CHICAGO – Skills for Chicagoland’s Future announced today that Marie Trzupek Lynch, CEO and President, will be stepping away from Skills at the end of 2022 after thirteen years to re-enter the private sector. Lynch is the founding CEO of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (Skills) and has grown it from concept into a leading workforce nonprofit organization that is poised for expanded impact in Chicago and across the United States.
Lynch said, “Leading Skills’ growth from a disruptive concept to a highly impactful organization with local and national impact that has increased the economic mobility for thousands of unemployed individuals has been a highlight of my career. The organization is set up for long-term success and I’m excited to watch the continued local and national growth.”
During her tenure, Lynch was a leading advocate and voice for change in the local and national workforce sector. Skills pioneered and cemented the need for demand-driven workforce organizations to function as an intermediary between the business community and job seekers while fundraising from the private sector to support this approach. Through innovative programming and hyper-responsive strategies, the Skills team helped drive economic change for the thousands of Chicagoans impacted by Skills’ work. Lynch also oversaw the expansion of Skills’ model outside of Chicago to its first affiliate site in Rhode Island and the creation of its national expansion plan.
In 2022, Skills had its highest performing year to date placing over 1,500 people into jobs, surpassing 10,000 all-time placements at over 120 businesses, and raising over $1.8 million at its annual Employment Champions Breakfast fundraiser. Additionally, interest in the Skills model continues to grow, and Skills entered its next phase of national expansion with future site announcements pending in the months to come.
Jim Coleman will serve as Interim Board Advisor - CEO Transition Leadership to support Skills’ continued growth plans and unwavering mission of serving unemployed job seekers and the business community during the transition period. Coleman was a Senior Managing Director with Accenture where he had a wide range of consulting and leadership roles in his over 30-year career including leading Accenture’s Chicago Office. “I have tremendous respect for Skills as an organization, and Marie and Mark as leaders,” Coleman said, adding, “I’ve enjoyed partnering with and supporting Skills over the years, and now I am excited to help in the transition process as Skills moves on to its next CEO.”
“I’m incredibly grateful for Marie’s years of leadership and dedication to Skills. It has been wonderful to work alongside her. I couldn’t be prouder of the outstanding team that Marie has put together at Skills, and of our Board of Directors,” said Board Chair Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. He added, “I’m excited about the tremendous momentum we have as we head into 2023 and beyond.”
Lynch will continue in her role through the end of 2022 to support the needs of Skills and to ensure a smooth transition. Skills will launch a national search for its next CEO and will utilize an executive search firm to support this effort. Nazneen Razi is facilitating the process on behalf of Skills’ Board of Directors. Skills is led by a Board of Directors comprised of forty top executives from the Chicagoland area’s leading corporations.