James J. O'Connor, Co-Chairman
... served as chairman and chief executive officer of Unicom Corporation and its subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison Company, having worked there for 35 years before retiring in 1998. Mr. O'Connor currently serves as director on numerous corporate and philanthropic boards, including: Corning Incorporated, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, United Airlines, the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Urban League, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Adler Planetarium, the Chicago Symphony, the Lyric Opera, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Northwestern University. Mr. O'Connor was one of the founders of the Big Shoulders Fund and has served has its co-chairman since its inception.

John A. Canning, Jr., Co-Chairman
... is the Chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) which specializes in management buyout and special equity investing.  MDP manages over $12 billion of committed capital and portfolio investments.  Prior to founding MDP in 1993, Mr. Canning spent 24 years with First Chicago Corporation, most recently as Executive Vice President of The First National Bank of Chicago and President of First Chicago Venture Capital.  In addition to serving as Co-Chairman of the Big Shoulders Fund, Mr. Canning  currently serves on numerous corporate and philanthropic boards including The Economic Club of Chicago, Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, The Chicago Community Trust, The Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, and Northwestern University.

Monsignor Kenneth Velo, President
... has been a priest in the Archdiocese for more than thirty years having served in numerous positions including vice chancellor, executive assistant to Cardinal Bernardin, president of Catholic Church Extension Society, and since 2001 has served full-time as a senior executive in the Office of Catholic Collaboration at DePaul University. In addition, Monsignor Velo has been serving as president of the Big Shoulders Fund since 2003.