About
Steve Lesnik is the co-founder, chairman, and principal stockholder of KemperSports and KemperLesnik. KemperSports is a golf, hospitality, and athletic facility management company operating with 6,000 staff members in 27 states with more than $1 billion in assets and $300 million in revenues under management. KemperLesnik is a marketing communications and public relations firm, one of the largest based in the Midwest.
Mr. Lesnik retired as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO), a post-secondary education company based in Schaumburg, IL. Career Education’s family of schools offers quality, career-focused programs to a diverse population of about 80,000 students at more than 75 ground campuses around the world and through its online virtual campuses.
Mr. Lesnik is former chairman of the board of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, which oversees the state’s universities and community colleges. He is also a former member of the board and executive committee of the Illinois Math and Science Academy.
In 2002, KemperSports/KemperLesnik was selected as Illinois Family Business of the Year by Loyola University’s Family Business Center. In 2006, Mr. Lesnik was inducted into the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into Chaminade University’s Hall of Fame. He has lectured on a variety of subjects at Northwestern University.
He is the founder of The First Tee of Chicago and an honorary member of the Illinois PGA. He is ranked by Golf, Inc. magazine among the “most powerful people in golf.” In 2009, Mr. Lesnik was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
A former journalist, lobbyist, and public relations practitioner, Mr. Lesnik is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. He is also a former member of the Conference Board’s Public Affairs Research Council and a past president of the Insurance Public Relations Association.
Mr. Lesnik is a retired National Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lesnik have served on a number of Chicago civic and charitable boards, including the Museum of Science and Industry, The Joffrey Ballet, and the Kohl Children’s Museum. A former competitive swimmer, Mr. Lesnik is a member of the Columbia H.S. Sports Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of Brown University, where he also swam competitively. He lives with his wife, Mady, in Winnetka, Ill. The Lesnik’s have two children, Dr. Blaine Lesnik, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, and Josh Lesnik, President of KemperSports, and four grandchildren.
Videos (1)
Founder Steve Lesnik: Why It’s Never Too Late To Start A Business
