A LOOK AT THE CHICAGO AREA ENTREPRENEURSHIP HALL OF FAME AND ITS INDUCTEES

By: Mitchell Saranow

With alumni inductees as successful as Mitchell Saranow, the Chair of the venture capital firm The Saranow Group, LLC, the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Awards is the oldest and most widely recognized awards program for entrepreneurs. The Awards are supervised by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Each year, the program identifies leading local business leaders and entrepreneurs from multiple industry sectors with demonstrated successes in founding and/or building area companies. Currently in its 28th year, the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inducts members from Chicago’s seven-county region.

As the organizer of the awards program, the UIC Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies also maintains a long history of elevating innovation and business development in Chicago. The group establishes forums for faculty to encourage an innovative business spirit at the University and hosts annual events to recognize, celebrate, and strengthen this spirit within the community. 

Over the years, hundreds of Chicago business leaders have been inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. They come from such companies as National Van Lines, One-on-One Sports, and Goose Island Breweries. Some past winners include Sheldon Ginsburg from Shell Vacations, Richard Ditton of Incredible Technologies, and Mitchell Saranow of (at the time) Fluid Management L.P. Many inductees also go on to continued success in the business world.