Alison Ranney specializes in serving leading nonprofit organizations and institutions of education across the country. Alison has successfully conducted searches for a range of clients at the CEO, President, Provost, Dean, Executive Director, COO and Vice President levels, as well as direct reports to these positions and members of their boards of directors. In addition to being a member of the Nonprofit sector and Education practice, Alison is also a member of the Diversity Team.

Recent Client Experience

Alison has recently placed CEOs of numerous cultural institutions, including major art museums and leading academically-based museums across the country. She has also worked with foundations on CEO and Board searches and recently helped one of the world’s largest foundations find the leader of its prestigious fellowship program. Alison has recruited CEOs of business clubs and partnered with a range of other nonprofit organizations to find their top leaders. In higher education, she has led searches for Presidents, Deans of Law, Architecture, Engineering and Art & Sciences as well as other senior administrative roles ranging from COOs to Vice President, Civic Engagement.

Previous Experience

Prior to her executive search career, Alison served as a consultant with a focus on business development, marketing and sales. In this capacity, she served as Vice President for the real estate development firm responsible for Prairie Crossing, the award-winning conservation community. Previously, Alison was an executive with AT&T Wireless, where she managed joint venture relationships from launch through initial public offering and subsequent financings. Alison began her career in the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where she was a corporate attorney with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.

Additional Professional Activities

Alison serves on the board of directors of the Lake Forest Bank & Trust Corporation, the flagship bank of Wintrust Financial Corporation, where she is an active member of the Compensation & Nominating, Credit, Audit and Business Development Committees.

With a strong commitment to civic involvement, Alison also serves on the board of directors of Chicago Public Media, where she has been an active member of the Executive Committee and chaired the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. She has served on the board of directors of City Year Chicago and Ryerson Woods Conservation Area as well as the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School. Alison is currently serving on the Alumni Council of Phillips Andover Academy and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Education

Alison received her B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in Urban Studies from Brown University. Alison received her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.