- Jan 28, 2020
New UL CEO Jennifer Scanlon to Headline Annual Dinner
The changing face of leadership in business will be spotlighted by the keynote address at this year’s Annual Meeting. Jennifer Scanlon, the first female CEO of UL, will discuss corporate social responsibility, which she believes begins locally. She also will explain how the reinvigoration of Chicago’s innovation ecosystem benefits Northbrook businesses.
Her recent appointment marks a new era at the Northbrook-based global corporation.
Launched in Chicago in 1894 as Underwriters Electrical Bureau, UL has grown to become the leader in safety certification for a vast array of products. The company’s Northbrook roots go back to 1952, when the company acquired 153 acres on Pfingsten Road for a campus that evolved into its corporate headquarters by 1979. Having celebrated its 125th anniversary last year with the tagline “Times Change. Trust Remains,” UL now has locations on six continents and annual revenue of $2.3 billion.
Jenny Scanlon arrived at UL in 2019 with extensive experience in business operations, supply chain management, customer relationship management strategy, and technology. She began her career at IBM, followed by nearly a decade of business consulting for Fortune 500 companies through the boutique firm Bricker & Associates. As a consultant, she was involved in client initiatives to dramatically increase profits through operational improvement, including business process re-engineering, organizational design, and IT program management.
In 2003, Jenny joined building products manufacturer USG as Director of Supply Chain Management and Customer Relationship Management Strategy and Implementation. Her strengths in strategy and technology led to her advancement in positions of increasing authority, eventually becoming USG CEO and President in 2016. In that role, she led USG through a series of significant moves, culminating in the sale of USG to Knauf for $7 billion in April 2019. Five months later, she was named CEO, President and a Director of UL.
Jenny graduated from the University of Notre Dame with dual degrees in government and computer applications and received an MBA in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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