2007-09-18

Jeff Stiers, VP of Technology, Chicago 2016 Olympics
John Murray, EVP and Chief Bid Operations, Chicago 2016 Olympics

As we all know, Chicago is making a big push to host the Summer Olympics in 2016.  Significant global competition has emerged from such leading cities as Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, and Rome.  Living here, we all know that Chicago is a world class city second to none.  How then will Chicago prepare its bid to win this against this stiff competition?  First step, assemble a group of dynamic, creative, and innovative business leaders that will showcase Chicago as the ideal host for the Olympic Games.

Therefore, SIM is pleased and delighted to present two key players on the Chicago 2016 bid team - John Murray, Chief Bid Officer and Jeff Stiers, Vice President of Technology.  John has been a leader of the bid since nearly the inception, leading the Chicago 2016 bid proposal and key initiatives in the domestic phase.  Jeff has been the lead on the technology and media operations aspects of the bid proposal.  They will be able to share their insight and the strategy behind the bid process, overview of Games technology, and technology and media operations aspects of the Olympic Games success.

Join us to hear the fascinating story and insight and strategy behind the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid effort.

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 18th

Location: Spiaggia Private Dining Room, Third Floor, 980 North Michigan Avenue

Time: Informal networking at 11:15am, lunch at noon, presentation at 1:00pm, conclude at 2:00pm 

Speaker Biographies

John Murray is Executive Vice President and Chief of Bid Operations for Chicago 2016.  John has been a core member of the bid team since its inception.  His current responsibilities include coordination of the bid’s functional teams, management of stakeholder relations teams and oversight of back office operations functions.

Before formally joining the bid in July of 2007, John was on executive loan to Chicago 2016 from McKinsey & Company, where he had been a consultant in their Chicago Office since 2001.  John has extensive experience serving large global clients, including broad program management roles requiring coordination of multiple complex work streams, as well as marketing and communications strategy development.  He has spent extensive time serving clients internationally in Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, and the Middle-East.

John holds an MBA in Marketing & International Business from the University of Illinois, where he was Director of both the consulting office and the consumer marketing research lab.  John earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois, where he also trained and worked as a commercial pilot.  John served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years, attached to the helicopter squadron that transports the President of the United States. 

Jeff Stiers is Vice President of Technology for Chicago 2016.  Jeff has been a member of the bid team since December 2006.  His current responsibilities include management of all technology aspects of the bid operation, including: back office technology, Games-time technology planning, and delivery of interactive/new media technologies for the bid.

Jeff has broad experience across the technology spectrum: from advising Fortune 500 companies on enterprise technology architecture and large scale technology transformation and program management to forming and growing early-stage software ventures.  He has deep experience in the travel, government, and high tech industries including senior consulting positions with DiamondCluster and Accenture as well as executive management positions with NetGravity (now DoubleClick) and Personify.  Before joining the bid, he was Senior Director of Consumer Experience for Orbitz, a leading online travel agency based in Chicago.

Jeff earned an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.