Bio

Biography

John J. Trakselis is an experienced CEO coach and counselor to business owners and senior executives in the Chicago area. He founded Chicago CEO Coaching (CCEOC) in 2005, and serves as president and CEO. CCEOC is dedicated to developing and connecting authentic leaders, increasing the effectiveness of CEOs and enhancing the lives of senior executives in meaningful and significant ways. John also provides individual CEO, group and senior executive coaching and consultation through Vistage International. With more than 15,000 members worldwide, Vistage International offers innovative strategies, actionable ideas and peer support to CEOs and senior executives.

As a Vistage leader and Chair, John facilitates sessions with clients who meet in small peer advisory groups every month to help one another become better leaders, make better decisions and achieve better results. He also meets monthly with participants in the Vistage program, and provides one-on-one coaching. John has been affiliated with Vistage since 2005, and his work with Vistage complements the mission and vision of CCEOC.

Prior to joining Vistage, John was a principal with M. Wood Company, Chicago, a global retained executive search and strategy consulting firm that placed senior-level executives in both large and small companies. In this role, he handled executive searches and provided organizational planning solutions to clients. Before this he served as a financial and operations executive with 3 family-run businesses directing administration, finance, human resource and information systems functions. He also led strategic planning initiatives, retail and wholesale operations, light manufacturing, and marketing, as well as acquisition and divestiture initiatives on behalf of these companies. He began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen and advanced to the role of partner with responsibility for some of the firm’s largest international clients represented by the Chicago office.

John’s business experience spans a wide range of industries, from manufacturing, distribution, retail and pharmaceuticals to technology, health care, transportation and public utilities, and also includes telecommunications, logistics and professional services. Throughout his career he has had a passion and has been actively engaged in executive coaching and mentoring, and made this work his full-time profession when he formed CCEOC.

John received an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from St. John’s University (Minnesota). John is a past president of the Chicago Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) and a past Midwest area leader. He is currently a member of the Private Director’s Association and serves on its Middle Market Committe.

John has lived in the Chicago area his entire life.

• "When you love what you do, it’s difficult not to succeed. Your enthusiasm is obvious to everyone around you and contagious."

  — Richard Carlson

• "Leadership is not something that you learn once and for all. It is an ever-evolving pattern of skills, talents, and ideas that grow and change as you do."

  — Sheila Murray Bethel

• "Action Expresses Priorities."

  — Mahatma Gandhi

• "Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible."

  — François de La Rochefoucauld

• "Character is how we deal with hardship, how we react when challenged, how we think when tempted, how we flee when hunted, how we pursue when hunting. It is how we want what we want, and what we are willing to do to get it."

  — Holly Lisle

• "You can't share what you don't own."

  — Paul Stanley

• "A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience."

  — Oliver Wendell Holmes

• "When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane."

  — Steven Wright