Leadership & Advisory Board

Leading Women Executives is offered through Corporate Leadership Center (CLC). CLC is the leadership development forum designed to cultivate dynamic business leaders. Combining real-world experiences with new perspectives and insights, CLC builds participants’ leadership skills so they can propel their companies – and their careers – to the next level.

CLC was founded in 2002 by Sheila Penrose and Cheryl Francis, successful businesswomen whose experience and insight in executive management, board governance, and business education roles prompted their decision to launch CLC. Sheila and Cheryl are actively engaged with program participants as advisors, strategists, and role models.

Deborah DeHaas

CEO, Corporate Leadership Center

Deb is responsible for overseeing the operations and management of Corporate Leadership Center and its two programs, Leading Women Executives and CEO Perspectives. Most recently, Deb was Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner, Center for Board Effectiveness, at Deloitte. She also has served as Deloitte’s...
Deb is responsible for overseeing the operations and management of Corporate Leadership Center and its two programs, Leading Women Executives and CEO Perspectives. Most recently, Deb was Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner, Center for Board Effectiveness, at Deloitte. She also has served as Deloitte’s Chief Inclusion Officer and as a member of the Deloitte U.S. Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Deb is a director of CF Industries and Dover, as well as a noted community leader, serving as a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago; trustee at Northwestern University and University of Denver; director of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Foundation; and chair of the Civic Consulting Alliance.
Read More
Cheryl Francis

Co-Chairman, Corporate Leadership Center; Co-Founder,
CEO Perspectives and Leading Women Executives

Cheryl is a director of three corporate boards: Aon plc, Morningstar, and HNI Corporation. She is a Cornell University Emeritus Trustee and Presidential Councillor, as well as a board member of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and Chicago Trading Company. Cheryl was Executive Vice President and...
Cheryl is a director of three corporate boards: Aon plc, Morningstar, and HNI Corporation. She is a Cornell University Emeritus Trustee and Presidential Councillor, as well as a board member of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and Chicago Trading Company. Cheryl was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of R.R. Donnelley and Sons Co. from 1995-2000. She is a frequent lecturer and panelist in university and business settings on subjects ranging from corporate governance, strategy and leadership and the advancement of women.
Read More
Sheila Penrose

Co-Chairman, Corporate Leadership Center; Co-Founder,
CEO Perspectives and Leading Women Executives

Sheila is a former director of McDonald’s Corp and JLL Inc., where she served as Chairman of the Board from 2005-2020. She was the first woman on Northern Trust Corporation’s Management Committee, as President of Corporate and Institutional Services. Sheila is a founding member of the 30% Club in...
Sheila is a former director of McDonald’s Corp and JLL Inc., where she served as Chairman of the Board from 2005-2020. She was the first woman on Northern Trust Corporation’s Management Committee, as President of Corporate and Institutional Services. Sheila is a founding member of the 30% Club in the US, which advances women on corporate boards; she served as an advisor on Education, Gender and Work at the World Economic Forum (Davos), and on the Advisory Board of Catalyst, the leading research organization on women in corporate roles. A frequent speaker on leadership and corporate governance, Sheila is the recipient of several business awards.
Read More
Daniella Levitt

Executive Director, Leading Women Executives

Daniella is responsible for Leading Women Executives’ strategic direction, curriculum, design and delivery of programs, events and digital assets, as well as marketing and growth. Prior to joining Leading Women Executives, Daniella founded two companies and held consulting...
Daniella is responsible for Leading Women Executives’ strategic direction, curriculum, design and delivery of programs, events and digital assets, as well as marketing and growth. Prior to joining Leading Women Executives, Daniella founded two companies and held consulting roles at Aon and Deloitte. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, and is a past Board member of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Access Community Health Network and the Anti-Defamation League.
Read More

Leading Women Executives’ Advisory Board helps to continually evaluate and advance the program’s curriculum.

Lynne Doughtie

Chairman & CEO, KPMG U.S.
Harriet Harty

Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Sompo International
Jennifer Scanlon

President & CEO, UL; Executive Sponsor; Advocate; Ambassador, Fall 2009
Watch Reflections: My Leading Women Executives Experience
Kathleen Wilson-Thompson

Former Executive Vice President, Global Chief Human Resources Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; Advocate; Executive Speaker

Leadership Team

Deborah DeHaas

Cheryl Francis

Sheila Penrose

Daniella Levitt

Leading Women Executives – Advisory Board

Lynne Doughtie

Harriet Harty

Jennifer Scanlon

Kathleen Wilson-Thompson

Program Schedule

Spring 2023

Fall 2023