Paul A. Dillon, CMC

www.pauldillon.com

Specialities

Market Research
Board Governance
Marketing/Sales
Financial Analysis
Planning and Development
Radio/T.V. Media Relations

Industries

Aviation/Airports
Urban Transportation Systems
Real Estate
Radio/T.V.
Non-Profits
Higher Education

Client Benefits

Paul Dillon has over thirty years of consulting experience, with a concentration for the last twenty years in sales, marketing and business development in the professional services industry. His focus has been developing business, media, and professional relationships that lead to profitable sales for accounting, tax and business advisory products and services.

Mr. Dillon's practice development style cultivates and nutures the sales process to develop prospects, referral sources and, ultimately, clients who recognize the value of the company he represents, and who have the absolute confidence in his firm's competence and commitment to responsive service.

Professional Background

Since 1991, Mr. Dillon has managed client relationships for the Chicago Regional Office of American Express Tax & Business Services (formerly, Checkers, Simon & Rosner LLP), which is the fifth largest accounting/consulting firm in Chicago and the tenth largest accounting/consulting firm nationwide.

Mr. Dillon's clients range from small, family-held businesses, such as Sportscorp Recreational Products, to major clients of the firm, such as Lucent Technologies, Inc., Unicom (now Exelon)Thermal Technologies, Inc., and Ameritech (now SBC) International. Mr. Dillon also manages the firm's client relationship for its engagements with the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools, including the construction audit for Chicago Public Schools $1 billion building program.

Mr. Dillon was the creator of the firm's SuperCollector Services, the first program of its kind in the United States for the professional collection and resolution of high-level corporate and government debt. For the past eleven years, Mr. Dillon has served as the supervisor of elections to the national Radio Hall of Fame at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications, and for the Chicago Chapter, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the Emmy Awards.

As Director of Government Services for the Chicago office of Laventhol & Horwath from 1987 to 1990, Mr. Dillon managed the firm's economic development, financial planning, real estate and strategic planning services for the Chicago office's government clients. He managed client relationships for significant consulting engagements for Amoco (now British Petroleum), Inland Steel, American Airlines, Office of the City of Chicago Treasurer, Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Department of Transportation and other major clients of the firm.

Mr. Dillon formerly served as Director of Government Services for Price Waterhouse from 1985 to 1987. In this position, Mr. Dillon managed the firm's system planning, office automation, and strategic planning services for the Chicago office's government clients. His assignments included the audit of the construction management of the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago for the Illinois Auditor General.

Paul's previous position was as Vice-President and Director of the Economic Research Division of Mid-America Appraisal and Research Corporation, a major real estate consulting firm in Chicago, from 1976 through 1985. His primary responsibilities with that firm included the supervision of all corporate operations that concerned real estate market analysis, transportation, business and land use economics, and all phases of urban renewal projects related to financial feasibility, market absorption, land disposition, and redevelopment programming.

In addition to having profit/loss responsibility for the Economic Research Division, Mr. Dillon had direct management responsibility for the successful completion of important consulting projects, with an aggregate construction value of more than $3 billion.

Prior to his affiliation with Mid-America, he was a Senior Consultant with Lester B. Knight & Associates, Inc., Chicago (architects, engineers and management consultants) from 1974 to 1976, where he was project manager for airfield feasibility, site selection, and master planning studies. While with the Knight organization, Mr. Dillon also participated in numerous marketing, management consulting, and bank site location studies for clients throughout the United States.

From 1971 to 1974, Mr. Dillon served both as a staff member of, and a consultant to, the Illinois Department of Transportation. He held an administrative position with responsibility for managing staff members, in addition to programming, budget preparation and the design of public participation/community relations programs for major Illinois transportation projects.

Mr. Dillon has also had a distinguished academic career. He has taught transportation courses at South Suburban College and the City Colleges of Chicago, and was a part-time Community Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois. He has served as a Visiting Lecturer in Management in the College of Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mr. Dillon is the author of numerous articles on business, finance, land use and transportation subjects in such diverse publications as The College Board Review, the Journal of Management Engineering, Crain's Chicago Business, State Government News, Commerce Magazine, Young People's Science Encyclopedia and the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aviation and Space. He has been an occasional guest commentator on business and political issues for WBBM-AM Newsradio 78, a division of Infinity Broadcasting in Chicago.

Mr. Dillon has served on many gubernatorial, legislative, mayoral and other local government committees and commissions in Illinois, including the Illinois Committee to Strengthen Community Economies, the Illinois Tax Reform Commission, Illinois Study Commission on Public Pension Investment Policies, Illinois House Speaker's Economic Advisory Council, and the Illinois Legislative Bi-Partisan Task Force on Impact Fees.

Mr. Dillon has served on the board of directors of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, the Japan America Society of Chicago, and the Jane Addams Hull House Foundation.

Finance Experience

Mr. Dillon has extensive finance experience. He performed a financial analysis and redevelopment program for Chicago's Navy Pier facility and financial and real estate analysis of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport, in addition to numerous market and financial feasibility analyses for all types of real property for public and private clients throughout the United States. He served for three years as chairman of the Finance Committee and as Treasurer of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, where he engineered a financial turnaround of that organization. He served as chairman of the Committee on Alternative Investments for the Illinois Study Commission on Public Pension Investment Policies in 1981-82, and has lectured extensively throughout the United States on the role of public pension funds in economic development activities.

International Experience

During the Vietnam War in 1970-71, Mr. Dillon served as Director of Airspace Coordination for the U.S. Armed Forces in Southeast Asia, negotiating land use and air space agreements with the Vietnamese Government. Mr. Dillon currently serves on the board of directors of the Japan America Society of Chicago, and has been appointed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to the Chicago-Galway (Ireland) Sister Cities Committee, a member of the Sisters Cities International Program.

Economic Impact Analysis Experience

Mr. Dillon has extensive experience in performing economic impact analysis. He was responsible for performing an economic impact analysis on downtown Chicago real estate of Rock Island railroad commuter service station location alternatives, and a tax and employment impact analysis of Chicago's North Loop Redevelopment Area, which is the largest urban renewal project ever undertaken in the United States, in addition to numerous aviation/airport economic impact analysis throughout the nation.

Aviation/Airport Experience

Mr. Dillon has more than 25 years of experience in the planning and development of aviation and airport related facilities. He has directed studies, which include financial and real estate analyses of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Mr. Dillon has also participated in a reuse study of the Albany (Georgia) Naval Air Station, and has directed airfield feasibility, site selection and master planning studies for the City of Crystal Lake, the City of Aurora, the City of Elgin, and for the Illinois Valley Regional Port District (Illinois Valley Airport) in Peru, Illinois.

He has lectured on the economic impact of airports throughout the United States. His military service includes an appointment as a special staff officer and instructor at the U.S. Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, Alabama. He subsequently served a tour of duty at Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam, negotiating land use and air space agreements with the Vietnamese Government. His decorations include two Bronze Star Medals for action with the 165th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Transportation Officers School. Rank: 1st Lieutenant. Honorably Discharged.

In 1979, Mr. Dillon was appointed as a public member and secretary of the Illinois Legislative Commission on the Revitalization of Midway Airport. In 1982, Mr. Dillon was appointed by the Mayor of Chicago to represent Chicago's business community on the O'Hare Advisory Committee, where he served as chairman of the Land Use Subcommittee for this group. In 1991, Mr. Dillon was appointed by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to the FAA Aviation System Capacity Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C. Mr. Dillon has also served as the former chairman of the Aviation Committee of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Paul Dillon, Author of the following articles:

"Pal-Waukee Airport: Success Story with an Uncertain Ending", Commerce Magazine, December 1982;
"Hard Landings: The Status of General Aviation Airports in the Chicago Area", Commerce Magazine, December 1980;
"A Public Heliport for Downtown Chicago" Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, December 1979;

In addition, Paul has written numerous articles on transportation/land use subjects in Young People's Science Encyclopedia and the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aviation and Space.

He is a member of Alpha Eta Rho (International Aviation Fraternity), the Aero Club of Switzerland (Honorary), the Illinois Aerospace Education Committee, the Illinois Aviation Forum, the Mid-West Asia Aviation Coalition, and holds the rank of Lt. Colonel (Ret.) in the Illinois Civil Air Patrol.

Education

Mr. Dillon received his A.B. Degree from John Carroll University (Cleveland, Ohio), a M.S. degree from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Illinois), and has completed advanced graduate study in systems management at the University of Southern California, (Ft. Rucker Branch).

He holds the professional designation of Certified Management Consultant (CMC) from the Institute of Management Consultants. He was a Visiting Lecturer in Management at the College of Business Administration, University of Illinois at Chicago.

For additional biological information see website at www.pauldillon.com (Click Bio Tab)