2015 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award to Honor
Grosvenor Capital Management
EQIL’s Valentine’s Day gala will recognize company’s role in achieving marriage equality
CHICAGO (January 15, 2015) – Illinois-based Grosvenor Capital Management and its Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Sacks will receive the 2015 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award for the prominent role played in spearheading business support in the fight for marriage equality.
“When we filed our marriage bill two years ago, only nine states had marriage equality and our hill seemed much steeper to climb. Michael Sacks understood the critical role that business leaders could play in advancing the historic legislation and became one of the first signatories to the open letter from leading Illinois companies and civic leaders imploring the General Assembly to pass the bill. He also worked to recruit other prominent names for the letter from the business world,” Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said when announcing the recognition on Thursday.
“The business letter, which came out two years ago this month, demonstrated that marriage equality was not just the moral and fair thing to enact, but that it also made business sense. It was a significant moment in the drive to allow loving same-sex couples the recognition and rights of marriage that we are enjoying today in Illinois,” Cherkasov said. “Michael Sacks and Grosvenor Capital demonstrated remarkable leadership in their work on behalf of achieving the freedom to marry, and we are pleased to be recognizing that contribution with the Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award.”
With marriage equality in effect less than one year, the 2015 Equality Illinois Gala will be held on Valentine’s Day and celebrate the first year of equal love in Illinois under the theme of “love is love is love.” The Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award will be presented at the gala on February 14, 2015 in the Hilton Chicago. The gala is annually the largest LGBT event of its kind in the Midwest.
Grosvenor Capital Management is a leader in the alternative investment industry, specializing in public and private markets solutions that span hedge funds, private equity, infrastructure and real estate. Grosvenor currently manages over $47 billion for a globally diverse client base.
“GCM Grosvenor is honored to be recognized by Equality Illinois and we are proud to have worked to see marriage equality become a reality in our home state,” said Sacks. “This fundamental right was long overdue and will strengthen our communities and our businesses going forward.”
The Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award is given annually to firms that demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the effort to achieve full equality for LGBT individuals in Illinois. Past Business Leadership Award recipients include State Farm Insurance, United Airlines, AT&T, Kraft, Walgreens, Motorola, and McDermott Will & Emery.
The 2015 Equality Illinois Gala, chaired by Mariterese and Patrick Balthrop, begins at 6 PM on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14, 2015, in the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Avenue, with cocktails and the silent auction of luxury items and fun experiences in the Grand Ballroom. At 8 PM, the expected 1,400 guests move into the International Ballroom for the gourmet dinner and program, followed at 10 PM by dancing till midnight.
It was previously announced that the recipient of the 2015 Equality Illinois Freedom Award at the gala will be the TransLife Center of Chicago House. More details about special guests and gala honorees will be announced in the weeks ahead.
Tickets and more information about the gala are available at www.eqil.org/gala.