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Michael Fassnacht, a former advertising executive and the city’s top corporate pitchman, is stepping down as CEO of World Business Chicago in February.
The decision, announced Tuesday, will end a nearly four-year run as chief marketing officer and then head of the city’s public-private economic development arm, where Fassnacht navigated the challenges of the pandemic, corporate relocations, hybrid work and soaring downtown vacancies with unusual campaigns and an unwavering pro-Chicago mindset.
“It was four intense, fascinating years, and I learned more about the city and this country than in my 20 years before living in this country,” said Fassnacht, 56, a German immigrant who made Chicago his home.
Fassnacht, who moved to Chicago in 2006 to work in advertising, has had a hand in promoting the city for more than a decade. He found the ideal vehicle in World Business Chicago, which itself arrived in the city only a few years earlier.
Founded as a private enterprise in 1999 by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, World Business Chicago sought to attract companies and industries to the city. It merged the following year with the taxpayer-funded Chicago Partnership for Economic Development.
The organization expanded during former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration as part of his agenda to increase Chicago’s standing as an international business center. Under Fassnacht, World Business Chicago became an even more powerful marketing platform.
Fassnacht, who became president of ad agency FCB Chicago in 2014, began creating new campaigns for the city’s tourism arm in 2015, looking to change Chicago’s image on the world stage. In January 2020, he left FCB Chicago and three months later became the city’s first chief marketing officer under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, earning a token $1 annual salary.
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’s salary at World Business Chicago was substantially higher, earning nearly $421,000 in 2021, according to the organization’s Form 990 tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
Job one in his new role was positioning the city as it began to emerge from pandemic disruption. It was far from business as usual, but Fassnacht never stopped selling the virtues of Chicago as a business destination.
In February 2022, World Business Chicago enlisted ad agency Energy BBDO to create a pro bono “Chicago Not in Chicago” guerrilla marketing campaign, promoting homegrown innovations — from the cellphone to the skyscraper — that have changed the world, but with little credit given to Chicago.
“To break through the media clutter and noise, sometimes you have to be a little bit cheeky, a little bit creative and innovative,” Fassnacht said.
World Business Chicago was also not above taking shots at competitors to entice companies to relocate.
In April 2022, when several Sun Belt states passed legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, such as the Florida education law critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” World Business Chicago bought full-page ads in Florida, Texas and Arizona to launch a new marketing campaign and promote Chicago as a more inclusive business climate.
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022, World Business Chicago fired off hundreds of letters to Fortune 500 CEOs in states facing abortion bans, pitching the city as a more welcoming location for their businesses. It also bought a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal featuring a copy of the letter.
The city nonetheless suffered some big-name corporate relocations in recent years, including billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who announced in June 2022 he was moving the headquarters of his investment firm, Citadel, from Chicago to Miami. Others to exit the Chicago market during Fassnacht’s tenure included Boeing and Caterpillar.
Offsetting some high-profile corporate losses, World Business Chicago touts 482 “pro-Chicago decisions” since 2021, representing expansions and relocations in the metropolitan area. Fassnacht spearheaded the launch of the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership in collaboration with seven collar counties to coordinate attracting businesses to the region.
“I extend my deepest appreciation to Michael for his exceptional leadership, which has elevated our city as a hub for business and contributed to our economic revitalization,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release. “While his leadership will be missed, I am pleased that he will continue as an active World Business Chicago board member and support a thoughtful transition.”
When Fassnacht resigns at World Business Chicago, he will also step down from his dual role as chief marketing officer for the city. His exit comes as the Chicago business community grapples with crime issues, the migrant crisis and the perception that Johnson is not as pro-business as previous administrations.
Fassnacht said Johnson did not ask for his resignation, and has been supportive. At the same time, Fassnacht cautioned that elected officials and business leaders need to be on the same page to spur economic development.
“I think what elected officials, the mayor’s office and business leaders all have to realize, we need both a prosperous and an inclusive economy,” Fassnacht said.
As an immigrant, Fassnacht also brings a unique perspective to Chicago’s migrant crisis, which has created pop-up shelters and overflow makeshift housing as thousands seek sanctuary in the city. The influx can be an economic opportunity for Chicago, which has the capacity for an expanded population and over 230,000 open jobs, Fassnacht said.
Fassnacht said he has talked with a number of CEOs who would be willing to hire the migrants — after they get work permits. Business leaders have also expressed an interest in helping during the crisis as migrants arrive with limited resources and no access to shelter.
“It’s an opportunity to have motivated people who want to work hard and build a better life for themselves and their family,” Fassnacht said. “That is the American dream.”
World Business Chicago said it will “swiftly” launch a search for a new president and CEO, and expects to name a successor by February. Fassnacht plans to remain on the board after stepping down as CEO.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
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