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Deb DeHaas joined Corporate Leadership Center as CEO in 2020, having served as a Board member since 2015 and an Advisor to the organization since 2019. Most recently, she was Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner of the Center for Board Effectiveness at Deloitte, where she was responsible for Deloitte’s boardroom programs that support corporate boards and directors in fulfilling their governance-related responsibilities. Prior to that, Deb completed a six-year term as Vice Chairman and chief inclusion officer for Deloitte US, where she drove the Firm’s strategy to recruit, develop and promote a diverse workforce and foster an inclusive environment where leaders thrive.
Deb served as a Lead Client Service Partner or Advisory Partner on many of Deloitte’s most significant clients. She also served on the Deloitte LLP Board of Directors, represented the US Firms on the Deloitte Canada Board of Directors, was a member of the Deloitte US Executive Committee, and was Deloitte’s managing partner for the central region and Chicago office.
Deb was named to Accounting Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential” list in 2013 and 2014, the CPA Practice Advisor 2014 Most Powerful Women in Public Accounting list, and to the 2015 - 2020 NACD Directorship 100, which recognizes influential leaders in corporate governance. She is an NACD Fellow and frequently speaks and writes on key topics impacting corporate governance and boards.
Deb is a member of the Board of Directors of CF Industries, where she serves on the Environmental, Sustainability and Community Committee and Audit Committee and Dover Corporation, where she serves as a member of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee.
A noted community leader, Deb serves as a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago; trustee at Northwestern University and University of Denver; and chair of the Civic Consulting Alliance. She is also a member of the Henry Crown Fellowship at the Aspen Institute. She has been honored with a number of awards, including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Daniel Burnham Award for Distinguished Leadership in 2003, the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Leadership Award in 2018, the Chicago Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Award in 2012, and the Bertha Honoré Palmer Making History Award for Distinction in Civic Leadership from the Chicago History Museum in 2017, among others.
Deb was named one of the “100 Most Powerful Chicagoans” in 2012 by Chicago magazine as well as one of the “100 Women of Influence 2013” by Today’s Chicago Woman.
Deb graduated from Duke University with a BS in Management Science and Accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of several state and national professional societies, including the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society.
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