Michael Fassnacht, the outgoing CEO of World Business Chicago, has landed a new gig as president of the Chicago region and chief growth officer for Clayco, a real estate development and construction powerhouse.
Clayco, which moved its headquarters to Chicago from St. Louis more than a decade ago, has its hands in a number of major projects, from building the new Rivian EV truck plant in Georgia to the Obama Presidential Center and the slow-to-liftoff O’Hare expansion in Chicago.
“The great thing is I can continue to focus on promoting Chicagoland and Chicago, but also have influence across the organization nationwide,” Fassnacht told the Tribune.
Fassnacht, a former advertising executive, announced his decision to step down at World Business Chicago in December after nearly four years as the city’s top corporate pitchman. In addition to being head of the city’s public-private economic development arm, Fassnacht served as chief marketing officer of Chicago.
In his new dual role, Fassnacht will oversee the Chicago operations while expanding marketing efforts companywide. In 2022,Clayco generated $5.2 billion in revenue, and Fassnacht said the number will be closer to $7 billion last year.
“Michael brings an unmatched passion for business growth, an understanding of the economic ecosystem in Chicagoland as well as a strategic and creative mindset that will be highly beneficial for our clients and our Clayco team,” Bob Clark, founder and executive chairman of Clayco, said in a news release.
Fassnacht’s move follows a political pipeline for top Chicago municipal executives at Clayco. In 2019, Lori Healey stepped down as chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority to become Chicago regional president at Clayco. One year later she left to oversee development of the Obama Presidential Center rising up in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side.
In 2019, Clayco also hired David Reifman, the city’s former planning and development commissioner during the Emanuel administration, as senior vice president for strategic development at the company’s development and real estate investment arm, CRG. Reifman, who took over as Chicago regional president upon Healey’s departure, left Clayco in January to build a real estate practice at Chicago law firm Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres.
A German immigrant who moved to Chicago in 2006 to work in advertising, Fassnacht became president of ad agency FCB Chicago in 2014. In January 2020, he left FCB Chicago and three months later became the city’s first chief marketing officer under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
When Andrea Zopp stepped down as CEO of World Business Chicago at the end of 2020, Fassnacht added a dual role as interim CEO of the economic development agency. In May 2021, after a national search, Fassnacht was named president and CEO of World Business Chicago.
Fassnacht plans to leave World Business Chicago and start his new job at Clayco this month. He will remain on the World Business Chicago board and is helping to find his replacement. The organization previously said it expected to name Fassnacht’s successor in February.
In January, Mellody Hobson, co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments, stepped down as vice chair of World Business Chicago. She was replaced by Charles E. Smith, CEO of CS Insurance Strategies.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com