logo
Ford Foundation's outgoing president joins the board of Obama Foundation

Ford Foundation's outgoing president joins the board of Obama Foundation

Darren Walker's post-Ford Foundation future is starting to take shape, as the outgoing president is now set to join The Obama Foundation's board of directors.
The Obama Foundation, the Chicago-based nonprofit of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama focused on encouraging active involvement in democracy through initiatives like the My Brother's Keeper Alliance and the Obama Youth Jobs Corps, announced Monday that Walker would join the board on Nov. 1.
'Darren Walker is an outstanding example of what it means to lead with purpose in philanthropy,' President Obama said in a statement. 'Darren's work to challenge long-held assumptions, stand up to injustice, and build unlikely partnerships aligns perfectly with the mission of the Obama Foundation. His experience and insight will sharpen our thinking and deepen our impact as we help the next generation of leaders change their world for the better.'
Walker, 65, who has led the Ford Foundation since 2013 and oversaw major investments in gender equity and disability rights, is one of philanthropy's best-known leaders. He has been one of Rolling Stone's '25 People Shaping the Future' and Time's '100 Most Influential People.'
'Joining The Obama Foundation Board feels like coming home to everything I believe about leadership and change,' Walker said in a statement. 'I believe deeply in the power of individuals to change the world, and I'm honored to work with President and Mrs. Obama to help empower and support the next generation of changemakers.'
In addition to his new role at the Obama Foundation, Walker has already been named president of the National Gallery of Art. In September, 'The Idea of America: Reflections on Inequality, Democracy, and the Values We Share,' a collection of his essays, will be published. The Ford Foundation has selected Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken, a leading expert on constitutional law and democracy, to succeed Darren Walker as its president.
Marty Nesbitt, chairman of the Obama Foundation's board of directors, said Walker will help the nonprofit stick to its mission. 'Darren brings a rare combination of visionary thinking and practical know-how that will strengthen our governance and sharpen our impact,' he said. 'His deep experience leading through complexity and bringing diverse voices to the table will be an invaluable asset as we guide the foundation into its next chapter and open the Obama Presidential Center next year.'
_____
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund Will Host its Q2 2025 Quarterly Webinar on August 7, 2025
XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund Will Host its Q2 2025 Quarterly Webinar on August 7, 2025

Yahoo

time23 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund Will Host its Q2 2025 Quarterly Webinar on August 7, 2025

CHICAGO, July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund (NYSE: MCN) (the 'Fund') today announced that it plans to host the Fund's Quarterly Webinar on August 7, 2025 at 11:00 am (Eastern Time). Jared Hagen, Vice President at XA Investments ('XAI') will moderate the Q&A style webinar with Kimberly Flynn, President at XAI, and Ray Di Bernardo, Portfolio Manager at Madison Investments. TO JOIN VIA WEB: Please go to the Knowledge Bank section of or click here to find the online registration link. TO USE YOUR TELEPHONE: After joining via web, if you prefer to use your phone for audio, you must select that option and call in using a number below, based on your current location. Dial: (312)-626-6799 or (646)-558-8656 or (267)-831-0333 or (720)-928-9299 or (213)-338-8477Webinar ID: 818 2684 2773 REPLAY: A replay of the webinar will be available in the Knowledge Bank section of The Fund's primary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income and gains, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation. The Fund pursues its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio consisting primarily of high quality, large and mid-capitalization stocks that are, in the view of the Fund's Investment sub-adviser, selling at a reasonable price in relation to their long-term earnings growth rates. The Fund will, on an ongoing and consistent basis, sell covered call options on its portfolio stocks to seek to generate current earnings from option premiums. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. The Fund's common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MCN. About XA Investments XA Investments LLC ('XAI') is a Chicago-based firm founded by XMS Capital Partners in 2016. XAI serves as the investment adviser for two listed closed-end funds and an interval closed-end fund, respectively the XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust, the XAI Madison Equity Premium Income Fund, and the Octagon XAI CLO Income Fund. In addition to investment advisory services, the firm also provides investment fund structuring and consulting services focused on registered closed-end funds to meet institutional client needs. XAI offers custom product build and consulting services, including product development and market research, marketing and fund management. XAI believes that the investing public can benefit from new vehicles to access a broad range of alternative investment strategies and managers. For more information, please visit About XMS Capital Partners XMS Capital Partners, LLC, established in 2006, is a global, independent, financial services firm providing M&A, corporate advisory and asset management services to clients. It has offices in Chicago, Boston and London. For more information, please visit About Madison Investments Madison Investments (Madison) is an independent investment management firm based in Madison, Wisconsin. The firm was founded in 1974, has approximately $28 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025, and is recognized as one of the nation's top investment firms. The firm has managed covered call strategies for over 20 years through various market cycles. Madison offers domestic fixed income, U.S. and international equity, covered call, multi-asset, insurance, and credit union investment management strategies. For more information, please visit XAI does not provide tax advice; please consult a professional tax advisor regarding your specific tax situation. Income may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as the federal alternative minimum tax. Investors should consider the investment objectives and policies, risk considerations, charges and expenses of the Trust carefully before investing. For more information on the Trust, please visit the Trust's webpage at This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the laws of such state or jurisdiction. NOT FDIC INSURED NO BANK GUARANTEE MAY LOSE VALUE Paralel Distributors, LLC - Distributor Media Contact: Kimberly Flynn, President XA Investments LLCPhone: 312-374-6931Email: kflynn@

Long-delayed $250 million Bally's Chicago IPO may finally close in August
Long-delayed $250 million Bally's Chicago IPO may finally close in August

Chicago Tribune

time43 minutes ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Long-delayed $250 million Bally's Chicago IPO may finally close in August

Eight months after launching its $250 million initial public offering, Bally's Chicago is making a final push to solicit investors and complete the long-stalled offering within weeks. The IPO, which has navigated lawsuits and regulatory delays, was refiled for a second time July 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to update the company's financials, according to the company. Bally's Chicago is hoping to get SEC approval and close the offering by early August, according to a note to prospective investors Wednesday. 'It's still under review by the SEC,' said Chris Jewett, Bally's senior vice president of corporate development. 'But we feel like we are hopefully closer to being able to launch.' Bally's Chicago opened the $250 million IPO in January exclusively for women and minorities to buy a 25% equity stake in the casino, looking to fulfill a commitment to the city and raise money for the construction of its planned $1.7 billion entertainment complex in River West. In April, Bally's refiled and expanded the IPO to include any potential investors, with 'preferential allocations' to Chicago and Illinois residents. Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets serves as the lead placement agent for the IPO, which initially was limited to Blacks, Asian Americans, Hispanics and other 'socially disadvantaged' people as defined by city guidelines. The elimination of the minority requirements in the IPO came as Bally's and the city faced two lawsuits in Chicago federal court alleging the investment opportunity discriminated against white men. A discrimination lawsuit brought by Wilmette resident Mark Glennon was dismissed April 30 — eight days after the first IPO refiling with the SEC. In June, Bally's and the city settled a similar lawsuit brought by the American Alliance for Equal Rights, according to court filings. The IPO creates 10,000 Class A shares featuring four classes of stock ranging from $250 to $25,000, supplemented by loans from Bally's Chicago to enable 'underrepresented communities' to participate. Jewett said he is confident the Bally's Chicago IPO will be fully subscribed and that it will help fulfill the casino's minority equity requirement, despite being opened up to all investors. 'There is definitely (investor) interest, for sure,' Jewett said Wednesday. In May 2022, Rhode Island-based Bally's was selected to build the Chicago casino, besting finalists Rivers Casino and Hard Rock with a proposal that includes an exhibition hall, a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 10 restaurants and 4,000 gaming positions. But Bally's Chicago, which has been operating a temporary casino at Medinah Temple since September 2023, has hit some bumps in the road on the way to building the permanent casino. Bally's navigated a one-month demolition stoppage in December after construction debris from the remnants of the Freedom Center, once the largest newspaper printing plant in North America, spilled into the river. In May, construction was shut down for two weeks by the Illinois Gaming Board to investigate the use of an unauthorized subcontracted waste hauler previously alleged to have had ties to organized crime. Bally's got the green light to resume construction after booting the waste hauler and agreeing to a better vendor vetting process. The permanent casino remains on target, however, to be opened by September 2026, Jewett said. 'The tower crane just went up, steel is starting to get delivered,' Jewett said. 'Hundreds of thousands of tons of steel are going to come in over time. The main building construct is steel and concrete.' Given the success of recent permanent casinos openings at Wind Creek in the south suburbs and Hard Rock in Rockford, and with Hollywood Joliet set to open its new land-based casino next month, Bally's Chicago is eager to get its planned casino complex at the former site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant up and running. Rivers Casino Des Plaines was once again the state's top casino in June with $40.3 million in adjusted gross receipts, followed by newcomer Wind Creek, which generated nearly $16.8 million in revenue, according to Gaming Board data. Hard Rock Rockford ranked third with $12.2 million in revenue during June, followed by Grand Victoria in Elgin at $11.9 million and Bally's Chicago at $10.7 million. Through the first six months of 2025, the state's 17 casinos have generated $954 million in adjusted gross receipts, up nearly $127 million or 15.3% over last year, according to Gaming Board data. The casinos totaled more than 7.6 million visitors, up 1.5 million or 24% year over year. Most of that growth came from the opening of Wind Creek Chicago Southland in November, which has quickly become the second busiest casino in the state behind perennial leader Rivers. During the first six months of 2025, Wind Creek topped $96 million in revenue and welcomed 1.1 million guests. Rivers Casino generated nearly $250 million in adjusted gross receipts and saw nearly 1.5 million admissions through June, according to Gaming Board data. Hollywood Joliet, one the state's original riverboat casinos, ranked ninth during the first six months with $43.4 million in revenue, but it expects business to boom with the planned opening next month of a new $185 million land-based casino. Bally's Chicago, which has been flat through June, ranking fifth in revenue at $63 million and fourth in admissions at 649,000, is hoping for a similar boost next year when its permanent casino opens, Jewett said. 'The temporary served a purpose,' Jewett said. 'It was to start generating tax revenue, creating jobs and really building up to what the permanent is. It was never meant to be the permanent in itself. It's a good experience, beautiful building, good location, but it's not the permanent.'

PE Firm GTCR Is in Talks to Acquire Prepaid Card Company Blackhawk
PE Firm GTCR Is in Talks to Acquire Prepaid Card Company Blackhawk

Bloomberg

timean hour ago

  • Bloomberg

PE Firm GTCR Is in Talks to Acquire Prepaid Card Company Blackhawk

GTCR is in talks to acquire prepaid gift-card provider Blackhawk Network, according to people familiar with the matter. The Chicago-based private equity firm is discussing the terms of a transaction that would value Blackhawk at $4 billion to $5 billion including debt, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the information is private. Blackhawk owners Silver Lake Management and P2 Capital Partners had been seeking more than $5 billion for the company, and were also considering an initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported in April.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store