Gerald Roper

Gerald J. Roper currently serves as the Chairman of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Vice Chairman of Chicago Gateway Green. Previously Mr. Roper held the position as President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce where he represented the voice of the Chicagoland business community on the Mayor’s Zoning Reform Commission, the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors, and the Chicago Workforce Board. Roper was also appointed by Mayor Daley to serve on the Chicago 2016 Transportation Advisory Council, the Mayor’s Taskforce on the Employment of People with Disabilities, and by Governor Blagojevich to serve on the Illinois Works Executive and Steering Committees, the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board, the Illinois Blue Ribbon Pension Commission, and the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Gerald Roper has been a leader and an advocate for the entrepreneurial community in Illinois – as demonstrated by his leadership in the formation of Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, an affiliate of the Chamber, the Center’s innovative Bridge Program that connects emerging companies to established firms to their mutual benefit, and the Illinois Innovation Accelerator (I2A) Fund to bolster access to venture capital.