University of Chicago Office of Business Opportunity

🗣️Apply for this grant by October 31! Cook County, Suburban Cook, city of Chicago -Businesses within the following sectors: finance, insurance, IT, professional services, real estate, manufacturing and construction can receive $100K to fuel their growth. Must have > then $500k in revenue and at least one employee.

We love the feedback we‘ve received from past participants of the Institute for Strategic Business Opportunities:

“So helpful it should happen more than once a year.”

“It was worth every minute. Very resourceful!”

We’re excited to be hosting our 3rd cohort on September 10 at the beautiful UChicago Gleacher Center.

Register now: Https://https://lnkd.in/gAEj7MXE

You dont want to miss our Institute for Strategic Business Opportunities on September 10.

We are convening procurement and supplier management professionals across industries for a high impact day focused on strategic solutions to advance your work to ensure qualified businesses have equitable access to compete for contract opportunities.

Given the ongoing legal and policy shifts impacting the industry, this Institute is more critical than ever. There are 2 sessions addressing these shifts and how you can best handle them. I am also excited about our focus on expanding access to higher-margin, wealth-building professional services industries, where new and local businesses have historically been underrepresented.
*Special thanks to Kenneth Jones for the 5yr MacArthur grant and John Rogers for supporting this important work!

Register Now!

10% Early Bird discount - Register by August 15.
https://institute2025.swoogo.com/UChicago

The UChicago Institute for Strategic Business Opportunities is growing!
New Course: Innovative Business and Procurement Strategies

Early Bird registration is open: Use code EARLYBIRD10 for 10% off.
Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gAEj7MXE
Will you be attending or sending members of your procurement team?

We heard you and we are answering your requests!

This year’s Institute will be different from prior years. We are going to teach strategies to navigate the current legal shifts, share with you professional development strategies to help you advance your careers in this important procurement work (yes it’s possible), we will tell you best practices to expand your vendor pool by adding more qualified businesses within key wealth building industries, and we’ll be sharing so much more. You do not want to miss this one-of-a-kind course! Check out the full schedule on the registration site. Share with your clients and connections. We hope to see you there!

Register Now at: https://lnkd.in/gXzRMyDT

The landscape is evolving—now’s the time to understand the latest in supplier engagement practices.
Register Here: discount: https://institute2025.swoogo.com/UChicago

At UChicago, we are focused on expanding access and opportunities for a broader range of local businesses—within goods and services and professional services industries.
The Institute for Strategic Business Opportunities is an in person program where procurement and sourcing professionals can learn directly from industry experts.

On September 10th we’ll be focusing on actionable steps your organization can take to adapt to evolving legal standards and policy shifts, best practices in expanding your vendor portfolio, uncovering high impact professional services partnerships, and much more.

Registration opens next week, so stay tuned. I hope to see you there!

The Commercial Club of Chicago’s Lunch featured a fireside chat with two Chicago Icons: Mr. Walter Massey and Mr. Lester McKeever. Many gems were dropped!
I took pride in hearing Mr. McKeever mention our business diversity programs (Professional Services Symposium and Business Diversity Institute) that serve as models for other organizations.

I had the honor of hosting a fireside chat with John Rogers Jr., Co-CEO of during the Chicago Chapter of the National Association for Securities Professionals Annual Holiday celebration. 🙂