city spotlight

Chicago, IL

With a population of 2.7 million, Chicago, IL ranks third-largest in the county. It’s also home to some 300,000 businesses. As a result, the Windy City is an extremely popular destination for business travel, as well as industry and professional events of all kinds. The city’s diverse population gives it many advantages, not the least of which is the fantastic range of cuisines on offer, from authentic Italian and French food to Cuban, Polish, and Somali fare.

Chicago is a highly popular event destination for a variety of reasons. One of these must surely be McCormick Place®. At 2.6 million square feet, it’s North America’s leading convention center. Of course, it’s not the only event location in the city: There’s also the huge Navy Pier complex, as well as unique locations like the Adler Planetarium.

Make sure your Chicago event is a success by working with the experts at ProGlobalEvents! Our team has all the expertise you need to plan and execute something your attendees won’t forget. For trade shows, exhibitions, product launches, and more, call ProGlobalEvents.

Need help planning your Chicago event? We’re here to help.

ProGlobalEvents offers a full range of event services including design, planning, rentals, vendor & audience management, and post-event analysis. We’ll work hard to create a seamless event experience that’s exciting, engaging, and valuable for guests and attendees.

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Event Resources

Chicago Event Services

We offer a wide range of event services for all stages of event design, planning, and execution. From theme and content development to attendee experience and activation, to vendor and contractor coordination, to exhibitor and speaker management, and more. ProGlobalEvents can cover every last detail, from start to finish!

Event Design

Event design is increasingly challenging, as event-goers become more sophisticated in their expectations. When you want an event that’s creative, engaging, and meaningful, you need ProGlobalEvents on your side. Our creative team can develop themes and design elements, along with digital media, A/V content, and branding that speak to your brand and message.

Event Planning

Planning an event is a time-consuming job. From defining event goals to acquiring sponsors to negotiating venue, vendor, and accommodation contracts in Chicago, there’s a lot to do. Not to mention the need to keep to a budget and stay on schedule! With the help of ProGlobalEvents, planning an event is a breeze. Our expertise and industry contacts mean we can plan something that meets you and your audience’s needs perfectly.

Event Management

Managing an event once it starts is no less a challenge than planning it. With our team on-site in Chicago, you can feel confident your event will be managed professionally and that if any problems arise, they’re handled minimal disruption. With ProGlobalEvents, your event is in the best possible hands.

Exhibit Production and Activation

We’re event management experts, from the big picture to the last detail. This includes exhibit production and activation, as we have access to a 64,000-square-foot storage warehouse and a 65,000-square-foot production facility. We offer exhibit design and manufacture services as well as exhibit rental, shipping and storage, and installation.

Virtual Events

Whether you’re converting a live Chicago, IL event into the online environment or are starting a virtual event from scratch, there’s just as much work to do as any other kind of event. Fortunately, ProGlobalEvents isn’t only a live event expert, we’re experienced when it comes to virtual events too. From planning the event to securing virtual sponsors, vendors, or exhibitors, from creating a theme to designing graphics and AV content, our industry knowledge serves us equally well online as in the world of live Chicago events.

ProGlobalEvents is a full-service virtual event management company, and we can put together a virtual event you’ll be proud of. We’re happy to provide partial service too. If there are certain things you prefer to manage yourself, feel free to hand the reins over to us for everything else.

Post-Event Analysis

How do you know if your event is a success? After the event is over, we’ll perform an event review, data collection, and financial review, providing you with a wealth of useful information to help you plan future events.

ProGlobalEvents Provides the Expertise You Need to Ensure Success

Need help with event design, planning, or management? Or are you looking for a full-service event management team to handle the entire show? Whether you need a little assistance or a lot, ProGlobalEvents is ready to get to work for you.

Contact us to get started:

Boston Event Resources

Chicago Convention & Visitor Bureau

Adler Planetarium

The Adler Planetarium offers some wholly unique and spectacular event spaces, perfect for corporate events such as holiday parties, product launches, and more. It’s also a great place for training and team-building activities, with sky shows and hands-on science displays that excite the mind. Along with a 22-person boardroom and several theaters, the planetarium offers event spaces for 375 to 1,200 people.

GEOLOFTS

If your event or company focus on conservation or environmentalism, GEOLOFTS is a great choice for an event. This hundred-year-old building is a former warehouse that’s been converted into business and public spaces and hosts carbon-zero events, including:

  • Meetings
  • Training and seminars
  • Exhibitions
  • Corporate functions
  • And more

Geolofts has over 92,000 square feet of meeting space, including a large 8,000-square-foot lobby as well as dozens of meeting rooms in a range of sizes.

McCormick Place

As the country’s leading convention facility, McCormick Place has a big reputation to live up to. The extensive square footage and huge range of meeting and event rooms mean there’s no event too big for this center. It has 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space, plus:

  • 173 meeting rooms totaling 600,000 square feet
  • 6 ballrooms
  • A 4,249-seat theater
  • Assembly seating for 18,000 people

This Chicago venue can easily handle any event you’re planning, including conventions and conferences, trade shows and exhibitions, and corporate events of all kinds.

The Revel Space

A Chicago icon and landmark, this 50,000-square-foot event space is right across the road from McCormick Place and offers a wide range of event spaces. With a total maximum capacity of 2,600, Revel Motor Row has a 4,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard, up to 20 meeting rooms, and a green room.

 

Navy Pier Chicago

Navy Pier is a huge, 50-acre entertainment complex housed on the hundred-year-old pier and associated buildings. Along with parks, retail outlets, and restaurants, there are around 300,000 square feet of exhibition and event facilities. The location and the amount of space available make it perfect for exhibitions and trade shows, as well as product launches, company parties, and other corporate events.

The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center

The Congress Plaza Hotel offers 871 guest rooms and 50,000 square feet of meeting and event space. With 21 event and meeting rooms, ranging in capacity from 22 to 500 people, there’s plenty of room for a range of event types. The hotel also has an 8,300-square-foot ballroom, which can hold up to 1,100 people. The Congress Plaza Hotel is a great option for meetings, training sessions, seminars, and corporate functions.

Hotel Felix

Hotel Felix is a small but stunning boutique hotel in downtown Chicago. It’s located right on the edge of the Magnificent Mile, the city’s upscale retail, entertainment, and business center. Hotel Felix offers 225 guest rooms and just over 1,100 square feet of meeting space, making it just right for small, intimate meetings and Chicago corporate events. The great location and luxury feel of the Felix also make it ideal for executive retreats. The hotel’s 3 rooms have a maximum capacity of 25 to 50 people, the perfect size for the most exclusive functions.

Hyatt Regency® Chicago

As the largest hotel in the city, Hyatt Regency Chicago offers 2,032 guest rooms, along with 240,000 square feet of event and meeting space. With this much space, the Hyatt rivals many of the city’s standalone corporate event venues in terms of the event facilities it offers. The hotel has:

  • A 70,000-square-foot exhibition hall
  • Numerous meeting rooms and suites for 12 to several hundred people
  • Several ballrooms, the largest of which can hold up to 3,000 people

With plenty of space for any event, this Chicago venue is ideal for conventions and conferences, trade shows and exhibitions, seminars, training sessions, and meetings, as well as corporate functions.

Hyatt Regency® McCormick Place

Located right next to the McCormick Place convention facility, the Hyatt Regency boasts 1,258 guest rooms and 44,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Available event rooms include:

  • A 14-person boardroom
  • Meeting rooms
  • An 11,000-square-foot ballroom
  • A private dining room for 14
  • An outdoor terrace

In addition, the hotel has two conference centers, each with several meeting rooms, and a boardroom. Not just a great spot for people attending events at McCormick Place, the Hyatt Regency is also suitable for conferences, business meetings, seminars, and training sessions.

Marriott Marquis Chicago

With 1,205 guest rooms and 90,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the Marriott Marquis can handle a wide range of event types. The hotel has 63 event rooms, including a ballroom with 2,700-person capacity and several 12-person boardrooms. There are also numerous meeting rooms, ranging in size from 50 people to several hundred.

Upcoming Chicago Events

Ivan Fujihara

Chief Financial Officer

Ivan brings 25+ years in senior level management experience from a variety of technology industries.  His background includes accounting management, analytics and audit management for technology companies.  He has worked with companies such as THX, Ltd, Recruitology , Double Click, Creative Labs and more.  Ivan has also served on the board of Lincoln Families, a non-profit that supports East Bay children with the objective of disrupting the cycle of trauma and poverty.

Matt Rulis

Vice President of Sales

Matt is a marketing professional and has been managing marketing strategies, campaigns and environments for a diverse client base for over 15 years. From a service perspective, Matt and his team of Account Executives focus on fostering relationships to uphold a greater than 99% customer satisfaction rating year-over-year. Additionally, with extensive experience on the client-side of the industry, he understands that alignment between expectation and budget is paramount to a successful project. As a result, ProGlobalEvents' clients can expect a competitive advantage paired with top quality products and services. Matt is an avid fly-fisherman, enjoys most outdoor activities and is a true college football fanatic.

Tom Foley

VP of Operations

Heading the fabrication side of ProGlobalEvents is exhibit and event industry veteran, Tom Foley. For over 35 years he has been responsible for building amazing exhibits and environments for clients. Tom started out in the production area and has broad experience in project and operations management. He currently oversees production, warehouse, graphics and project management departments. Tom studied machine tool technology and welding before entering the industry. As a true "builder" he also enjoys restoring and modifying classic American cars.

Dick Wheeler

President

Dick serves as President of ProGlobalEvents and President of ProExhibits and is a board member of CEMA (Corporate Event Marketing Association). At ProExhibits he has been nationally recognized as an innovator and driving force in the fast-growing trade show exhibit and event industry. Under his leadership in 1997, the firm received INC magazine’s INC 500 award as one of America’s fastest-growing companies. His informative articles on developments and innovations in the trade show exhibit and event industry have appeared in national trade publications. Dick has a B.S. degree from Wittemore School of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire and has completed the Entrepreneurial Executive Leadership Program sponsored by MIT, YEO and INC. He is actively involved in Vistage, an interactive group of over 20,000 CEO’s and presidents worldwide and is a member of CEMA and EDPA.

Jack Connolly

Creative Director

As an experiential creative director, Jack prefers to draw outside the lines. He tells stories with original content and impactful design to ignite meaningful conversation.

 

Jack brings 20 years of event industry knowledge to ProGlobalEvents. He specializes in building live & virtual platforms for audiences to connect, engage and immerse themselves in the power of a shared experience. His skills range from ideation and concept development to defining an attendee journey through storytelling and design.

Jack understands the creative process is not linear, but a collaborative process between agency and client. He manages teams of designers and technology developers to pioneer impactful brand experiences. His diverse skillset and leadership ensure for award-winning results and memorable impressions.

 

In 2019, BizBash named Jack one of the top event designers in North America. SXSW awarded his work the “People’s Choice in Innovation” in 2021.

Jody Tatro

Chief Executive Officer

In addition to being CEO of ProGlobalEvents, Jody is also the CEO of ProExhibits. With Jody at the helm, the company has been recognized repeatedly as one of the Top 50 Women Owned Businesses in Silicon Valley. She has set the outstanding client service standards for which the firm’s account management team is noted. Jody is a recipient of the YWCA’s Tribute to Women Award, the Junior League Community Volunteer Award and is listed in Who’s Who of Women in Business. Following her graduation from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Jody held various sales positions in several technology companies.

Paul Miller

Chief Marketing Officer

Having served in a number of executive roles for companies in Silicon Valley for over 25 years, Paul has a client-side perspective of the corporate events industry. He has a broad set of experiences working for startups as well as global firms such as Applied Materials. At ProGlobalEvents, Paul helps the company to reach clients through traditional and digital marketing programs. With an extensive background in the High Tech sector, he’s also involved with technology strategy both internally and for clients. Paul is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, the Stanford Engineering Design School and Claremont McKenna College. In his spare time he is a also a principal member of the non-profit Gratitude Network which mentors award winning social entrepreneurs.