UI Labs names business powerhouses to its board

The research, development and supercomputing UI Labs — one of a growing number of Chicago’s high-profile tech innovation centers — named its board of directors Wednesday.

The members’ experiences leading big business at Archer Daniels Midland, Caterpillar, Exelon and Motorola, among others, reflect the Goose Island lab’s emphasis on manufacturing and heavy-duty sciences.

The members of the UI Labs board are:

• Henry S. Bienen — President emeritus of Northwestern University
• Warren E. Holtsberg — Chairman of UI Labs, co-head of portfolio management of the fund at The Tokarz Group Advisers, and member of the board of directors of MVC Capital
• Eric D. Isaacs — Provost of the University of Chicago and professor in the department of physics, the James Franck Institute, and the college; former director of Argonne National Laboratory
• Douglas R. Oberhelman — Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, and chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers
• Roger L. Plummer — Retired executive vice president, International Engineering Consortium, and retired president and CEO, Ameritech Information Systems and Custom Business Services
• Lawrence B. Schook — Vice president for research at the University of Illinois, and professor of animal sciences, bioengineering, pathobiology, nutritional sciences, pathology and surgery
• Pamela B. Strobel — Retired executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Exelon Corp. and retired president of Exelon’s Business Services Co.
• Patricia A. Woertz — Chairman and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland
• Mike S. Zafirovski — Executive adviser to Blackstone; founder and president of The Zaf Group; former president and CEO of Nortel; former president and COO of Motorola, and president and CEO of five GE businesses.

In a statement, Holtsberg said, “UI LABS has been able to bring together Fortune 500 companies and leading universities because we can drive applied research into commercialization to meet global challenges more efficiently and effectively than any one organization can do on its own.”