John G. Shedd Aquarium

John G. Shedd's widow, Mary, gave generously to the aquarium over her lifetime. With her help, the aquarium was able to keep its doors open during the Great Depression no small feat. And it was Mary Shedd who recognized that the aquarium would go nowhere without an endowment. So she started one with a $1.5 million contribution, a huge gift in 1938. Passion for Shedd Aquarium runs in the family. In 1930, John and Mary's grown daughters, Helen Shedd Reed and Laura Shedd Schweppe, contributed $400,000 to make the aquarium's first animal collection a reality. Many years later, Helen helped to fund Shedd's Aquatic Education Center, named in her honor, which opened in 1975. Helen's son, John Shedd Reed, joined the aquarium's board of trustees in 1961, serving as president from 1984 through 1994. (He still remembers the aquarium's opening day.) A terrific fundraiser, Reed was instrumental in securing support for the $49.2 million Oceanarium. Because of his outstanding leadership, Shedd honored him with the newly created position of life trustee in 2000. What goes around comes around: Reed comes around often with his great-grandson for visits to Shedd. Today, the family is represented on the board by John Shedd Reed's daughter, Ginevra Reed Ralph. That's four generations and counting.

Richard L. Keyser has been a Director of the Company and Principal Life since 2002. Mr. Keyser has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of W.W. Grainger, Inc., an industrial distributor of products used by businesses to maintain, repair and operate their facilities, since 1997. Mr. Keyser is a director of two other public companies: W. W. Grainger, Inc. and Rohm and Haas Company, a global specialty materials company. He is a director of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and the National Merit Scholarship Foundation. He is a trustee for the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. He is an Advisor for the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and the Division of the Physical Sciences, University of Chicago.

Walter Chute was a self-taught fish expert. As associate director, he traveled the United States and Europe on a fact-finding mission researching aquariums before ground was broken for Shedd. He filled a small notebook with information and intricate diagrams. (We still have that very notebook here at Shedd.) He wanted to make sure that the world's greatest aquarium was built just right. Clearly, he was a very detail-oriented fellow. Upon his return in 1926, Chute worked closely alongside the aquarium's architects. He supervised installation of the latest aquarium technology and oversaw construction of the galleries to make sure that guests would have the best views possible. Chute was promoted to director in 1928. It was a position he would hold for nearly four decades. Among his many accomplishments, Chute managed to keep the aquarium afloat during two tough times in our history: the Great Depression and World War II. He also produced Shedd's first visitor guidebook and spread word of Shedd's world-class collection through articles he wrote for National Geographic.

President and Chief Executive Officer of The PrivateWealth Group since December 2004. He also served as a director of The PrivateBank Chicago and Chairman of its Trust Committee until 2008. Mr. Head served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Family Office Exchange LLC from 2002 until joining PrivateBancorp. Prior thereto, Mr. Head held senior positions with investment management and professional service firms, including Arthur Andersen, where he was a tax partner and national director of individual tax and advisory services.