Chicago City Wire

Chicagoland Chamber Adds to Board of Directors

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce held its quarterly Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, February 8 at DLA Piper offices with a special appearance from WTTW Chicago Tonight Co-Host Paris Schultz. The Chamber’s Nominating Committee slated several additions to the Board of Directors.

Nominated to the Board of Directors

Bryan Brown

Vice President of Human Resources and Safety | Finkl Steel

Bryan Brown has over 30 years of human resources and safety leadership experience in several steel and iron industries including rail products (wheels, bearings, axles) and ductile iron pipe manufacturing.  He was Vice President of Human Resources and Safety for Brenco Bearings, Director of HR and Safety for Griffin Wheel, Vice President of HR and Safety for Griffin Pipe and Director of HR and Safety for Amsted Rail.   Bryan has experience leading effective bargaining with a number of US and Canadian unions and has led HR and employee relations for non-union operations.  He has 25 years of experience at the senior management level and has been a valued strategic business partner to leadership teams that he has served.  Bryan was on the Board of Directors for John Tyler Community College for 8 years.  He is a new member of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University.  

Richard Dresden

Senior Vice President, Sales and Field Operations | Ensono

Richard leads a team of sales, consulting, channel, and solution architecture professionals who partner with Ensono clients on their IT transformation needs. He brings an impressive background in SaaS, cloud, managed services, and IT outsourcing to the Ensono go-to-market strategy and is a trusted advisor to his clients. Richard’s previous experience includes head of sales at Mattersight, a publicly-traded SaaS firm as well as multiple leadership roles at CenturyLink including head of financial services vertical and founder of the IT outsourcing practice. Previous experience also includes IT and Consulting roles at UBS and Deloitte Consulting, respectively.  Richard received a BA from Indiana University and earned his MBA from the University of Michigan.

Patricia Brown Holmes

Managing Partner | Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP

RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes practiced law on both sides of the bench in courtrooms at every level, serving as Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, assistant U.S. attorney NDIL, assistant state’s attorney for Cook County, and Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel for the city of Chicago. Patricia is the first African-American woman to manage and have her name on the door of a major law firm that is not women- or minority-owned. Patricia earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

Joe Manna

Chief Operating Officer | Atomic Hospitality Group

Joe Manna, Chief Operating Officer for Atomic Hospitality is responsible for not only a strong bottom line but also a strong handshake for every guest. With passion, drive and two decades of hospitality experience, Joe has mastered the art of collaboration. Among the city’s most acclaimed hospitality professionals, Illinois-born Manna’s unerring instincts for hospitality started working Security in a college nightclub at 19 years old and were only further honed through roles at Western Illinois’ Top of the Town and Chicago’s Ala Carte Entertainment, where he spent 8 years overseeing staffing, operations, budgeting, and promotions as a General Manager for multiple concepts. Ever the entrepreneur, Joe opened his own venue in Crystal Lake where he inspired his team to “embrace the grind, take pride in your hard work, and welcome new challenges with open arms”.

Renee Fleener Morales

Public Affairs Manager, Central Area | Crown Castle

Renee Fleener Morales is Crown Castle’s Public Affairs Manager for the Central Area. Renee has been with Crown Castle since 2007. Renee co-leads the national initiative for addressing health and safety concerns with communities for Crown Castle. Renee sits on the Choose DuPage Board of Directors and the Washington County, PA Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Prior to Crown Castle she was with the Oklahoma House of Representatives for over ten years and finished her career in the Chief Clerk’s office as the Reading Clerk on the House floor. Renee is a fifth generation Oklahoma ‘89er and Daughter of the American Revolution. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Central Oklahoma. She lives in Katy, Texas with her husband and two children.

Brad Rachmiel

Managing Director & Chicago Office Market Leader | Protiviti

Brad Rachmiel serves as the Chicago Office Leader for Protiviti. He is also a member of Protiviti’s Internal Audit & Financial Advisory (“IAFA”) Global Leadership Team and is the Central Region Leader of Protiviti’s IPO practice. Brad brings over 25 years of experience in public accounting, internal audit and consulting services. Brad is accredited by the IIA in the performance of External Quality Assessments and received his Directorship Certification from the NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors). Brad earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a master’s degree in Strategy, Marketing and Finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Original source can be found here