The Opening Bell

Alex Niemczewski is the CEO of the revolutionary voting app, Ballot Ready, helping citizens become more informed voters when heading to the booth. Alex is this week’s Allstate CEO Spotlight and the young coder, leader, and hard working CEO is constantly on the go and might be at a polling station near you, soon.  

On the June 6, 2016 episode of The Opening Bell, Steve shared the next Allstate CEO Spotlight featuring Alex Niemczewski and her company, BallotReady. Perfect for the home stretch of the political season, Steve and Alex chatted about the ins and outs of how she is changing the voting realm. Peter Frost jumped in with Steve to update WGN listeners about the news of McDonald’s HQ potentially moving from Oakbrook to Harpo Studios in the city.  

On the June 3rd, 2016 episode of the Opening Bell, Steve talked money. In-house portfolio manager,  Paul Nolte shared the inevitable news about the fed raising rates and also Donald Trump potentially effecting your 401(K). Tyree Award Finalist, Sophie Evanoff talked with Steve about how she has created her business Vanille Inc. now with three Chicago locations.  

On the June 1, 2016 episode of The Opening Bell, Steve talked to ABC’s Jim Ryan about an uplifting report saying 90% of graduates say they feel “well prepared” for their jobs. Our in house travel analyst, Rick Seaney gave WGN listeners an update about normalized travel lines as well.  

David Rush is the CEO of the personalized marketing company called Earshot Inc. As the featured Allstate CEO Spotlight, Steve talked with David about how social media profiles are computed into an algorithm that allows brands to be more relevant to our lives. They’ve been succeeding in an extremely sensitive field and David described how he approaches these difficulties each day.  

On the May 31, 2016 episode Steve talked tech, to kick the short week off. The Allstate CEO spotlight featured David Rush, CEO of Earshot Inc, that is shaking up the direct internet marketing audience in a more personalized way. Being in tune with the tech and start up community, Steve got in touch with Andreas Roelofs, Director of Nano Design Works at Argonne National Laboratory to talk about their new science and energy incubator.  

On the May 26, 2016 episode of The Opening Bell, Steve helped introduce a new car sharing service by GM called MAVEN. Steve talked to Annalisa Bluhm about how MAVEN is ready to compete in the competitive market with an impressive fleet of cars at their disposal. Green finance was also on Steve’s agenda as he chatting with David Strongin about green bonds to help fund climate projects.  

On the May 25, 2016 episode of The Opening Bell, Steve talked with Beth Mosher of  AAA to preview the upcoming travel conditions for the Memorial Day weekend. The Zika Virus was also in the news yesterday, so Steve talked with Dr. Ali Kahn about his new book, “The Next Pandemic: On The Front Lines Against Humankind’s Gravest Dangers”.  

There is a lot that goes into getting a wedding together and this Allstate CEO spotlight features a company that takes away all the stress for bridal parties deciding what to wear. Steve Grzanich talked with founders and CEOs of Brideside, Nicole Staple and Sonali Lamba.  

On the May 24, 2016 episode of the Steve addressed the issue of childhood obesity by talking to Brian Povinelli, one of the the Westin brand participants at the Healthier Future Summit. Ben Fischer, staff writer for Sports Business Journal, joined Steve to talk about the state of the 2016 Summer Olympics and the role of performance enhancing drugs as we inch closer to the start in Rio.