The Innovation Playbook: Lessons From Chicago’s Best

Amanda Lannert is the CEO of Jellyvision, maker of benefits engagement platform ALEX. More than 1,600 companies (including 114 of the Fortune 500 and two-fifths of the country's 25 largest companies) use ALEX to help their employees understand complex topics, from choosing a healthcare insurance plan to using their benefits year around to saving for retirement. 

Since taking over Jellyvision’s helm in 2011, Amanda has played a key role in the company’s success: she spearheaded Jellyvision’s pivot from a services agency to a software-as-a-service company, while creating a category and positioning ALEX as it’s clear leader. On top of that, Jellyvision is profitable and hasn’t lost its sense of humor. 

Jellyvision has been recognized as the Best Software Company and Best Culture by the Moxies, the Lighthouse winner by the ITA, a top 10 best place to work in Chicago by both The Chicago Tribune and Built In, and the #1 place for millennials to work in Chicago according to Crain’s. 

Prior to joining The Jellyvision Lab, Amanda managed global brands for Kellogg’s while at Leo Burnett, where she developed strategies and implemented campaigns for Pop-Tarts and Nutri-Grain bars, in addition to spending two years in a new business and new brand development think tank. 

Amanda was named CEO of the Year at the Moxie Awards twice, Woman in Tech in 2016, Woman of the Year for the Chicago Rotary Club, and was recognized as Industry Champion and CEO of the Year by Illinois Technology Association. In 2021, she was inducted into the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame. 

Amanda is active in Chicago’s startup community, serving as a board director for SpotHero, Equilibria, and Popular Pays; as an advisor for Packed with Purpose, Todoolie, and Orien3; and as an angel investor and board member of Hyde Park Angels. Amanda also works to democratize access to tech careers and to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, serving as a board member for 1871, a non-profit tech accelerator, as an Advisor on the Tech Council for OneGoal, a non-profit for underserved students, working to create a world where all students can earn a college degree and define their future, as an advisor to 

Chicago Blend, as a Trustee for the Illinois Institute of Technology, and as a “Super Mentor” for Chicago TechStars, where she was also named Mentor of the Year. 

Amanda attended Haverford College and Edinburgh University. She has climbed Mounts Kilimanjaro, Rainier, and Salcantay, is quick to laugh, and enjoys a good cupcake.

President & CEO, First Women’s Bank, a women founded, owned, and led bank and the only bank ever formed to strategically serve the women’s economy and close the gender lending gap nationally. 

Previously, Markowitz served as the Acting Administrator and Regional Administrator for the Small Business Administration and as an interim member of President Obama’s Cabinet. Markowitz was appointed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve on the City of Chicago’s Small Business Advisory Council. Most recently, Marianne was Managing Director at CIBC, US where she successfully implemented a national SBA program. 

Before her time at the SBA, Markowitz served as trustee on the Obama for America Board of Directors, CFO for the 2008 Obama for America Presidential Campaign, and for the 2007 launch of the Obama Exploratory Committee. For 17 years Markowitz held leadership roles in finance and treasury at leading global institutions in the U.S., UK, and Switzerland. 

In 2023 Crain’s Chicago named her as a Women of Note, in 2024 she received the ATHENA Leadership Award. In 2025 Crain’s named Markowitz a Notable Leader in Finance and Chicago Innovation honored her at the Innovative Women Awards, in 2026 she was selected as a Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow and Markowitz is a member of the Milken Institute Executive Circle, International Women’s Chicago Forum, The Chicago Network, Economic Club of Chicago’s membership committee, the Boards of World Business Chicago and Illinois Economic Development Corporation, the Fast Company Impact Counsel, Granite Creek Executive Council and Reclaim13 Advisory Council. 

Markowitz received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and an MBA from DePaul University.

In 2004, Chris founded Cleversafe, which became the largest and most strategic object storage vendor in the world and generated over 1,000 patents granted or filed. After raising over $100M, Chris led the company to a $1.4B exit in 2015 when IBM acquired the company. Prior to Cleversafe, Chris founded startups MusicNow and Cruise Technologies and led product strategy for Zenith Data Systems. He started his career at Martin Marietta as a database developer and holds an engineering degree from MIT.

Dr. Garry Cooper is CEO and Co-founder of Rheaply, a climate technology company working to scale reuse and the circular economy by bringing better visibility and utilization of physical resources; therefore reducing waste, costs, and carbon emissions. He also serves as a founding General Partner at  LongJump, the most active pre-seed venture fund based in Chicago, designed to invest in the next generation of underrepresented founders and overlooked ideas. Previously, Dr. Cooper was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Northwestern, helping trainees, faculty, and staff more seamlessly connect to the Chicago business community. Prior to his faculty position, Dr. Cooper facilitated supply chain and performance improvement for leading biotechnology enterprises at Ernst & Young. Before this, he began his career as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Scholar at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he led the drug discovery effort to find a selective L-type calcium channel inhibitor for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, for which he holds a US patent. In addition to Vice-Chair of P33 Chicago, he also serves as a board member of 1871, Northwestern's Master of Product Design and Management program, and startups Mycocycle and Improovy. Dr. Cooper is the Chairman of the Board of Rheaply. He has been twice recognized as a Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs 2021 & 2022, an Emerson Collective Dial Fellow, one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 Chicago, Chicago Power 30, and Forbes Next 1000. He is a former Google for Entrepreneurs Fellow and a member of YPO Chicago Chapter, the Forbes Chicago Business Council, and The Economic Club of Chicago. Dr. Cooper is a member of the 2023 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.

Luke Tanen oversees Chicago Innovation’s efforts to celebrate, educate and connect innovators throughout the Chicago region. He works closely with the Chicago Innovation staff, along with the organization’s 40+ person Board of Advisors to carry out all activities designed to drive growth at the organization. He oversees the recruitment of sponsors and all fundraising activities, provides counsel on all events and programs, and manages the process through which the Chicago Innovation Awards are announced and nominations gathered.

Luke is the author of two books, Innovating…Chicago-Style: How Local Innovators are Building the National Economy, which profiles the stories of 80 companies that have launched groundbreaking new products and services in the marketplace; and Rising Together: The Story of Chicago’s Innovation Ecosystem which chronicles the factors and forces that have nurtured a culture of innovation within the Chicago region.  He has been published and featured in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Crain’s Chicago Business, NBC News, WGN Radio, WBEZ Radio, and other media.

In 2020, Luke was selected as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “Top 25 Emerging Leaders in Tech.”  He is also a recipient of the 2011 Chicago Ideas Week “Ideas Award” and was selected to Crain’s “20 in their 20’s” list in 2014, which annually recognizes twenty leaders who are on-the-rise.

Luke received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He lives in Riverwoods, Illinois with his wife and twin boys.