Sheila Penrose is a Director of three corporate boards: McDonald’s, Jones Lang LaSalle, and DataCard Group. She is Chairman of the Board of Jones Lang LaSalle, chairs two board committees and serves on five others. Sheila co-founded and co-chairs Corporate Leadership Center (CLC), a partnership between major corporations and academic institutions to augment and accelerate the development of corporate leaders and advance business leadership practices. Sheila formerly served on the boards of Nalco Chemical and eFunds Corp and was Executive Advisor to Boston Consulting Group. A frequent speaker on leadership and governance issues, she keynoted the Strategic Management Society’s global conference.
Sheila was the first woman named to Northern Trust Corporation’s management committee and, from 1994 to 2000, President of Corporate and Institutional Services, a billion dollar business with client assets of $1.5 trillion in more than 80 markets worldwide. Under her leadership, the business was transformed from a product organization to one organized around client segments, and net income grew 17% annually. She represented Northern Trust with the investor community, oversaw several acquisitions and drove the bank’s global expansion.
Prior to Northern Trust Corporation, Sheila was an economic advisor to the British Treasury, a member of the negotiating team for the IMF agreement and an advisor on budget policy and anti-inflation strategies in the aftermath of the world oil crisis in the 1970’s. She began her career as a lecturer in Economics at Central London Polytechnic, United Kingdom.
Non-Profit And Community Activities
Corporate Leadership Center, Board Co-Chairman
London School of Economics, North American Advisory Board Member
Commercial Club, Executive and Membership Committees
Chicago Club, Board Member
Rush University Medical Center, Trustee
Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Board Member and Executive Committee
Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Board Member, Chairman of Membership Committee
Catalyst, former Advisory Board Member
Stanford Graduate School of Business, former Advisory Board Member
Member
Commercial Club, Civic Committee
Chicago Club
Economic Club of Chicago
The Chicago Network
Awards and Recognition
Anti-Defamation League Woman of Achievement Award
Girl Scouts Luminary Award
Midtown Metro Leader Award
YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award
Junior Achievement’s Chicago Business Hall of Fame
Education
Undergraduate degree in economics and graduate diploma in education, University of Birmingham, England
Masters degree, London School of Economics and Political Science
Executive Program, Stanford Graduate School of Business
