The year's first Business of Design took place on April 15 at the Alliance Française. The featured guest was Chris Kennedy, president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc (MMPI). Joseph Essex was the moderator.

Essex opened the event with a few words about the connection between the design community and business leaders and how the creative contributions of each create avenues for change in society. This theme prevailed throughout the morning.

Chris Kennedy is a man with a lot going on. In Essex’s words, “he has had enormous advantages and challenges. He takes whatever gifts and talents he has and works with a capital W.” He started as a research analyst at MMPI in 1987 and worked his way up to being the company president by the year 2000. In his early days at the Mart, Kennedy attended the Kellogg school of Business and started a family with his wife, Sheila. Having so much going on “was a little scary, but I got used to it,” said Kennedy, “It’s a good pace to [be] when you’re young.”

MMPI is one of the largest managers of showroom buildings and trade show facilities in the United States. In it’s early years, the Mart set the precedent for modern-day trade shows and laid the foundation for Chicago as the center for these kinds of events. Today, an average year at the Mart includes 85 tradeshows and 300 special events in over 25 different industries.

According to Kennedy, these events help retailers move product and give them an opportunity to expose new ideas. “The Mart's management team has a responsibility to create great events which are crucial to some retailers,” said Kennedy, who continued to say that one of the most rewarding parts of his job is when he hears, “Your event kept us in business one more year.” Kennedy believes that prosperous retailers lead to an improved economy “that’s good for Main Street.”

Kennedy says that new products are key to having great events. The Mart is home to NeoCon, for example, which is one of the world’s largest showcases of product innovation. “Most people are becoming interested in design, and manufacturers need to recognize its importance to the consumer,” said Kennedy. Furthermore, Kennedy believes that this importance on new ideas keeps our culture more open to change. “Design is ultimately new,” he said, “We must reassure people that entrepreneurial activity is good because it will help people to become able to accept change. New products drive consumer interest… it’s a clear solution to getting out of recession.”

But Kennedy doesn’t stop at great trade shows: his work transforms events into destinations. In the near future, the Mart will host Art Chicago, a much-anticipated art fair with over 100 exhibitors. “There is nothing that good in the whole world,” said Kennedy. And while coordinating one event is by itself a daunting task, Kennedy insists on building relationships with as many local cultural institutions as possible so that Art Chicago becomes part of a Chicago-wide celebration known as Artropolis. “It’s good for these institutions to make relationships with art buyers, since some day, they may leave their collections as gifts,” said Kennedy. This cyclical process that connects design and business is natural to Kennedy, and the same method that makes MMPI successful is a beneficial model for change in society.