CITY HALL’S $1-A-YEAR MAN NOW DOING DOUBLE DUTY
Chief marketing officer handed permanent job to run World Business Chicago
Chicago mayors have a history of filling key vacancies with interim appointments only to strip away that “acting” title and make those temporary appointees permanent.
That’s what happened Wednesday at World Business Chicago, the public-private job growth agency that will play a pivotal role in rebuilding a local economy decimated by the coronavirus and devastated by two rounds of looting.
Michael Fassnacht, the $1-a-year chief marketing officer who has held down the fort at World Business Chicago since Andrea Zopp stepped down as president and CEO on Dec. 31, has been anointed as Zopp’s permanent replacement.
Fassnacht could not be reached for comment. Whether his salary will change, and by how much, was not immediately clear. With revenues down during the pandemic, the agency had cut nine of its 39 staff positions.
A press release announcing the permanent appointment quoted him as saying that “history has proven over and over” that Chicago is a “resilient and imaginative and innovative” city capable of bouncing back.
“I look forward to … supporting an equitable and inclusive recovery. Chicago should become a role model for any global large city of how to enable and drive economic growth for all of its residents.’’
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was quoted as saying that “getting through and beyond” economic recovery “requires a steady grip, focus and expertise.”
Fassnacht, she said, will serve a dual role, retaining his job as the city’s chief marketing officer.
When Zopp announced her retirement in early December, Fassnacht hinted strongly he would not be a candidate for the permanent job.
At the time, he said his goal was to attract new companies and foster an “open, transparent frank conversation” between the mayor and the business community.
“I’m very bullish on the second half of 2021 and 2022 [because of the] pent-up demand for people to have experiences outside the home, outside maybe their city,” Fassnacht said on that day.
“Leisure travel . . . will come back better than before as long as we can position Chicago as an amazing place for one of the most diverse experiences — not just in downtown, but across all neighborhoods.”
Fassnacht, a former commercial advertising whiz, previously had donated his time to work on then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s failed pitch to attract Amazon’s corporate headquarters.
Last fall, Fassnacht told the Sun-Times Lightfoot and her “authentic” personality would be a cornerstone of the plan to “rebrand” Chicago and help the city recover from the economic havoc wreaked by the coronavirus.
“Look at just the ‘stay-at-home, save lives’ campaign. Millions of people have seen that. It changed behavior. We talked about Halloween, when she dressed up with our health commissioner. Millions of people saw that. It’s the ideas and the creativity that, ultimately I believe will, step-by-step, rebrand Chicago.”