Leadership

Monsignor Kenneth Velo

Co-Chairman

For more than forty five years, Monsignor Velo has served as a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago. In that time, he has held numerous positions including vice chancellor of the Archdiocese, executive assistant to Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, and President of the Catholic Church Extension Society. He began serving as a senior executive in the Office of Catholic Collaboration at DePaul University in 2001.

Monsignor Velo became the President of the Big Shoulders Fund in 2003, and in 2012, he joined John Canning and James O’Connor as a Co-Chairman of the Big Shoulders Fund.

Monsignor serves on the board of Lurie Children’s Hospital and the 100 Club of Chicago. He is a trustee of Saint Mary’s College Notre Dame and he also serves in pastoral duties at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.

Kent P. Dauten

Co-Chairman

Kent P. Dauten co-founded Keystone Capital in 1994 and serves as a Chairman of the firm. As part of Keystone, Kent served as the CEO. and President of the firm’s first portfolio company, Record Masters, building it into the nation’s leading healthcare records management company. After the merger of this business into Iron Mountain, he served as the President of their Healthcare Division. Mr. Dauten’s previous experience includes fifteen years with First Chicago Venture Capital and its spin-off Madison Dearborn Partners, Inc., a multi-billion dollar private equity firm which he also co-founded.

Mr. Dauten is Co-Chairman of Big Shoulders Fund and serves on the boards of numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, including the Museum of Science and Industry and Northwestern Medicine. He and his wife Liz are also supporters of numerous initiatives related to mental health including the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Mass General Hospital.

Joshua Hale

President and Chief Executive Officer

Joshua D. Hale began at Big Shoulders Fund in 2005. He previously served as Director of Development and Public Relations for Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, a nationally recognized model for inner-city college preparatory education, and as a consultant with The Hale Group, Ltd. After graduating from Marquette University, Mr. Hale spent two years as a volunteer in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Mr. Hale is involved with numerous professional and philanthropic organizations. He was a fellow in the Leadership Greater Chicago program and an inaugural member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Emerging Leaders Program. Currently, Mr. Hale serves on the Board of Directors of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago. Mr. Hale is a Director on the Board of Amerigo Education, Inc. and FirsTech, Inc. He is a member of The Commercial Club, The Economic Club, the Chicago Commonwealth Club, and The Chicago Club where he is a member of the House Committee. In 2010, Mr. Hale was a “40 Under 40” in Crain’s Chicago Business Journal and, in 2022, this same publication included Mr. Hale on their list of Crain’s Chicago Business 2022 Notable Leaders in Community Development.

In Memoriam
James J. O’Connor (Founding Chairman) →

Big Shoulders Fund Board of Directors→