John A. Challenger is chief executive officer of global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The company provides human-centered outplacement and executive coaching services to companies.
Challenger sits on the board of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, an organization whose mission is help organizations find talent from the highest unemployment zip codes in the city. He is a member for the board of Victory Capital, a private equity firm.
Challenger has served on the boards of Children’s Memorial Hospital, The Economic Club of Chicago, The Japan America Society, and The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Additionally, He is a member of YPO Gold, Chief Executives Organization (CEO), and the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Challenger gave testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business on the issue of permanent job loss in a global economy. Challenger also testified before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the topic of age discrimination in the workplace. At the height of the turmoil over corporate governance, Challenger authored an article on the issue for the OpEd page of The Wall Street Journal. He served for two terms on the labor/human resource committee of The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
A graduate of Harvard University, Challenger is a member of the Harvard Alumni Association and has served as Chair of the HAA Nominating Committee for the Board of Overseers. He is a former President of the Harvard Club of Chicago.
