Mayor Brandon Johnson has named media relations pro Guy “Chip” Chipparoni to lead the board of Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism agency responsible for attracting conventions, events and leisure travelers. Keiana Barrett, the recently named CEO of the Business Leadership Council, is on deck to serve as vice chair, according to records obtained by the Tribune.
Chipparoni is the president and CEO of Res Publica Group, a PR firm whose major clients include the White Sox, Lollapalooza parent company C3 and the Wirtz family’s corporation, which owns the Blackhawks, co-owns the United Center and operates Breakthru Beverage Group. He declined to comment, as did a Choose Chicago spokesperson. Crain’s Chicago Business first reported the news.
The appointment should coincide with Choose’s annual meeting, where the organization’s new CEO, Kristen Reynolds, will also be sworn in. Sources familiar with Chipparoni’s appointment said he would be a natural local complement to Reynolds, a Texas native who has worked in Arizona and Long Island’s equivalent tourism organization for more than a decade.
There has been no permanent CEO at the organization for more than a year. After Lynn Osmond stepped down at the end of January 2024, board member and former Chicago Tribune executive Rich Gamble has served in an interim role.
Glenn Eden, the current board chair, wrote to fellow board members to give notice that Johnson had slated Chipparoni and Barrett for the seats, and that Chipparoni’s term would begin on July 1. Board members can serve up to two, three-year terms.
Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Chipparoni, a press aide to former Gov. Jim Edgar, was previously a member of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and also chaired Navy Pier and its marketing committee.
Barrett, the chief diversity and engagement officer for developer Sterling Bay, recently served as a senior adviser to the Chicago host committee for the DNC. She previously was deputy director of the Heartland Alliance, national press secretary for Rainbow PUSH and was director of communications for the Congressional Black Caucus.