Most of Kevin Considine’s career has been spent in advertising, but in 2009, a timely layoff gave him the opportunity to do something new. “After trying to start a business, a trip back to grad school solidified my belief that my second career had to somehow serve my community,” he said. While meeting with professionals in the community, Considine was led to collaborate to create the Lake County Workforce Ecosystem to connect businesses to the talent they need to grow.
A few years later he was promoted to president and CEO and given the opportunity to lead what has been the greatest period of job growth and community collaboration in Lake County’s history.
Lake County Partners is a public-private partnership whose mission is to increase economic vitality and fuel economic mobility, across Lake County, Illinois. The organization encourages investment, expansion in and relocation to Lake County and facilitates innovative partnerships and initiatives to strategically deepen the talent pool for targeted industries and create accessible, high-wage career pathways.
“Kevin excels at using intelligence to inform decision-making and spur growth,” said his colleagues. “A new regional partnership Kevin was instrumental in bringing together in 2022 will further establish Chicagoland as the No. 1 market for business in the U.S.”
Over the past five years, under Considine’s leadership, Lake County Partners projects have driven 4,165 new jobs created, 4,723 existing jobs retained and $1.04 billion in direct investment. In 2019, the organization established a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to privately fund reverse commute express train service between Chicago and the northern suburbs.
Considine is seen as an influential leader and serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of the Lake County Housing Authority, an officer of the Board of Directors of the Partnership for College Completion, a member of the Lake County Workforce Development Board and a member of the Board of the Lake County Transportation Alliance.
“I started down this path to serve the community in which I lived,” said Considine. “You have to genuinely care about your customers and your employees and for us, that’s the people and businesses of Lake County.”
What reignites his passion is getting out and meeting businesses leaders to understand their successes, challenges and needs, said Considine. “Few stories are more interesting than those of entrepreneurs – how they started the business, how it grew, the one big break but then learning about their vision is also exciting.”
For adding excitement to the workforce and community of Lake County, Considine has been named a titan.
