyber insurance requirements tightening, health care organizations need to be proactive if they want to "reduce costs and protect reputational trust, while upgrading legacy systems and securing vendor relationships to strengthen long-term stability and data protection," the report says.

Advancing health equity

West Monroe's outlook predicts both providers and payers will continue to concentrate on issues of health equity and how social determinants of health shape outcomes.

Briski points out that Medicare star ratings' new emphasis on health equity will make drastic changes necessary. Organizations can start by embedding equity into every aspect of care delivery, but they also need to be hyperlocal in how the data is used.

To make meaningful change, he said, requires using AI and population health data "in every area, by doctors, hospitals, health systems and insurance organizations to understand the health care gaps on a hyper-localized manner."

e Highland Park taproom will "undergo modest updates," the announcement said.

A new name has been expected since September when the beer maker and music festival reached a settlement agreement that included a stipulation that the brewery be rebranded. e taproom closing, however, was not expected.

It appears the parties are now on amicable terms. e festival "provided assistance for the rebranding," according to the announcement. Ravinia Festival

CEO Je Haydon wrote in a statement, " is announcement marks an exciting new chapter for Steep Ravine Brewing Company," and added, "We look forward to their continued success."

e Steep Ravine name is an ode to its agship beer, the Steep Ravine IPA. "Every time we thought of new names, we came back to our origins — our original home in the Ravinia District of Highland Park, and the steep ravines and stories that surround it," Managing Partner Je Hoobler wrote in the release.

How a Chicago meat supplier for restaurants is using AI

A new arti cial intelligence tool is helping Northwest Meat take orders from customers, ultimately cutting down on labor costs

By Ally Marotti

e owners and employees of Northwest Meat had a daily task that they dreaded for years: taking orders from their restaurant clients.

e orders would come in from dining spots throughout the city: Lonesome Rose in Logan Square and e Bellevue in the Gold Coast, as well as catering companies, pizza joints and taverns. An employee at one of those restaurants would place an order with Northwest Meat for their chicken breast or sirloin steak for the next day. en someone — usually co-owner Andrew Neva, his father or one of their o ce employees — would plug those orders into their own system, one by one, to be lled by their West Loop warehouse workers.

It was tedious. It took hours. It required intimate knowledge of the meat company’s 1,300 di erent products. And it usually happened in the evening — a time when few employees are keen to sit back down at their computer.

Recently, however, Northwest Meat started using arti cial intelligence to streamline that process. e technology reads the restaurants’ orders — which are placed via email, voicemail or through an app — and spits out a concise sales order that Neva hands over to his warehouse workers to be lled. ere is still a human element: Neva must check each order to make sure the AI didn’t misinterpret anything. But it cut a task that took three hours down to less than 60 minutes.

“ is is a no-brainer,” Neva said. “ is is going to make (our)

jobs easier. is is going to cut down on the tedious work.”

It has been two years since consumers became acquainted with generative arti cial intelligence, a type of AI that can produce content, through the introduction of ChatGPT. Since then, businesses and consumers alike have been toying around with its capabilities. Many laud its potential to boost productivity, and talk abounds about science ction-sounding solutions, like AI-powered, burgeripping robots. But where theory is becoming practice — particularly among small, family owned businesses in the hospitality industry — is right where Northwest Meat is deploying its new AI tool: in the mundane, daily tasks that eat up increasingly expensive employees’ time.

Labor optimization

“When you talk about AI, everybody’s mind immediately goes to these really futuristic usages,” said David Henkes, senior principal at market research rm Technomic. “But, frankly, what you’re seeing with this butcher is really what’s happening with AI. It’s being used as a labor optimization tool.”

Indeed, hourly wages for Northwest Meat’s union employees are up 23.5% since the COVID pandemic. At the same time, the company’s meat and shipping costs increased. Neva said he can only pass so many of those increases to his restaurant customers, which also have been pummeled with price hikes. Menu prices are up about 30% since 2019 nationwide, and restaurants, which have notoriously low margins, are always on the

hunt for places to cut back.

Finding workers has been an added challenge for Northwest Meat, Neva said. He is on his third o ce worker since the pandemic shut down in-person dining, pushing over the rst domino that upended the restaurant world. Telling a potential employee they have to spend several hours each evening inputting meat orders has not proved appealing.

“For a family run meat company, we had to do something,” Neva said.

Northwest Meat pays $1,100 a month for its new AI tool, Neva said. It is called Choco AI, made by a German tech company to help food distributors manage their orders. ( e company’s U.S. headquarters is in Chicago.) Neva estimates the tool saves him at least $22,000 a year in labor costs.

Choco AI uses a combination of machine learning and automation, a spokeswoman said in an email. It reads and understands orders from voicemails, emails or other formats, then matches orders with past data. It uses generative AI, but instead of creating answers like ChatGPT does, Choco AI is focused on understanding and organizing information. It learns, for example, what a restaurant wants when its employee places an order for “the usual.”

On a recent afternoon, catering company Jordan’s Food of Distinction called in and asked for 15 pounds of sirloin; Northwest Meat sells three di erent types. e AI, which had learned from Jordan’s past orders, populated the order with the speci c type of sirloin: beef top butt, center-cut, prime.

“How is somebody who’s been here three months supposed to know (that)?” Neva said, reviewing the order at his computer.

Neva has to watch to make sure the orders come through correctly. When Lonesome Rose emailed an order that same afternoon for seven 10-pound packs of Northwest Meat’s ground beef house blend, the AI read it as seven pounds.

Training these AI tools is vital, said Swami Chandrasekaran, a principal in AI and digital innovation at KPMG. Like children, they learn through feedback and reinforcement. If the tools are not trained properly, they will not work.

Northwest Meat is not alone in its decision to dip its toe into the AI waters in a non- ashy, quotidian way.

Resistance to tech

Business owners in the restaurant world tend to have a philosophical resistance to using technology to take away any human aspects, said Huy Do, research

and insights manager at market research rm Datassential. It is the hospitality industry, after all. Forty-four percent of respondents to a recent Datassential survey said they are worried incorporating AI could lead to the loss of the human touch and creativity that forms food service.

Only 12% of restaurants that responded to Datassential’s survey said they had used AI to accomplish some task or function within their business. ose that do use it seem to relegate the technology to back o ce-type jobs: e task restaurant operators have deployed AI for the most is customer feedback analysis, and only 7% of respondents said they had used the tech for that purpose.

“If this gains any traction, it’s going to have to start at the mundane level,” Do said. “I don’t think everybody is going to be installing a fully robotic server, or replacing all (their) line cooks with burger- ipping robots. at’s (not) going to be the thing that ips the scale.”

For Northwest Meat, though, AI has already made a noticeable di erence, Neva said.

“At the end of the day, is it going to help lower the cost of meat? No. Is it going to help improve my bottom line? Probably not,” he said. “But it gives us more free time, more marketability, which will create a better ecosystem.”

Former CVS Health exec joins WellBe Senior Medical as CFO

By Diane Eastabrook, Modern Healthcare

Former CVS Health executive Mario Ramos is the new chiefnancial o cer at WellBe Senior Medical.

Ramos will oversee nancial decision-making within WellBe’s value-based care model, the inhome healthcare provider said in a Dec. 2 news release. Ramos

served in several leadership roles at CVS from 2013 to 2019, including as CFO of CVS Caremark, its pharmacy bene t management unit. Prior to joining WellBe, Ramos was the CEO of money management company RWA Wealth Partners.

WellBe also announced the addition on Dec. 2 of Ananth Ramkrishnan as chief information ocer. Ramkrishnan was previously

an operating partner for healthcare investment company Rubicon Founders. He also served as CIO at Zing Health and chief technology o cer at Landmark Health.

e company did not respond to requests for comment regarding the previous structure of its leadership team.

Chicago-based WellBe has been on a growth spurt this year.

CVS Ventures, the venture capital arm of CVS, invested an undisclosed sum in the company in January. Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield of upstate New York and Intermountain Ventures, the venture capital unit of Salt Lake Citybased Intermountain Health, made a joint investment in WellBe in July.

WellBe partners with health insurance companies to provide

home-based care to older adults through capitated risk arrangements. e company furnishes health assessments, care coordination and medication management to older adults with chronic conditions, mobility problems and cognitive decits. It o ers services in 10 states.

Diane Eastabrook writes for Crain's sister brand Modern Healthcare.

Northwest Meat co-owner Andrew Neva | ALYCE HENSON

TrendSpider rolling out new AI trading tool

The Deer eld-based software rm says it’s looking to level the playing eld between retail and institutional investors

By Mark Weinraub

Financial trading software rm TrendSpider is rolling out a new product allowing its users to develop custom-based trading strategies with arti cial intelligence.

e product, called AI Strategy Labs, will let the Deer eld-based company’s 15,000 customers set parameters based on their own variables and run them through a machine-based learning application to identify the probable success rate of any potential trade at a given time.

“It makes it easier to take that bet,” said Dan Ushman, TrendSpider’s CEO and founder. “It is like a second set of eyes, and that second set of eyes is a theme we have throughout TrendSpider. It is not meant to completely replace human intuition and eyeballs, but it is meant to augment them.”

Ushman, who also founded Chicago-based tech startups SingleHop and Concurra, said the recent buzz around arti cial intelligence will speed traders’ adoption of AI Strategy Labs.

“ ere is a super trend of mov-

ing toward machine learning, and I think it's something that there's a lot of pent-up demand for from investors,” Ushman said. “I think there is a lot of appetite for that type of e ciency in trading.”

AI Strategy Labs requires no previous experience with computer coding or arti cial intelligence. It also takes emotion out of the equation, which can be a hinderance to traders working on a minute-to-minute basis.

“It is done with no technical experience needed on the part of the investor,” Ushman said. “ ey do not need a computer science degree. ey do not need to even understand how machine learning works. ey just select what they want to predict and what assets they want to predict it on and what data they think might be relevant, and it just gures it out in the background.”

TrendSpider’s new product puts retail investors on the same footing that traders at large rms have been on for years, leveling the playing eld in the markets. e company’s customer mix is 90%

retail investors and 10% institutional, Ushman said.

“Machine learning has been, obviously, used in nance and investing for years, but it has been guard-railed by the need to have some serious technical chops to be able to do it," he said. "I think

this is the great kind of equalizer. is is a capability that was siloed in the institutions for a long time and now it is becoming available to retail investors, and that aligns with our overall mission.”

Smaller hedge funds, nancial planners and portfolio managers

also stand to bene t from AI Strategy Labs. e company is offering the product to all of its customers for the rest of the year. In 2025, it will be available to customers whose TrendSpider accounts cost between $1,200 to $3,000 per year.

O u r 2 0 2 4 R e c i p i e n t s !

M i d - S i z e N o t - F o r - P r o f i t

K a r e n K o c h - S a i n t V i a t o r H i g h S c h o o l

T h e C h i c a g o C h a p t e r o f F i n a n c i a l E x e c u t i v e s

I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r o u d l y A n n o u n c e s t h e R e c i p i e n t s

o f i t s 1 3 t h A n n u a l C h i c a g o C F O o f t h e Y e a r ®

A w a r d s

T h e e v e n t w a s h e l d N o v e m b e r 1 9 , 2 0 2 4 , a n d

r e c o g n i z e d t w e n t y - f i v e f i n a l i s t s a n d s i x c a t e g o r y

r e c i p i e n t s . M o r e t h a n 8 0 0 g u e s t s a t t e n d e d t o

c e l e b r a t e t h e b e s t o f t h e b e s t o f C h i c a g o l a n d

f i n a n c e l e a d e r s

E v e n t S p o n s o r s

L a r g e N o t - F o r - P r o f i t

J o n a t h a n T i n g s t a d - S h i r l e y R y a n A b i l i t y L a b

M i d - S i z e P r i v a t e C o m p a n y

T r i c i a P u c e k - T h e H o r t o n G r o u p

L a r g e P r i v a t e C o m p a n y

N a t a l i e L a a c k m a n - M e d S p e e d L L C

M i d - S i z e P u b l i c C o m p a n y

S u s a n K r e h - O i l - D r i C o r p o r a t i o n o f A m e r i c a

L a r g e P u b l i c C o m p a n y

D i r k L o c a s c i o - U S F o o d s H o l d i n g C o r p

A b o u t F E I C h i c a g o

F E I ' s C h i c a g o C h a p t e r i s t h e p r e e m i n e n t a s s o c i a t i o n

f o r C F O ’ s a n d o t h e r s e n i o r f i n a n c i a l e x e c u t i v e s i n t h e

C h i c a g o l a n d a r e

Dan Ushman

Michigan design rm with Chicago roots lists Lake Macatawa spec home for $3.5M

The residence is known as ‘Interlok House’ for its Japanese-inspired interlocking courtyards

By Rachel Watson, Crain's Grand Rapids Business

A new residential development rm in Douglas, Mich., with Chicago roots has its rst speculative home up for sale — a spacious hilltop residence on Lake Macatawa inspired by California’s modern oceanfront architecture.

Mark Lauterbach and his cousin, Douglas Kopp, listed their rst house produced under the banner Modl Development, a modern residential development rm they recently co-founded in Douglas as an o shoot of Mark Lauterbach’s solo venture, Lauterbach Architecture LLC.

Dubbed “Interlok House” for its Japanese-inspired interlocking courtyards, the nearly 3,500square-foot, three-bedroom and four-bathroom residence was completed in August and listed for $3.5 million.

e house, constructed by Holland-based 42 North Custom Homes, is perched on the crest of a double lot with 83 feet of water frontage on the northeast side of Lake Macatawa in Holland Township. e builders tore down a 1920s-era cabin that was “falling apart” to make way for the house, Lauterbach said.

Interlok House has three private bedroom suites, all with lake views, and it integrates high-end features like home automation and audiovisual systems, energye cient materials, ermador appliances and a garage with electric vehicle chargers.

Kersh Ruhl and Lauri Sisson, of Michigan Homes and Cottages/Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt in Park Township, have the listing.

“ is is a little bit of an unusual product in that it’s luxury, it’s on the water, and it’s a spec home,” Ruhl said. “ ere’s not a lot of (waterfront) high-end new construction that’s a spec home.”

Chasing a new passion

Lauterbach worked for Chicagobased CallisonRTKL for more than 35 years on large-scale commercial real estate projects. He left the rm in 2022 to pursue his burgeoning interest in modern residential design through Lauterbach Architecture.

His rst big endeavor was designing six homes in the 13-lot private development Wildwood Lane Condominiums near Lake Michigan in Douglas, including one for himself and one across the street for Kopp. Lauterbach is

now a permanent resident of Douglas, while Kopp’s primary residence is in Seattle, and the Douglas condo is his summer home.

“When we did that project, (Kopp) said, ‘Oh, this is fun. I like this. Let’s do more of this.’ So that’s what triggered this whole thing,” Lauterbach said of starting Modl Development with Kopp.

Kopp, former CEO of the global counseling services organization FFT LLC in Seattle, also has had a longtime interest in residential development. He ipped several homes over the years in Seattle and Scottsdale, Ariz., according to Lauterbach. Kopp handles the business side of Modl, while Lauterbach focuses on design.

Lauterbach said his residential designs are partly inspired by 20th century American designers such as Charles and Ray Eames and Pierre Koenig, who spent the bulk of their careers shaping California’s modernism movement. His travels in Japan also informed his design philosophy.

“We sort of draw from the simplicity and restraint that those kinds of architects did,” he said. “(We’re) trying to bring it into the 21st century with all of our automation and all the stu that we have going on, construction-wise, just trying to adapt and let it evolve.”

Lauterbach said it has been satisfying to be able to work on a smaller scale with residential design.

“ e projects that I worked on for most of my career were all million-plus-square-foot, mixeduse projects in Japan and China and other places, and you never really can get to the level of detail, because it’s just so large, and it’s so di cult. But you do a 3,500square-foot house for a client or for yourself, and you’re at a much ner-grain detail,” he said. “It’s like you’re hand-crafting something.”

Interlocking in uences

Interlok House was designed specially for its setting. It faces south to catch the most natural light, and it’s on the hilltop to give it a set-apart feeling from the neighboring homes.

Lauterbach said he nds that Michigan and California have “a similar laid-back vibe,” but Michigan’s coastal architecture tends to be more traditional. With Interlok House, he wanted to take the typical modern Malibu beach house and transpose it into a

Michigan setting. He toned down the usual palette from bright whites to soft, warm hues, which he feels blends into the surroundings of Lake Macatawa.

To maximize the 100-foot lot and best “sell” the lake frontage while also maintaining privacy, Lauterbach oriented the garage to be side loading and chose an interlocking courtyard design for the home.

Lauterbach chose as many natural materials as possible, like limestone blocks for the garage walls, cedar siding on the upper part of the house and a cedar wood deck. Instead of pavement, he chose di erent colors of crushed gravel and marble chips laid out in a geometric pattern in the motor court, framing two different species of Japanese maples. In addition to adding visual interest, the gravel helps with stormwater management.

In addition to the garage and the main body of the house, the other “pod” that makes up the interlocking shape is the primary main-level suite that opens onto the motor court. Despite being set apart from the main structure, its windows are oriented to o er a clear sight line through the house and out onto the lake.

Casement windows are placed strategically to maximize the lake and capture lake breezes and sounds.

“We positioned them so they crank out the right direction, so it

captures the sound instead of opening the wrong way, where you wouldn’t hear the sound,” he said. “I like to get into that level of detail.”

Marrying form and function e ground oor contains the main living spaces, including an open-concept kitchen, dining and living area, a butler’s pantry, guest bath, o ce and laundry room. e other two bedroom suites complete the balance of the home, structured as two wings on the second oor.

All of the bathrooms feature Toto Washlet bidets, heated towel bars and radiant heated terrazzo tile oors.

“We just kind of did convenient things that we would like to have,” Lauterbach said. “One of our mantras that my cousin and I have for our company when we’re doing these houses is … ‘Would you live in this house?’ and (the other) is … ‘ e details matter.’”

Notable features on the main oor include a two-story bank of windows, a 12-foot kitchen island and a massive linear gas replace with limestone surround. e deck has a metal snow grate between the house and the planks to enhance drainage.

e interior oors are white oak, and many of the walls are covered in rift oak plywood sheets with aluminum dividers to add visual interest.

“We wanted to warm the house

up, but it’s also very sophisticated,” Lauterbach said. “It comes o looking super re ned and more like furniture-quality grade for some of the wall surfaces.”

e cabinetry is matte white, and the builders added white, horizontal Japanese mosaic tile to the kitchen backsplash to hearken back to mid-century tile patterns.

To give it the “modern sensibility” they were striving for, Kopp and Lauterbach staged the home with furniture from their own collection, including Eamesdesigned dining chairs from the Herman Miller brand and a Womb Chair from Knoll, Lauterbach said. ey’d be willing to part with the furniture at an additional, negotiated price.

About the price

Ruhl, the broker, said the house is priced at $1,000 per square foot factoring in new construction costs, “elite” materials and design, and the property’s nearly half-acre of water frontage.

While it has garnered strong online interest and solid attendance at a broker open house when rst listed, Ruhl said he has not yet received any written o ers.

“Time of year has something to do with that, and honestly, a lot of people were waiting for the election to happen before making any moves,” he said.

Rachel Watson writes for Crain's sister brand Crain's Grand Rapids Business.

completed

Developer buys revamped Motorola Mobility campus

R2

is betting it can lure new tenants to Innovation Park Lake County in Libertyville

By Danny Ecker

After betting on a postpandemic resurgence for a highpro le o ce building downtown, R2 has wagered there's a bright future for a sprawling ofce campus in the northern suburbs, too.

A joint venture of the Chicago developer and Chicago-based JDI Realty paid $35 million last week for the 1-million-squarefoot Innovation Park Lake County campus at 1910 Innovation Way in Libertyville, according to sources familiar with the deal.

e venture acquired the 83-acre property from an a liate of Rockville, Md.-based Beco Management, which bought the former cellphone plant from Motorola Mobility a decade ago for $9.5 million and spent close to $40 million revamping it as a multitenant o ce and research hub.

Selling the complex for less than it spent reviving it is likely a frustrating exit for Beco, but one that re ects the post-COVID reality of owning o ce space. e remote work movement has fueled a historic wave of companies shrinking their o ce footprints and combined with elevated interest rates to bludgeon o ce property values.

e Innovation Park deal shows that pain exists even for properties that have been revamped with modern amenities and come with long-term cash ow from highcredit tenants — the types of o ce buildings that are outperforming most others as companies look for workspace that will help encourage employees to show up. It's that so-called ight-to-

quality trend that made Innovation Park such an appealing investment, said R2 CEO Matt Garrison.

"You have a lot of high-quality tenants in the north suburbs and (Interstate) 294 corridor," Garrison said in a statement. "Maybe not enough attention (is being given) to them, and we plan to give them the attention they deserve. . . .We will be taking an already-great campus to the next level, with improved amenities and services and ready-to-go (work) spaces of all sizes."

R2 has emerged as an opportunistic buyer in Chicago against the backdrop of distressed assets and depressed property values. Well-known locally for its work on and near Goose Island — it helped redevelop the former Morton Salt warehouse on Elston Avenue into a music venue known as the Salt Shed — the rm made a big splash earlier this year when it paid $60 million for the 41-story o ce building at 150 N. Michigan Ave. at price was about half of what the property traded for in 2017.

At Innovation Park, R2 and JDI are hoping to add value by building on Beco's leasing success at the four attached buildings on the campus. Beco's investment in the property started to pay dividends long before the public health crisis when it inked long-term deals with tenants such as Valent BioSciences, Medline Industries and Bristol Meyers Squibb.

When Beco put the property up for sale more than a year ago, those three tenants collectively occupied 42% of the campus' rentable space, according to a y-

er from real estate services rm Eastdil Secured, which brokered the sale. Marketing materials at the time underscored the longterm cash ow lined up at the property, noting tenants were collectively on the hook for almost $70 million in contractual base rent.

e property is about 68% leased today, though sources familiar with the campus said Medline is expected to vacate its nearly 138,089-square-foot o ce in 2026 as part of a consolidation of its suburban workforce into new o ces in Northbrook. While Innovation Park comes with more than $5 million of annual net operating income today, according to marketing materials, that departure stands to create a big leasing challenge for R2 and JDI.

e new owners could nd a deeper pool of potential tenants at Innovation Park outside of traditional o ce users that may not have as many employees on site every day as they did before the public health crisis. Eastdil highlighted a range of in-person uses from tenants already at the complex such as research and development, manufacturing, testing facilities and lab space.

e campus "has reached a critical mass of life science, bio and lab tenants where we are starting to see a ywheel e ect of expansions and new additions to the ecosystem," Garrison said in the statement.

A Beco spokesman declined to comment.

Innovation Park was originally developed as a cellphone plant

for Motorola Mobility in the early 1990s. e company's run on the campus began to wind down after it was acquired in 2012 by Google, which proceeded to sign a massive lease at the Merchandise Mart downtown with a plan to relocate around 2,200 Motorola employees there.

JDI Realty is a private equity real estate rm that has invested over $2 billion in deals since it was started in 1988 by founder Je Aeder, according to its website. e rm specializes in joint venture partnerships to acquire and reposition properties, bridge lending and purchasing nonperforming debt. Aeder did not respond to a request for comment.

Eastdil's Bryan Rosenberg and David Caprile marketed Innovation Park for sale on behalf of Beco.

Google gifts UIC $1 million to train undergraduates in AI

By Pawan Naidu

e University of Illinois Chicago is set to enhance its arti cial intelligence training for undergraduate students through a $1 million gift from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the tech giant.

e donation will go toward the UIC's new Data + AI program, which aims to bolster students' knowledge of the AI industry across all elds of academic study. e program's pilot phase is scheduled to begin in the 20252026 school year and will start with a course created by UIC faculty in collaboration with industry experts. After the initial lessons, students will be given hands-on learning experiences.

e announcement notes the program will also focus on ethical reasoning and professional mentorship.

“ e rapid advancement and widespread use of technology, especially in the eld of applied

data and AI, is having a profound impact on our lives. is transformation will inevitably lead to a shift in the skills needed to succeed in both academic and professional environments,” Jessica Holberg, Google.org's partnerships and outreach lead in Chicago, said in a statement.

e UIC is the latest school to beef up its AI capabilities as companies invest rapidly in the space and the technology becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life. Tech entrepreneur Tom Siebel, a graduate of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, gave $50 million to its computer science program earlier this year as the school looks to enhance its AI education within the Grainger College of Engineering.

Siebel, CEO of software company C3 AI, told Crain's in a recent interview he believes generative AI presents an enormous opportunity for students to launch successful startups. “Any three kids

out of Stanford or Illinois with two pieces of paper and an idea for a generative AI application can get their company nanced at, like, a billion-dollar valuation,” he said. Investors allocated $27.1 billion to new AI companies in the U.S. between April and June this year, or about half of all startup

funding during that time, according to a report by e New York Times citing data from PitchBook.

In a statement announcing the Google donation, UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda said "the data science revolution, including arti cial intelligence, calls us

to provide state-of-the-art learning opportunities for UIC students."

“ is award from Google.org will enable our students to develop AI skills and competencies across diverse disciplines and prepare them to compete globally in today’s rapidly evolving, technology-driven workforce," she said.

e UIC program will be led by Amita Shetty, director of the school's Break rough Tech Chicago, an initiative to achieve gender equality in technology elds. She said the UIC's program will enable more students from diverse backgrounds to be part of the next generation of innovators.

“UIC is uniquely positioned through its scale, diverse disciplines and strong ties to Chicago’s organizations to prepare students for responsible leadership in this transformative era," she said in a statement.

Innovation Park Lake County in Libertyville | COSTAR GROUP

$19M Ken Grif n condo is just the latest project in JB Pritzker’s real estate empire

The governor and rst lady may feel up to the job, as they’ve been serial rehabbers for a portfolio of homes and horse farms that Crain’s estimates to have cost them at least $65 million | By

Dennis Rodkin

Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois rst lady MK Pritzker have a long home improvement project ahead of them, now that they have bought a two-story un nished penthouse from Ken Gri n, but as serial renovators, they may feel up to the task.

e Pritzkers, who last month paid Citadel chief Gri n $19 million for the top two oors and rooftop pool at No. 9 Walton, have not released any information on how or when they will renovate the 15,000 square feet of interior space on oors 37 and 38.

eir estimated budget to nish the space is unknowable at the moment, as high-end rehab begins at around $1,000 per square foot but can go up far from there, depending on the xtures and nishes the homeowners choose.

e couple’s net worth, reported at $3.7 billion, and their bestknown past project, the historical Astor Street mansion the couple bought in 2007 and renovated for far more than the purchase price, suggest they’ll be big spenders.

e Pritzkers have also been through a round of renovations at the Illinois governor’s mansion in Spring eld since he was elected six years ago. e mansion is publicly owned, but the Pritzkers spent $850,000 of their personal funds on renovations in 2019. ey also spent $100,000 to renovate Hayes House, the o cial downstate residence of the Illinois governor, in Du Quoin, 150 miles south of the capital.

Along with their Gold Coast mansion, the Pritzkers have homes or horse farms in Wisconsin, Florida and Bermuda. Crain’s estimates the Pritzkers already had at least $65 million worth of homes — not including the Bermuda property, about which little is known — before their $19 million buy this month.

On Astor Street, the couple paid $14.5 million in May 2006 for a 20,000-square-foot Beaux Arts mansion built in 1902. It was the highest-priced home sale in the Chicago area at the time. e Pritzkers then launched a multiyear renovation that has been widely reported as costing $25 million. at means the couple has a total of at least $39.5 million invested in the Gold Coast home.

As completed, the iron-gated mansion has a large reception foyer ringed with columns and leading to a grand staircase, a top- oor ballroom space with a stained-glass skylight, ample wood replaces and a working fountain in the outdoor courtyard formed by two wings of the house.

It's not clear whether the $25

million gure includes the Pritzkers’ purchase of the house next door for a little under $3.7 million in December 2007. at’s the house where they infamously had all the toilets removed, leading to speculation that they did it to get the tax break that comes from a property being

uninhabitable.

Also uncertain: whether the renovation tab includes the $30,000 a month the Pritzkers paid to rent a mansion nearby on State Parkway as the work was being done on their new Astor Street home.

Before moving to the Gold

was 28 years old at the time. In the 14 years they owned the house, the Pritzkers did extensive work on it. ey added a family room and expanded the primary suite to include two bathrooms and two dressing rooms. ey also made upgrades to suit what seem like quaint 1990s needs now: a room in the basement for a copy machine and what Chicago magazine called a “businessgrade phone system.”

Both of the Pritzkers’ children were born while the family lived in Evanston.

After buying on Astor, the Pritzkers sold the Evanston house in September 2007 for $4.1 million.

On their 10th wedding anniversary in 2003, JB Pritzker gave MK Pritzker, who grew up riding horses in South Dakota, a 230acre horse farm in Wisconsin. Crain’s couldn’t determine the price he paid for the property, now called Evergreen Farm. It's in Bristol, just north of the Wisconsin state line in Kenosha County, about 37 miles from the Evanston house where the Pritzkers lived at the time.

Almost two decades later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple’s construction of a new home on the property attracted media attention, as construction workers crossed the state line from Illinois to Wisconsin to do the job. Construction workers were exempt from stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.

About a year after they bought the farm in Bristol, the Pritzkers bought a historic 8-acre estate in Lake Geneva called Casa del Sueno, formerly the home of Lee Phillip Bell and Bill Bell, the creators of the television soap operas " e Young and the Restless" and " e Bold and the Beautiful."

e Pritzkers paid $9.7 million in 2004 for Casa Del Sueno, a record price for the Wisconsin hub of getaway mansions that held for a dozen years.

Crain’s has found no mention of the Pritzkers renovating Casa Del Sueno.

Coast, the Pritzkers lived in Evanston. In 1993, the year they got married, Jay Robert Pritzker and Mary Pritzker, as they were known at the time, paid $1.02 million for a Georgian house on Sheridan Place in Evanston. In 2024 dollars, that’s the equivalent of paying about $2.4 million. He

In 2018, the same week JB Pritzker was elected governor of Illinois, he and MK Pritzker paid $12 million for a 6.44-acre horse farm in Wellington, near Palm Beach, Fla. At the time, the listing for the property, with 30 horse stalls, said it was not residential and had only a one-bedroom apartment for the property manager. Crain’s found no information on any changes the couple may have made to the property.

JB Pritzker has also acknowledged he has a home in the Bahamas, but there is no published information on that property.

JB and MK Pritzker bought the house at left in 2006 for $15.5 million and the one at right in 2007 for a little under $3.7 million. The cost of renovations reportedly topped $25 million. | GOOGLE MAPS

The Pritzkers owned and renovated this house in Evanston from 1993 until 2007. VHT STUDIOS

A portion of the un nished 38th oor at No. 9 Walton. The Pritzkers bought this level, the rooftop pool above it and the 37th oor below it from Ken Grif n earlier this month. | POSITIVE MAGE

Every Brand has a Story; Let Us Help Tell Yours

From long-form narratives to market research to turnkey event production, Crain’s Content Studio creates meaningful experiences to expand your reach and connect you with your target audience.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Your story, your way

NATIVE ADVERTISING

High-profile print, digital options

QUICK TAKE VIDEO

Virtual thought leadership platform

INTERACTIVE REPORTS

Digital landing page featuring data and research

EXECUTIVE INSIGHT

Invite-only roundtable and thought leadership content

CUSTOM EVENTS/WEBCASTS

Turnkey production, Crain’s promotion

WHITE PAPER PUBLISHING

Powerful lead generation tool

MARKET RESEARCH

Surveys deployed to Crain audiences

ANNUAL REPORTS

Project management, design solutions

For more information, contact: Kristin

Bull Senior Director,

Crain’s Content Studio

Howard Krane, transformative chief of law rm Kirkland & Ellis and UChicago disrupter, dies at 90

By Steven R. Strahler

Howard Krane, a key figure in the transformation of Kirkland & Ellis into the legal industry colossus it is today and a former trustees chair at the University of Chicago during a time of upheaval, died Nov. 23. He was 90.

His death was announced by the university in an email to trustees.

Krane was a ranking partner on Kirkland's management executive committee from 1977 to 1996 as the firm pushed beyond its litigation roots and into corporate transaction assignments. Kirkland last year reported $6 billion in revenue, more than any other law firm, and profits per partner of nearly $7.4 million, also tops.

"He was a long-term thinker," eschewing a focus on shortterm profits, said former Kirkland partner and legal industry consultant Stephen Harper.  Kirkland under Krane and then Jack Levin placed huge, winning bets on private equity and bankruptcy practices, and grew under successor leaders to more than 3,000 lawyers. Levin credited Krane with getting the ball rolling.

Krane, a tax specialist, wasn't publicity-conscious, but he was decisive.

In 1978, the brash superlawyer Don Reuben, who represented then blue-chip clients like Tribune, was ousted by

Krane and other top partners in a palace coup while on a European vacation. But with Reuben's blessing, Krane later represented the management committee of a failing law firm that had merged with one started by Reuben.

" ey had a complicated relationship — sometimes friends, sometimes adversaries," Reuben's son, Timothy Reuben, a lawyer in Los Angeles, wrote in an email.

Krane was born in Chicago and attended Grinnell College in Iowa and then the University of Chicago Law School. He joined Kirkland in 1957 after being rejected initially because he was a Jew, according to Robert Bork, then a Kirkland lawyer and Krane friend who urged partners to reconsider their decision.

President Ronald Reagan recounted the episode in 1987 after he nominated Bork for a Supreme Court seat. Krane, who had worked with Bork on antitrust cases and been best man at his second wedding, testified on Bork's behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The two friends bridged a political divide, Krane being a liberal Democrat.

The relationship had an ironic aftermath, as the Senate's narrow rejection of Bork's nomination inculcated a hyper-partisanship phase in politics that has only gotten more intense. Among Kirkland's

public-sector alumni are former Attorney General William Barr and two other cabinet secretaries in the first Trump administration, as well as Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Solicitor General Paul Clement.

Krane joined the UChicago board and chaired it beginning in 1992 as the university confronted budget deficits and later controversial solutions to try to eradicate them. Krane supported decisions to build new dormitories and other facilities, including an athletic center and a relocated business school headquarters.

Their costs added to pressure to expand the undergraduate

college, accompanied by plans to relax the university's vaunted Common Core requirements — moves that set off an uproar among some faculty and alumni and helped usher President Hugo Sonnenschein out the door in 2000. The novelist Saul Bellow was among the dissenters quoted in a Crain's story.

"The board definitely supported (Sonnenschein's) decisions, but they did provoke controversy and at least some members of the board thought that a change in leadership — although not in Hugo’s decisions — would be politically wise," UChicago law school professor Geoffrey Stone, who was university provost under

Sonnenschein, wrote in an email. Sonnenschein died at 80 in 2021.

Bill Singer, the former Chicago alderman who joined Kirkland five years after his unsuccessful 1975 mayoral race, considered Krane his closest friend, adding, "Howard is the person I know best with the strongest moral compass." He gave an example: When Kirkland lawyers had a chance to co-invest in private equity deals they were working on, Krane insisted that every Kirkland partner, or none, would have the same opportunity. "That was a break in the way it was," Singer said.

Harper said Krane pursued a virtuous cycle of providing legal services that attracted clients, which attracted more clients, and with them attorneys who could achieve what the clients wanted. "It was as much a focus on identifying talent within the firm as recruiting from outside. He was just a masterful leader."

Among Krane's survivors is a daughter, Hilary Krane, who is chief legal officer for the Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency and a former general counsel of Nike. According to Singer and UChicago, Krane remained close to his first wife, Marie Campbell, a well-known Gold Coast residential real estate agent Krane's second wife, Janys Harvey, died in 2016.

VillageMD CEO departs Walgreens’ troubled primary care partner

By Katherine Davis

Tim Barry, CEO of VillageMD, has left the company following a rocky few years mired by its failure to help execute on a health care push launched by majority-owner Walgreens Boots Alliance.

It’s unclear exactly when Barry left the Chicago-based company, but VillageMD Chief Operations Officer Jim Murray replaced him “effective immediately,” assuming all day-today leadership responsibilities, spokeswoman Molly Lynch said in a statement to Crain’s on Nov. 27.

“VillageMD reaffirms its commitment to providing high-quality, accessible health care services for individuals and communities across the United States,” Lynch said. She declined to provide additional information about the transition.

Barry co-founded VillageMD in 2013 as a primary care com -

pany focused on value-based care, growing to hundreds of locations across the country.

Promising to take it to the next level, Deerfield-based Walgreens purchased a majority share of VillageMD in 2021 for $5.2 billion. Walgreens said at the time that the partnership would help bring health care services to its retail pharmacy stores and stand up an entirely new health care segment. Part of the collaboration has included attaching hundreds of VillageMD clinics directly to Walgreens locations.

But Walgreens has pulled back on that strategy amid slower-than-anticipated growth in its health care segment. Slow patient growth and changes to Medicare reimbursement models interrupted VillageMD’s expansion, executives have previously told investors.

To address financial woes, VillageMD has closed dozens of underperforming primary clinics across the country,

including in Illinois, laying | off workers as a result. Shuttered locations have included both standalone clinics and those attached to Walgreens stores.

In March, Walgreens revealed that it significantly over-invested in VillageMD when it disclosed a nearly $6

billion impairment charge on the asset.

This summer the company said it was considering selling its entire stake in VillageMD, saying options include selling all or part of the VillageMD business, restructuring it or other strategic opportunities. Any sale proceeds would help

Walgreens shore up its balance sheet, Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth told investors in October.

A Walgreens spokesman told Crain's today that the company "look(s) forward" to continuing to partner with Murray as interim CEO.

"Jim has been integral in helping lead the company’s turnaround as VillageMD makes meaningful progress and positions itself for profitable growth," the spokesman said. "Walgreens Boots Alliance is committed to keeping VillageMD, Summit Health and CityMD doctors, team members and patients top of mind and remains focused on building trusted relationships that create healthier futures for team members, customers, patients and communities."

Walgreens stock is down 66% from the beginning of the year, trading at $9.

Forbes first reported news of Barry's departure.

Howard Krane | KIRKLAND & ELLIS

Tim Barry | TODD WINTERS

Union League Club’s Monet auctioned for $7.5 million

The most-prized piece in its art collection was acquired for $500 in 1895 and was exhibited twice at the Art Institute of Chicago

By Steven R. Strahler

The most-prized piece in the Union League Club of Chicago's art collection sold at auction last month for $7.5 million, at the low end of the predicted range of $7 million to $10 million.

"Pommiers en Fleurs," or "Apple Trees in Bloom," by Claude Monet was put up for sale to raise cash for the club to pay down debt, fund upgrades and buy other art.

e club said it would net $7.2 million; with fees, the unidenti ed buyer paid $9,035,000, according to the auction house Christie's.

Another Monet, "Route près de Giverny," went for the identical amount of $9,035,000 with fees, according to Christie's.

In a note to members on Wednesday, Union League President Bob Ryan said, " is sale is just the rst step towards your board's multi-pronged strategy of reducing our debt, investing in your clubhouse and building back cash reserves for our future."

The art world closely monitored the November auction season for clues to the impact of last month's election on the art market. The New York Times reported that more than 1,600 lots were expected to raise an estimated $1.1 billion this season. But, compared to last November, the projected dollar volume is off by more than a third and the number of works is down 16%.

Christie's said René Magritte's

"La recherche de l'absolu" — " e Search for the Absolute" — nearly doubled its high estimate, selling for $8.46 million. A work by Paul Cézanne went for $6.1 million.

The Union League's Monet, painted in 1872, was acquired by the club from a member for $500 in 1895. It has twice been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, which said last month that it would not bid on the painting.

e biggest sale of the evening on Nov. 19 was another Magritte, “ e Empire of Light,” which sold for $121.2 million with fees, according to e New York Times. at gure, well above the guaranteed minimum of $95 million, made the Belgian surrealist painter the 16th artist to top the $100 million mark.

GE HealthCare fully acquires Japanese pharma company

The Chicago-based medical device and technology giant plans to purchase the remaining 50% stake in Nihon Medi-Physics

By Katherine Davis

GE HealthCare will soon be the full owner of Nihon MediPhysics, a Japanese radiopharmaceutical company, in a deal aimed at strengthening and expanding GE HealthCare’s reach in Asia.

Chicago-based GE HealthCare announced on Dec. 2 that it plans to acquire the remaining 50% stake in Nihon Medi-Physics for an undisclosed price. GE HealthCare has owned a 50% stake in the company since 2004 when it acquired Amersham. GE HealthCare currently holds three Nihon Medi-Physics board seats.

e acquisition deal is subject to regulatory approvals but is expected to close early next year, GE HealthCare said. Once it closes, Nihon Medi-Physics will be added to GE HealthCare’s pharmaceutical diagnostics segment.

Nihon Medi-Physics, formed in 1973, operates 13 manufacturing facilities and generated about $183 million in 2023 revenue, GE HealthCare said. e company develops and manufactures proprietary and in-licensed radiopharmaceuti-

cals used in medical imaging procedures to detect and diagnose diseases.

“ is will strengthen our precision care strategy in Asia and our existing footprint in Japan, where our contrast media and medical devices are used every day to enable imaging procedures across the country,” Kevin O’Neill, president and CEO of GE HealthCare’s pharmaceutical diagnostics segment, said in a statement.

e company, which spun o from General Electric last year, manufactures medical equipment and technology, notably imaging devices like MRI and ultrasound tools, used in hospitals across the globe.

GE HealthCare is among Chicago’s largest public companies by revenue, ranking No. 15 with more than $19.6 billion in 2023 sales, according to Crain’s data.

ird-quarter revenue, reported at the end of October, grew 1% to $4.9 billion year over year, and net income was up 25% to $470 million. e company's net income margin expanded to 9.7% in the quarter, up from 7.8% during the same time period a year ago.

Investor pays $117M for dozens of unsold St. Regis condos

The bulk sale comes about four years after the 101-story tower was completed and amid a slump in the condo market

By Rachel Herzog

A Mexican investor has acquired dozens of unsold condos in the St. Regis tower for more than $117 million.

GD Holdings, the Denverbased real estate arm of Mexican apparel company Grupo Denim, bought 84 residential units, as well as parking and storage space, in the luxury condo and hotel building from Magellan Development Group, according

to Cook County property records.

e bulk sale comes about four years after the 101-story tower was completed and amid a slump in the downtown condo market. It’s not clear how many of the building’s 393 condos remained unsold. Magellan Development Group and its CEO, David Carlins, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

GD Holdings already owns the

192-room hotel that takes up the rst 11 oors of the building in a joint venture with Miami-based investor Gencom. GD’s plans for the condos weren’t clear, and company executives didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

GD backed its purchase with a $110.6 million loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank that matures in 2027, property records show.

e condo and hotel building cost more than $1 billion to

build, according to the developer’s website. Its rst occupants moved in at the end of 2020, and the hotel opened in May 2023.

e priciest St. Regis condo sale in recent months was a fulloor unit on the 78th oor selling for $7 million in April, more than a million dollars o the price the sellers paid for it three years earlier. at was the highest-priced sale at the St. Regis since September 2022, when a two-story unit sold for

$20.6 million, the highest price on record for the building. e building’s top sale price in 2023 was about $6.5 million.

GD Holdings’ other investments include the hotel portion of the Four Seasons tower in Nashville, Tenn., which it paid $165 million for in 2022, according to a report from CoStar News.

e Real Deal Chicago was the rst to report on GD Holdings' bulk condo acquisition.

Claude Monet’s “Pommiers en Fleurs” WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.chicagobusiness.com/peoplemoves or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 dstein@crain.com

ACCOUNTING / CONSULTING

John Kasperek Co., Inc., Mokena / Calumet City

Belal Abdeljaber joins JKC as a Senior Associate, bringing signi cant experience leading governmental audit teams. He has also conducted comprehensive nancial statement audits for commercial businesses and not-for-pro t organizations, in addition to local government entities. Belal earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting Degree from Purdue University Northwest. He is also in the process of acquiring his CPA licensure.

Wintrust Financial Corporation, Chicago

Wintrust Financial Corp., a nancial services holding company based in Rosemont, Illinois, with more than 200 locations in the greater Chicago, southern Wisconsin, west Michigan, northwest Indiana, and southwest Florida market areas, is pleased to announce two promotions. Jack Murphy was promoted to SVP, Lending, Commercial Real Estate. Jack joined Wintrust in 2014. Lauren Rohde to SVP, Credit Administration, Commercial Banking. Lauren joined Wintrust in 2008.

ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN

FGM Architects, Oak Brook

Jim Woods, Principal and Executive VP at FGMA, is a recipient of the Association for Learning Environments’ 2024 LE Fellow Designation. LE Fellows represent the mark of excellence in the industry they serve. Jim is a recognized expert in community engagement, facility programming and planning, design and management. His passion for creating dynamic learning environments has led him through hundreds of public and private school projects and has resulted in 20+ awards for excellence in design.

LAW

Thompson Hine LLP, Chicago

Thompson Hine LLP is pleased to announce that Gregory Fouts has joined the rm as a partner in its Chicago of ce. He joins from Morgan Lewis and brings extensive experience in complex litigation, particularly in consumer class action defense and consumer privacy litigation. Greg represents clients from a wide range of industries in class actions alleging violations of federal and state consumer fraud and privacy statutes, including breach of duciary duty and breach of contract claims.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes John Ablan as a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate & Financial Services Department and Capital Markets practice. John has extensive experience advising both issuers and underwriters in a broad range of capital markets transactions. John also advises companies and market participants on the securities law aspects of M&A and restructuring matters. John also counsels public companies on their periodic reports, stock exchange listing requirements and corporate matters.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

Willkie Farr & Gallagher

welcomes Edward Best as a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate & Financial Services Department and as Co-Chair of the Capital Markets practice. Eddie is a nationally recognized leading capital markets lawyer and he also advises clients on securities law compliance and corporate governance matters. Eddie also has an active M&A practice. Eddie focuses his practice on transactions by nancial institutions, including insurance companies, broker-dealers and asset managers.

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

Williams, Bax and Saltzman, P.C., Chicago

Valley Honda, Aurora

Roush Holdings, Inc., a 100% Employee-Owned Company, including Valley Honda in Aurora, IL and Roush Honda in Westerville, OH, announced the promotion of Casey Brindley to President/CEO. Casey has been with Roush for 17 years, since graduating from Arizona State University. Jeff Brindley (Chairman and former President/ CEO) said, ”I am excited for Casey to lead Our Employee-Owned Company. His forward thinking, combined with endless positivity, delivers a great work environment for our Employee-Owners and exceptional experiences for our clients. Unwavering leadership has been the cornerstone of our company’s success. Casey, and his leadership team, will provide that same consistency for years to come.”

Williams, Bax & Saltzman, P.C. is excited to welcome Tim Novel as a partner. Tim’s signi cant experience in both litigation and transactions allows him to provide comprehensive and innovative solutions to t his clients’ needs. Tim’s focus involves commercial litigation, debtor/creditor litigation, post judgment proceedings, actions to avoid fraudulent transfers, and actions involving injunctive relief.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes Jennifer Carlson as a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate & Financial Services Department and Capital Markets practice. With over 20 years of experience, Jen regularly represents companies and investment banks in capital markets transactions, including debt and equity offerings and liability management transactions. Jen also counsels companies on SEC reporting requirements, corporate governance matters and stakeholder engagement.

LAW FIRM

Williams, Bax and Saltzman, P.C., Chicago

Williams, Bax & Saltzman, P.C. is excited to welcome Rob Muriel as a partner. Governor J.B. Pritzker appointed Rob as Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance in 2019. In addition to Rob’s insurance regulatory practice, he practices in the elds of commercial litigation and insurance coverage.

Zenker

Williams, Bax & Saltzman, P.C. is pleased to welcome Jay Zenker as an associate attorney. Since graduating magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2022, Jay has focused his practice on policyholder-side insurance coverage, corporate advice for small businesses, and commercial litigation.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes Kimberly Jones as a Partner in the Litigation Department and ERISA Litigation Group. A leader in her eld, Kim represents plan sponsors, plan duciaries and third party administrators in a broad range of ERISA-related matters including breach of duciary duty class actions in courts throughout the country. Kim serves in leadership roles in industry organizations and is a frequent contributor to publications covering employee bene ts and ERISA law.

Benesch, Chicago

Kathleen Lynch is an Associate in the rm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. She is a skilled patent and trademark litigator and enforcement strategist. She represents businesses of all sizes, as plaintiffs and defendants, resolving their disputes at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Of ce, before the International Trade Commission (ITC), and in district courts.

LAW FIRM

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes Sarah Kessler as a Partner in the Firm’s Finance Department. Sarah is an experienced nancing practitioner who advises lenders and borrowers on fund nance, structured fund products, back leverage and other bespoke private credit and asset management solutions. She also has experience with acquisition nance across a variety of industries. Sarah maintains a strong pro bono practice supporting the local Chicago community, with a focus on refugee/ asylum cases.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes Nathaniel Marrs as a Partner in the Firm’s Asset Management Department and Private Funds practice. Nathaniel has over 25 years of fund formation experience and is a recognized leader in the market. He focuses on the structuring and formation of private funds and their management companies, particularly in the real estate, infrastructure and energy sectors.

Lizbeth Aviles is an Associate in the rm’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group. She represents public and private companies in a range of complex transactional matters, including mergers, acquisitions and corporate contract reviews. She helps businesses achieve their goals by reducing risk, increasing pro tability and strengthening their market position.

Benesch, Chicago

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes Esther Chang as a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate & Financial Services Department and Mergers & Acquisitions practice. Esther focuses on U.S. and cross-border public and private transactions, and also advises on joint ventures, private equity investments, corporate venture capital, corporate governance & commercial matters. Esther’s clients span multiple industries, including ntech, auto, manufacturing, packaging, life sciences, energy & nutritional products.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher welcomes Susan Rabinowitz as a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate and Financial Services Department and Capital Markets practice. Susan advises domestic and foreign companies and underwriters on a range of capital markets transactions across various industries, as well as on disclosure, compliance and governance matters. Susan also represents rms in strategic transactions such as M&A and joint ventures, including in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors.

Samantha Marchand an Associate in the rm’s Litigation Practice Group. She focuses her practice on complex litigation matters, with an emphasis on trade secrets. She is committed to helping businesses protect their proprietary information and maintain a competitive advantage. Michael O’Donnell is an Associate in the rm’s Litigation Practice Group. He focuses his practice on complex commercial disputes and class action litigation in federal and state courts across the country. His experience includes breach of contract disputes, consumer class action cases, and appeals.

O’Donnell

Mark Resnik, JD, CPA and investment manager

Steven Resnik, JD, MBA are proud to announce the launch of Burling Wealth Partners with over $750 million in assets under management at 11/30/24. Based in Chicago, Burling is an innovative, independent wealth management rm dedicated to serving as a trusted partner for highnet-worth individuals and families. Mark Resnik has over 30 years of industry experience having held leadership roles with CIBC Private Wealth and Segall Bryant & Hamill. Previously, Mark practiced as an attorney and a certi ed public accountant. Steven Resnik has held investment roles at multibillion dollar rms including The Edgewater Funds, Fifth Street Asset Management, and Piper Jaffray.

S.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

LAW FIRM

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

LAW FIRM

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

LAW FIRM

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Chicago

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

FIRM

Murphy Rohde

Aviles

Burling Wealth Partners, Chicago

Veteran wealth advisor

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Resnik

LEGAL

more than 1,200 in 2021.

e sale to Wonder, which dabbles in everything from food trucks and food halls to prepared meals and delivery, is the latest dip in a roller-coaster ride over the past decade in which Grubhub went from a leader to also-ran in the industry it helped create.

Grubhub has about 6% marketshare in the U.S. food delivery market, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, compared with 68% for DoorDash and 26% for Uber Eats.

e Wonder deal dulls a little of the shine of one of Chicago's trophy tech companies.

“Grubhub’s rst act was incredibly successful,” says Tom Forte, a consumer-technology analyst with Maxim Group in New York, who followed the company while it was public.

“Having a marketplace of connecting consumers and restaurants was a great idea. It was initially high growth and high margins, then everything changed with delivery and the gig economy. (Grubhub's) willingness to embrace that change and nd a willing dance partner that could help was problematic.”

Startup star

Grubhub’s origin story was the stu of legend: Matt Maloney and Mike Evans, two coders at a Chicago dot-com who were tired of ordering pizza from the same place night after night, decided to start a website for nding local restaurant menus.

Most independent restaurants still operated by fax and phone, long before online ordering and mobile apps. Grubhub connected restaurants with customers and took a cut of the transaction in return.

Maloney honed the idea in the MBA program at the University of Chicago, winning the school’s business-plan competition. A local venture fund, Origin Ventures, wrote an early check before Silicon Valley investors got onboard. e company eventually raised $84 million in venture funding.

“Grubhub was a leader in something new, not something old,” says Erik Gordon, who teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “VCs landed and got o the plane in Chi-

PE DEALS

From Page 1

investors are thinking and focused on.”

A West Monroe report on the subject said, “AI is rapidly becoming indispensable for rms aiming to streamline decision-making and enhance investment performance.”

For sectors prevalent in the Chicago market, food companies are concerned about policies coming from Robert Kennedy Jr., whom President-elect Donald Trump nominated to be Health & Human Services secretary, hitting their industry hard.

“Some of the food companies are freaking out,” Campbell said.

cago and wrote checks. It showed you could build a company and not have to move it to the coasts.”

e company survived the industry’s initial shakeout, with Maloney still in control after a 2013 merger with New York-based rival Seamless, which predated Grubhub but focused more on corporate customers than consumers.

IPO daze

e combined company went public in 2014, valued at $2.1 billion. Its share price climbed steadily from $26 to $40, a strong enough performance to justify a secondary stock o ering that allowed some insiders to cash out. Over the next four years, the stock soared as high as $146.73 per share.

In the meantime, new rivals Uber Eats and DoorDash had entered the business, using gig workers to deliver food. Bankrolled by Japanese investment giant SoftBank, DoorDash, in particular, could a ord to lose money on deliveries to gain market share, while Grubhub, a pro table public company, could not.

“I think you might start to see some of the snacking, unhealthy categories try to get unloaded. Do these portfolios get divested with some pending regulatory pressure coming down their way?”

Privately held Mars’ acquisition of Chicago-based Kellanova was one of the M&A highlights of 2023, with the maker of Pringles chips and Eggo waffles going for $36 billion. Restrictive policies on the sector could lower valuations for food companies in 2025.

But relaxing of regulations with regard to pollution and other environmental concerns could lead to a rebound in the logistics and transportation sector, a boon to may Chicago-area companies, Campbell added.

Grubhub’s business, once conned to being a digital middleman for restaurants, was morphing into a messy logistics play that threatened to upend the business model. Maloney saw the writing on the wall.

" e reality is when you base your company 100% on the requirement to deliver food, you have a shitty-margin, hard-to-scale logistical nightmare," Maloney said early in the transition. "( is) is just a crummy business model, no matter how many millions of dollars they get to fund it. at's what people didn't realize and what everyone is facing right now."

Grubhub survived the initial onslaught but soon lost market share to competitors o ering heavy discounts and promotions. Its stock wilted.

Pandemic blues

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing restaurants around the country to close their dining rooms, demand soared for Grubhub and its rivals. Costs rose, too, squeezing pro ts. And cities began looking to limit the fees that

restaurants said were putting them in jeopardy.

Uber, whose core transportation business was hit hard by pandemic lockdowns in Chicago and other cities, moved to acquire Grubhub but was outbid by Just Eat Takeaway.com, a European company eager to break into the U.S. market.

Maloney engineered an all-stock deal in June 2020 that valued Grubhub shares at $75 apiece, a 30% premium to their price at the time with a total value more than three times the company’s $2.1 billion valuation when it went public.

“ e fact that they sold at the peak for $7.3 billion, I give Matt and the management team a lot of credit,” says Howard Tullman, a veteran Chicago technology entrepreneur and startup investor.

Grubhub's run as an independent company was over.

“It’s very rare to make the next jump after you become a public company, and you’re in the quarter-to-quarter rat race,” Tullman says.

It took a year for the deal to close, and Maloney left the com-

pany soon after. He declined an interview request.

Grubhub languished under its new owners, who started looking to unload the company in less than a year. Just Eat Takeaway.com says order volume in North America, most of which comes from Grubhub, fell 9% though the rst nine months, following a 14% drop for full-year 2023.

What's next

Grubhub is being bought by Wonder, which announced another $250 million in venture funding in connection with the deal after raising $700 million earlier this year. It isn’t clear exactly how Grubhub will be folded into Wonder, which has its own mobile-ordering app as well as restaurants.

Grubhub’s Silicon Valley nemesis, DoorDash, marches on. It’s pro table, and its revenue grew 25% last quarter from a year earlier. e stock reached a 52-weekhigh close of $176.49 per share Nov. 12, and the company is valued at $70.4 billion.

“Grubhub, until a few years ago, looked like it maybe it would be Google, not Yahoo, until Uber and DoorDash showed up,” Gordon says. “Grubhub is looking more like Yahoo.”

He says Grubhub, like online-deal company Groupon, generated a buzz about Chicago in the early 2010s that hadn’t existed before. Groupon was splashier but soon zzled, while Grubhub carried on.

“Groupon and Grubhub changed for young, tech-savvy graduates what Chicago had to o er,” says Gordon, who pays close attention to where Michigan MBA students go after graduation. “Students went from saying to the consulting rms that 'I won’t go to Chicago or Dallas' to 'I’ll come work for you if you put me in Chicago for three years.'

“You don’t have students saying, “Groupon and Grubhub didn’t pan out, so I don’t want to go to Chicago.’ . . .Chicago’s problem now is they hear from other students that it’s not safe.

“You still have to be pretty happy that Groupon and Grubhub happened in Chicago, despite where they ended up," Gordon says. "You just wish you’d get one that would grow up and be like Google or Microsoft or Salesforce or Dell, one that stays and just gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”

Fello, a new Chicago-based startup, is looking to put the power of the gig economy at work to combat loneliness, raising $10.4 million for its peer support platform, the company said in a news release on Dec. 3.

Led by entrepreneur Pete Kadens, a 2012 Crain's 40 Under 40 alum, and Alyssa Pollak, a co-founder of Uber, Fello counts Glen Tullman’s 62Ventures, e Fellowship Fund of Capital Factory, Katalyst Capital and O ine Ventures as some of its seed investors, the release said.

Its mission is to bring together " nders" and "fellos" to combat what U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy last year dubbed a growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. Murthy has compared the health impact of social isolation to a 15-cigarette-a-day habit.

Fello is building a virtual marketplace where everyday people, or fellos, share their stories and wisdom as an alternative to traditional therapy for people seeking support, which it calls nders, the release said.

e 30-minute check-ins with a fello on the app currently o er help in four verticals — relationships, parenting, drug use and

alcohol use, with more topics expected as the platform expands, the release said.

While a nder would pay $40 for the half-hour video check-in, vetted and trained fellos can earn up to $56 an hour, the press release said.

e release says the idea for Fello came out of two of its founders' experience. Je Werring, another Fello co-founder, approached Kadens, his longtime friend, after struggling with addiction and nding that outlets such as rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous were incomplete solutions, the release said. Kadens is now 17 years sober, the release said.

“When Fello co-founder Je Werring came to me with this idea, I knew we had to do something to change the way people help and heal — and make it both a ordable and accessible," Kadens said in the release. " is is not just another mental health app. We have built a platform for getting experience-based peer support where people can turn their most valuable and largely underutilized asset — their lived experience — into a superpower.

Like Uber did for drivers with cars, Airbnb did for dwellings, and Taskrabbit did for handyman skill.”

“Telling the growing number of people struggling with loneliness that traditional therapy is their only option is like sending everyone with a stubbed toe to the emergency room," Pollak, who serves as CEO, said in the release. "Fello is here to bridge the widening gap for those seeking help from others who have successfully navigated similar challenges — whether it's the stress of parenting or the struggle of addiction."

e release notes that, while envisioned as an alternative to therapy, peer support isn't new. It pointes to Mental Health America's quantitative and qualitative evidence that peer support lowers the overall cost of mental health services speci cally by reducing re-hospitalization rates and days spent in inpatient services and increasing the use of outpatient services, the release said.

e vetting and training process for fellos was developed by a team led by Fello clinical adviser Dr. ekla Ross and Chief Medical O cer Dr. Adam Glasofer, the release said. e process includes background and reference checks, completion of training modules and an assessment before they can begin o ering check-ins, it said.

KeyBank hires 5 to launch Chicago unit

By Mark Weinraub

KeyBank hired ve bankers from Huntington Bank to launch its commercial banking operations in Chicago.

e move, made in late November, positions the Cleveland-based bank to serve more middle-market clients. e company also added commercial bankers in the Southern California area.

"Chicago and Southern California are two of the largest concentrations of middle-market businesses in the country, where our unique platform gives us a competitive advantage," Ken Gavrity, president of Key Com-

mercial Bank, said in a statement. "We're excited to bring the full scope of operations to these areas where our robust capital markets capabilities and specialized industry verticals are well-established."

KeyBank, with $190 billion in assets, has no retail branches in Chicago but has offered capital market services to clients in the region through its KeyBanc Capital Markets business.

e company tapped Ben Van Vlerah as its Illinois market president and regional commercial leader for Illinois and northern Indiana. He had previously been Huntington’s commercial regional manager for

Illinois and Wisconsin.

KeyBank also lured bankers Gavin Newman, Ryan Ferris, Taylor Fraleigh and Anthony Balthazor away from Huntington.

Huntington, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, said it "will continue to fully support Commercial Bank customers in this region."

e bank recently named Patrice DeCorrevont as president of its Illinois-Wisconsin region after Chris Sweetland, who had been with Huntington for 14 years, retired. DeCorrevont had been Illinois market leader for commercial banking at Wells Fargo.

By Jon Asplund

From left: Fello co-founders Jeff Werring, Pete Kadens and Alyssa Pollack | FELLO

COMPASS

From Page 3

volume, becomes the biggest locally owned real estate brokerage with the sale of @properties Christie’s to a New York operation.

Compass’s volume in 2023 was $184 billion, or something like 10 times the size of @properties Christie’s, also according to RealTrends. It was the rm’s third straight year as the nation’s largest real estate brokerage by volume. Robert Reffkin, who founded Compass in 2012 and is its CEO, addressed the global business the acquisition brings his firm.

WORKFORCE

management roles in Chicago, while Black people hold 8.1%, which is slightly above the national averages. White people account for 67.7% of such jobs.

Nationally, Brookings estimates that 33.6% of these highly digital jobs were held by women, 10.5% by Hispanic people and 8.0% by Black people. However, their participation in tech is about onethird lower than their overall presence in the broader workforce.

Computer, engineering and management jobs with a tech focus play an outsized role in the economy, with outsized growth and pay.

In Chicago, such jobs account for 10.5% of all employment, just slightly ahead of the 9.8% national average. Tech-focused computer, engineering and management jobs grew 46% locally between 2010 and 2023, compared with overall employment growth of 10%, Brookings says.

Digital computer, engineering and management jobs pay

$130,092 in Chicago, compared with an average of $70,266 for all jobs.

“Chicago companies are very

@properties acquired the Christie’s brand three years ago. At the time, @properties said Christie’s had done $500 billion in sales over the past ve years.

In the Dec. 2 press release, Reffkin said acquiring @properties Christie’s “will allow us to empower strong independent brokerages and broker-entrepreneurs around the world who are a liates under Christie’s International Real Estate.”

Compass will also acquire @properties spinoffs title company Proper Title and mortgage company Proper Rate — both @ properties spinoffs — and Suburban Jungle, a lead-generation business.

committed to inclusive hiring. ey don’t have to be sold on it,” says Nuwan Samaraweera, chief operating o cer of P33, a civic and corporate partnership focused on growing Chicago’s tech community.

“We’re helping employers match demand with supply. Companies are saying: 'When the labor shortage happens, we need to think about diversity and the labor pools we’re tapped into.' ”

Samaraweera says employers felt the need to cast a wider hiring net during the pandemic, when tech hiring soared and Chicago companies found themselves bidding against a nationwide marketplace because of remote work. Many companies have started to look more closely at apprenticeships and considering workers with two-year degrees, rather than requiring fouryear degrees for some tech roles.

“Some of that has receded. But having experienced the crunch, there’s a realization we have to have a long-term view and grow the supply of labor in the city of Chicago in a way that allows residents on South and West sides of Chicago to participate,” he says. “ is is a business question, not philanthropy.”

More broadly, the overall work-

Golden and Wong partnered up to start the firm 24 years ago, when the “@” sign in its name was a new-fangled way to signal that the internet and other emerging technologies would be central to their business effort.

In the years since, the brokerage has developed proprietary technology such as a tailor-made software package that puts all aspects of an agent’s business in one place. e technology package was the backbone of the brokerage’s move into national franchising, Wong told Crain’s in 2021. Compass, Wong said in prepared statements on Dec. 2, “shares our commitment to enhance the real estate industry

force is becoming more connected to computer technology. Brookings estimates that 26% of U.S. workers were in highly digital jobs last year, up from 18% in 2010 and just 9% in 2002.

e Washington, D.C.-based think tank says federal investment programs — including the American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, CHIPS & Science Act, and the In ation Reduction Act — which funded expansions across technologies, such as semiconductors and electric vehicles, had provisions that helped improve participation by underrepresented groups such as women and minorities.

It warns that those investments could be at risk in Donald Trump’s second term as president.

“Trump expressed his support for dismantling such e orts to reduce inequalities in his 2024 campaign, and his election is likely to both accelerate the rollback of such policies on the federal level as well as turbocharge legal e orts that are seeking to eliminate policies aimed at supporting the progress of historically underrepresented racial groups,” the Brookings Institution wrote.

through technology, marketing, and exceptional service.”

e announcement made no direct mention of whether the @properties name will remain or for how long, and because Wong said nobody at the rm will comment, it’s not possible to say.

Ten years ago, when a merger of two other Chicago real estate brokerages and the addition of the then-new national brand Berkshire Hathaway created a 16syllable name, a top executive assured Crain’s that all the former names had valuable brand equity and the lengthy new name would stay. Five years later, the two local names were eliminated and only Berkshire Hathaway remained.

DONATIONS

From Page 3

nonprofits to use the money as they see fit. In total, Community Investment Corp. has received $23 million from Scott and her philanthropic foundation, Yield Giving.

So far in 2024, 19 organizations have each received $2 million donations, and four nonprofits landed $1 million each, according to her website.

Since 2020, Scott's largest donations in the Chicago area were $40 million to the University of Illinois Chicago, $25 million to the United Way of Metro Chicago, $25 million to Chicago Public Schools and $20 million to Easterseals, which serves the Chicago and Rockford areas.

To date, Scott has given more than $17 billion to more than 2,000 nonprofits globally as part of her pledge to give away most of her wealth. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates her net worth at $38.1 billion.

Rasero, andy.rasero@crain.com

@properties founder Thaddeus Wong, left, and Michael Golden | MANUEL MARTINEZ