CHICAGO —When she takes over as Choose Chicago’s new CEO on May 9, Lynn Osmond will be on the scene. Not only did she spend 25 years as the head of the Chicago Architecture Center, she also served on Choose Chicago’s board of directors, so she knows the organization inside out. And to top it all off, she’ll be Choose Chicago’s first CEO.
Choose Chicago conducted an exhaustive global search by a 13-person search committee to find the top person when they realized the answer might be right in their own region. “When they decided we needed someone with on-the-ground experience, fingers started pointing at me,” Osmond said. “They knew what I was doing and that I knew every nook and cranny. I know the reasons why Chicago was the right place to go.”
Under Osmond’s leadership, the Chicago Architecture Center has grown from a $2.4 million operation in 1996, with an audience of 150,000, to a $25 million organization in 2019, with an audience of 700,000, making it one of the city’s premier cultural attractions and the largest such architecture center in the world. It was his vision that gave rise to Open House Chicago, a free weekend festival that allows attendees to tour dozens of buildings not typically open to the public, and the Chicago Architecture Center, with its interactive city model at 111 E. Wacker Drive. For business events, the Chicago Architecture Center’s on-board tour The First Lady of Chicago has become a must-see attraction.
In his new role, Osmond plans to connect trade show organizers with the city’s many treasures, like the architecture cruise, but also some lesser-known experiences. “Convention attendees are looking for authentic tourism experiences, the ability to go to the outlying neighborhoods, like Rogers Park and Hyde Park, in addition to seeing the typical tourist attractions. We need to play to that for pre- and post-convention activities,” Osmond said.
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While she is clearly focused on how she can help strengthen Chicago’s position as a leader in conventions, she is not unaware that she is a woman leader. In fact, she just completed a one-year term as president of the International Women’s Forum in Chicago. “I intend to work closely with women in this sector,” she said. “That will be one of my priorities in this role.”
Contact Lynn Osmond at (312) 922-3432