Leo Danielides: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Leo Danielides

City: Oak Brook

Office sought: Village Trustee

Age: 54

Family:

Occupation: Sr. Director — Sales and Marketing

Education: Purdue University — BS in Electrical Engineering; University of Washington — Exec. Mgmt. and Aviation; Northwestern — Kellogg Graduate School of Management

Civic involvement: Association of MBA Executives, Oak Brook Little League President (2017-present), Brook Forest Parent Teacher Organization, Airline Owners and Pilot's Association

Previous elected offices held: N/A

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Issue questions

What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?

I believe the most important issues facing our community is the declining positive perception that Oak Brook has on its neighboring communities and outsiders looking to move to Oak Brook. Having a positive perception within and outside Oak Brook translates to not only families wanting to move here but it will bring in new business's and retain them. I recall when I was working for Boeing and I transferred back to Chicago, that Oak Brook had a prestigious elite reputation for not only a place to live but for a place to visit. I plan to address the issue by first identifying and confronting some of the root problems that have caused the decline. We have some really great people working currently in our village that have been here longer than me and I plan on using them to their fullest to bring us back to winning. Like any business or franchise that wants to succeed we need to change and evolve. If this was a business we would be losing and every business model will tell you that we need to completely change to move forward.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

The current village board of trustees lacks members with children going through our primary school system and someone with a career in corporate business. Oak Brook is a town where the school system and the Park District are the 2 most important aspects that bring new young families. I have 2 children in elementary school and a preschooler. We are in the final stages of completing construction of our home. Rather than having a foot about to exit Oak Brook, I am looking to deepen my roots. I have run multiple corporate programs for the US and Foreign governments and the commercial sector with values in the 100's of millions. Managing projects and budgets should not be as complicated as it seems to be currently. Since coming to Oak Brook I have met and been humbled at how welcoming the people can be. Oak Brook has some uniqueness that our neighbor's do not see. Consistent with my 4 pillar campaign, where each pillar — Education, Recreation, Economics and Values will form the foundation for making Oak Brook a winning Village — I will bridge and provide the conduit for the school board, park district and the village to be one.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

My leadership style will come from my business background in aviation and the transportation industry. My teams have learned my first words to them is to “never manage secrets”. To be successful in business one cannot conduct behind the scenes meetings and private agreements. Eventually it comes out. Open communication is fundamental, and we solve issues and problems as a team. When your trying to be profitable, everything adds up. I have a keen eye for identifying nonvalue added work or expense. In addition, I have learned that one needs to listen and learn from your team. With respect to relationships, I have formed some close relationships with our neighboring communities through sports. Based on what I have been told, we currently do not have good relations with our neighbors, there is hope that I can help in that area by bringing some of the networking to our board. As a business leader I understand why McDonald's left Oak Brook, it is how they left that my constituents and I are bothered by.

How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services people want?

The village budget has its good and bad line items but appears to be in fair condition, but it also looks to have a lot of risk components that have not been properly mitigated and addressed in the past. The issues that are being highlighted by candidates for election are not new. So I find myself asking, “what has been going on all these years?” If this were a business its Board of Directors would tolerate the situation. Additionally there are many risk factors to the budget that must be addressed immediately. We need to conduct a brainstorming session focusing on, lessons learned, identifying what works and what doesn't. First and foremost we must identify all the opportunities for revenue and how to increase it in that area and stop the bleeding.

The level of services being provided to the residents of Oak Brook is dependent on whom you ask. I have always felt a good benchmark for a community is how they treat the elderly and how they grow their youth population. Assuring that services to the elderly and youth are a priority should be part of our mission.

What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

I believe a good idea to better our community is to put term limits on our elected officials. In almost every case where an elected official has been in an office position for more than 2 election terms, it carries a negative perception of corruption. All too often elected officials outlast their innovation, energy, and drive that got them elected in the first place. They no longer have the creativity to create change and to move the community forward. Progress has ceased in Oak Brook and is replaced with complacency. This all comes at the expense of the community. Succession planning is part of best business practices no matter what industry or government. I have been president of the Little League for 3 years. If at any time I was unable to provide a good experience for the children of Oak Brook, failed to maintain or increase the funds or had a lot of controversy, I would voluntarily look to transition and remove myself out of the organization. It's ironic that an elected village position carries more responsibility and yet less accountability.