John Edwardson was elected chairman of the Board of The Executives’ Club of Chicago, one of the nation’s top three business forums. Edwardson is also chairman and chief executive officer of CDW Corp.
The Executives’ Club of Chicago is a business forum for thought leadership, education and best business practices.
As chairman and chief executive officer of CDW Corp., Edwardson is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and leading the senior management team. Edwardson joined CDW in 2001. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of Burns International Services Corp. from 1999 until 2000.
He previously was a director, president and chief operating officer of UAL Corp. and United Airlines. Edwardson also was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ameritech Corp. from 1991 to 1994.
He is a graduate of Purdue University, where he earned a bachelor of science in industrial engineering, and of the University of Chicago, where he earned an MBA. He is on the board of directors of Household International and FedEx Corp. Edwardson also is on the board of trustees of Purdue University.
TRANSUNION
TransUnion appointed Cathy Madden vice president of Corporate Strategy. In this newly created role, Madden is responsible for working with TransUnion leaders across the enterprise to identify, develop and prioritize cross-divisional business opportunities.
Madden has more than 10 years of experience with TransUnion. Most recently, she was vice president of Business Planning for U.S. Information Services. Prior to that, she was vice president of Product Development for TransUnion’s Analytic Decision Services business unit.
In addition, Madden has held product development positions with TransUnion’s Marketing Services, Insurance, Business Information and U.S. Credit Reporting divisions. She holds a master of science degree in mathematics from Illinois State University and a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Iowa State University.
VITA FOOD PRODUCTS
Vita Food Products Inc. promoted Clifford Bolen to chief operating officer. Bolen had been chief financial officer since 2000.
His background includes positions in operations management, as well as senior financial management for more than 20 years, with a concentration in manufacturing and food processing. For the time being, he will continue to act as chief financial officer.
Bolen graduated from the University of Chicago’s Executive MBA program in 1998.
Vita Food Products also hired William Zaikos as vice president of marketing. Zaikos has held numerous positions within Kraft, including, most recently, brand manager – Easy Mac. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago.
MK CAPITAL
MK Capital added Neil E. Cox to the organization. Cox joins the firm as a Venture Partner and will be part of the MK Capital investment team. His investment expertise is in companies providing information technology solutions for service providers and enterprises that improve the overall performance of the entity.
Prior to joining MK Capital, Neil was the executive vice president of Science Applications International Corp. He was responsible for next-generation technologies and networks for both wired and wireless businesses.
He also was president of Ameritech Information Industry Services, a $1 billion division; president of SecurityLink from Ameritech, the second-largest security monitoring business in North America; and was responsible for Ameritech’s International Operations. Cox was on the board of directors of numerous domestic and international companies.
He is a graduate of Purdue University.
ILLINOIS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE
The Illinois Technology Development Alliance named Michael E. Mikolajczyk and Rus Zitny to its board of directors. Mikolajczyk is founder and managing director of Catalyst Capital Management LLC, and Zitny is chief operating officer of LTW. They join the other nine leaders from business, finance and government who make up ITDA’s board of directors.
Mikolajczyk has nearly 30 years of experience in high-growth telecommunications and IT consulting environments. Prior to founding Catalyst Capital Management, he was president and vice chairman of DiamondCluster International and chief financial officer of Technology Solutions Co. and held several senior executive positions at MCI Communications Inc., a global telecommunications company.
Zitny has more than 27 years of high-tech experience, holding senior-level positions in the telecom, Internet, software and services spaces. Prior to LTW, he was the chief sales and marketing officer for I-Works Inc. and the area vice president for Sprint PCS Chicago, where he oversaw the development of its sales and distribution plan.
