Meet your 2021-2022 Board of Directors! EFBC's board establishes the organization's strategic direction. Learn more about each position and board member below.

President - Neil O'Donnell

Neil O’Donnell is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at Progressive Industries, Inc. He is a second-generation leader and has worked at the family business for over 15 years. In this role, Neil is responsible for driving growth at Progressive through securing Federal contracts, business with Prime contractors and seeking out new areas of expansion. In 2007, Neil joined the EFBC and Tau Forum. He has served on the Membership and Marketing Advisory Panel and as a Moderator and Chair for Tau before joining the Board of Directors. As President, Neil presides at board meetings, creates meeting agendas, appoints committees and committee chairs, serves as the primary contact for the board, holds other board members accountable for attending meetings and participating, and reviews official Board meeting minutes.

 

Vice President - Andy Sanghani

Andy Sanghani is the President and second-generation owner of Systematics Inc, a company that provides design and production of retail marketing solutions, including full-service custom fabrication and printing resources to the point of purchase trade. Since joining EFBC and Illuminati Forum in 2013, Andy has served as a Forum Moderator and participated on the Membership and Marketing Committee. As Vice President, Andy prepares to assume the position of President, fulfills board chair duties when President is absent, assists the board chair in executing duties, and serves on committees to learn board operations.

 

Past President - Nirel Inman

Nirel Inman is Co-President and Co-Owner of Chicago Glue & Machine, a manufacturer and distributor of adhesives and adhesive dispensing equipment founded in 1984. Since joining the EFBC in 2014, she has served on the Finance Committee and Forum Sub-committee. She is also a member of Phoenix Forum. As Past President, Nirel serves on the Governance Committee and aids in board succession.

 

 

Treasurer- Alex Argianas 

Alexander Argianas is the Vice President and Corporate Liaison at Argianas & Associates, Inc. He has been involved in commercial real estate since 2000 and officially joined Argianas & Associates as a full-time appraiser in 2017. He has performed or assisted in appraisal and consulting engagements in Illinois, California, Indiana, New York, and North Carolina. He joined the EFBC in 2017 as a member of Arete Forum. As Treasurer, Alex oversees bank accounts and financial statements, serves as finance committee chair, assists in preparing the annual budget, and reviews the annual audit to present it to the board.

 

Membership Director - Patty Rioux

Patty founded Patricia Rioux (PR) Consulting over 15 years ago and re-branded the organization in 2011 into Prism Insights to better reflect her firm’s expertise and focus. In 2015, Prism Insights became ODEA. Patty became a marketing strategic partner of the EFBC in 2012. For almost 30 years, Patty has been a marketing strategist and writer in a variety of roles. Patty has worked with a wide range of clients from entrepreneurial start-ups to multi-national corporations spanning a variety of industries including steel, chemical, tech, distribution, financial services, and more. As Membership Director, Patty is responsible for recruitment, engagement, and retention of EFBC members and chairs the Marketing and Membership Committee.

 

Forum Director - Dave Westerman

Dave Westerman is President and Owner of Carbit Paint Company, which was founded by his grandfather in Chicago in 1925. Carbit helps customers with their liquid coating processes through consulting, formulation, and manufacturing. He is a member of Lighthouse Forum. As Forum Director, Dave oversees Forum health, chairs the Protocol Committee, and addresses issues around Forum participation, process, and management.

 

 

Strategic Partners Director - George Karavattuveetil 

George is the Founder of Psyched LLC and is a human resources executive with over 20 years of consulting and operational experience. He’s dedicated to preserving fundamental principles, while implementing high performance cultural change that has brought proven success to many organizations. He transcends conventional management practice to generate immediate and long-term results and transforms traditional HR departments into value-adding business partners contributing to bottom-line organizational success. George has been a strategic partner of the Entrepreneur and Family Business Council since 2015. As Strategic Partner Director, George chairs the Strategic Partner Committee and is responsible for recruitment, engagement, and retention of the Strategic Partners.

 

Governance Director - Dave Horvath

Dave Horvath is CEO/Co-Owner of DTE LLC, a remanufacturer of PowerTrain equipment for the Energy & Mining sector with 11 locations in the US. Throughout his 35 years at DTE, he has played a key role in the transformation of a small family business into a national organization, which in 2018 partnered with a Private Equity firm. Dave joined the EFBC in 2007 as a member of the Inspiration Forum. He is currently a member of the Lighthouse Forum where he has served as Forum Chair & Treasurer. As Governance Director, Dave reviews Bylaws annually, ensures legal forms are filed on time, assures that documents are filed and accessible, oversees the Board calendar, and is responsible for board succession.

 

Education Director - Bill Angsten

Bill Angsten is the owner and President of two businesses in the manufacturing industry – Shopware and Midwest Power Products.  Shopware provides CAD/CAM software and support and Midwest Power Products is a distributor of gear reducers and motors.  He was a co-founder of Compass Automation, which was sold to Tesla in 2017. In 2017, Bill joined the EFBC and spent over two years in Quantum Forum. He has served as chair of the Emerging Leaders Committee and as Moderator of his Forum prior to joining the Board of Directors. As Education Director, Bill oversees programming, emerging leaders, curriculum, and emeritus groups, addresses programming needs, creates curriculum around family business and entrepreneurship.

 

DePaul University - Bruce Leech

Bruce Leech leads the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at DePaul which helps students and alumni develop their entrepreneurial skills, launch and grow ventures, and network with Chicago’s vibrant entrepreneur community.  As a faculty member, he teaches courses in strategic entrepreneurship and business plan development. An experienced entrepreneur, Leech is the founder of CrossCom National, an information technology data/voice company, and co-founder of Evolve USA, a membership organization for business owners. He has been inducted into the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

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