JoAnn Eckmann is World Business Chicago’s point person for regional economic development initiatives; she forms alliances with leaders throughout the area in order to foster direct investment in the Chicago metropolitan region. Her position includes involvement on the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s (CMAP) Economic Community Development committee, Food System Advisory Council and the Metropolitan Economic Growth Alliance (MEGA).
Eckmann has extensive public and private sector experience. She served as CFO of James Eckmann Associates, Inc. and Sportworks LTD for more than 20 years. For 8 years, Eckmann served as the Mayor of Libertyville, where she initiated many groundbreaking programs including the revitalization of the downtown, which won a national Main Street award, by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Throughout her tenure, Eckmann served on numerous boards and created integral alliances. She served as the Commissioner of the Northeastern Illinois Plan Commission (NIPC), aimed at regional growth management and land-use planning for Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, and Will counties. Eckmann was also Vice Chair of the Chicago Area Transportation Study’s (CATS) Executive Committee, where she represented 297 municipalities on the 2020 regional transportation plan.
Additionally, Eckmann was appointed to the Executive Board of Lake County Partners, a public/private economic development collaboration. There, she won the Extra Mile award for distinctive, positive contributions to the local economy, while chairing the Business Government Relations and Lake County Transportation Alliance committees. She also chaired the Lake County Workforce Investors Board, and served on the Illinois Workforce Investment Board, among others.
Eckmann served on the United Way of Lake County’s Board and was Vice President for the YWCA of Lake County, among other civic leadership appointments. She recently relocated to downtown Chicago from Libertyville.
