Chicago United Bridge Awards Dinner Honors United Airlines CEO, 50 Business Leaders of Color


Chicago United will honor Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines at its annual Bridge Awards Dinner at the Hilton Chicago on Nov. 7. Munoz will receive the Bridge Award, which recognizes a corporate chief executive officer who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in achieving diversity and inclusion, especially at the board level. The selection process includes a rigorous review of publicly available data by prominent executives who are highly respected members of the Chicago business community

Chicago United also will officially introduce top executives selected to appear in the organization’s 2019 Business Leaders of Color publication to the anticipated nearly 1,000 attendees. The biennial publication profiles 50 remarkable, diverse business professionals who are ready to step onto corporate boards. Chosen from a highly competitive field of 182 nominees, the individuals selected for the publication demonstrate a broad range of professional experiences and proven track records of success in numerous industries.

For 15 years, the Bridge Awards dinner has elevated the visibility of corporate leaders committed to inclusion. The event will exemplify Chicago United’s 2019 theme, Leading Boldly, by connecting attendees with Chicago’s most influential business executives and civic leaders who share the value of advancing inclusion and are leading the charge in their organizations and communities.

The dinner is presented by Greeley and Hansen, a global leader in developing innovative engineering solutions for a broad scope of water challenges. The firm collaborates with clients in the water sector to develop sustainable water resources programs to create better urban environments that improve the quality of life in communities worldwide.

“Through our Bridge Awards recognition, Chicago United proudly salutes corporate CEOs who have implemented effective measures to ensure diversity on their boards of directors and in their executive ranks,” said Gloria Castillo, president and CEO of Chicago United. “Oscar Munoz is an exemplary example of that kind of corporate leadership and vision, and we are so proud to have him as our honoree.”

Castillo added, “Since its first release in 2003, the Business Leaders of Color publication has served as a resource to increase inclusion of diverse candidates on the boards of Fortune 1,000 corporations. Between 2003 and 2019, the publication has featured 420 individuals who dispel the myth that there are not enough qualified, dynamic, visionary and talented executives of color to step into corporate board directorships in Chicago and beyond. Executives featured in the publications over the years have been elected to more than 300 directorships.”

To reserve tickets or tables for the Bridge Awards, contact Gail Arrigo, Chicago United Director of Operations, at 312-977-3066 or garrigo@chicago-united.org.To download the 2019 Business Leaders of Color publication, go to http://www.chicago-united.org.

About Chicago United

Chicago United is a corporate membership and advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve parity in economic opportunity for people of color by advancing multiracial leadership in corporate governance, executive level management, and business diversity. Founded in 1968, the organization is focused on transforming the Chicago region into the most inclusive business ecosystem in the nation by engaging the top publicly and privately held corporations in leading talent management and inclusive diversity practices. Chicago United’s signature programs include its Business Leaders of Color publication, which showcases a diverse pool of corporate director candidates, the Five Forward Initiative™, designed to invigorate job creation in communities of color by increasing the scale of large Minority Business Enterprises in the Chicago region, Inside Inclusion featuring the Corporate Diversity Profile, and the Corporate Inclusion Institute, the first-ever citywide business talent development program. http://www.chicago-united.org

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