Enduring Excellence: A Conversation with Don and Liz Thompson

Don Thompson is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland Avenue, LLC, a Chicago-based investment firm he co- founded in 2015 with his wife and business partner, Liz Thompson. Cleveland Avenue specializes in investing in lifestyle consumer brands and high-growth companies that are transforming large, dynamic markets. Under Thompson’s leadership, the firm has become a catalyst for innovation, value creation, and inclusive economic growth.

Thompson brings over 25 years of transformational leadership experience to Cleveland Avenue. Prior to founding the firm, he served as President and CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, where he led one of the world’s most recognized brands through a period of global transformation. During his tenure, he held numerous leadership roles across operations, engineering, and strategy, ultimately becoming one of the first African American CEOs of a Fortune 500 company.

Alongside Cleveland Avenue, the Thompson’s established The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (The CAFE), a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing educational equity and leadership development. The foundation supports students and professionals from underrepresented communities, helping them navigate pathways from the classroom to the boardroom.
Thompson combines technical expertise, global business leadership, and a deep commitment to mentorship in his investment approach. With a background in electrical engineering and a track record of scaling complex organizations, he actively supports entrepreneurs by combining analytical rigor with a passion for customer-centric innovation. His investment philosophy is rooted in building diverse, high- performing teams and fostering long-term partnerships that deliver both financial and social returns.

He currently serves on the boards of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., The Northern Trust Corporation, and Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, and is a Trustee of The CAFE Foundation. He also contributes his expertise to the NFL Diversity Advisory Committee and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Economic Club of Chicago, and World Business Chicago. His previous board service includes McDonald’s Corporation, Beyond Meat, Exelon, DocuSign and Purdue University.

Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Excelsior College. He has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Purdue University Dreamer Award, the National Black MBA Association’s Outstanding Leadership Award, and induction into the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame.

Through Cleveland Avenue and The CAFE Foundation, Thompson continues to champion innovation, inclusive leadership, and purpose-driven investment as cornerstones of sustainable business success.

As CEO of The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education Group (The CAFE Group), Liz Thompson is deeply engaged in the social innovation and philanthropic communities. The CAFE Group provides financial and programmatic support to Leaders of Color whose proximity to current and historic challenges in education allows them to influence philanthropic decisions and create meaningful and relevant solutions. By leveraging lived experiences and the genius within our communities, The CAFE Group creates a glidepath from College Intern to Established Leader designed to catalyze lasting systemic change.

Liz began working with nonprofits in 1993 as founding Executive Director of City Year Chicago, a national service organization that was the template for the AmeriCorps Program. Then in 1995, Liz served as Executive Director of Family Star Montessori School in Denver, where she led a multi-million dollar expansion of their Early Head Start program. In 1998, she became active with nonprofit boards in the San Diego area, which further fueled her interest in philanthropy and education. Before following her passion in the nonprofit sector, Liz had a successful ten-year career with Ameritech Corporation after having received an Electrical Engineering degree from Purdue University. In addition to her commitment to serving students, professionals, and communities, Liz and her husband, Don Thompson, are co-founders of the investment firm Cleveland Avenue, LLC. Cleveland Avenue provides financial resources, expertise, and individual support to entrepreneurs to grow and scale their businesses. Their collective work was highlighted by World Business Chicago through their Corporate Ambassador Award, by Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center with their Innovator Award for Social Impact, and most recently by the Chicago History Museum with their Jane Addams Award for Distinction in Social Service.

Liz is currently a Director of the Lamar Advertising Corporation and a Director for Chicago Public Media/WBEZ. She is a National Director for Braven and Chairman of Braven’s Chicago Board. She serves on the board of the Partnership for College Completion, and as Special Advisor to OneGoal.

Liz is an alumnus of the Nonprofit Leadership Program of Denver and Leadership Greater Chicago, where she served on the Board for ten years. Liz is a past Trustee of the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Liz received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology where she was the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2023. She was recognized The Chicago Urban League as the Lester H. McKeever Jr. Individual Service Award Recipient, by Chicago Statue University with the 2023 Cougar Servant Leadership Award in Education Equity, as an IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy 2023 Black Women Give Back Honoree, an inaugural Crain’s Chicago Business’ Women of Note and is a member of the distinguished Aspen Institute’s Pahara Fellowship. She has received the Chicago Public Media’s Amplifier Award, YWCA Chicago’s Community Leadership Award, the Outstanding Community Leader Award from The Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Dream Builders Award from the Chicago Child Care Society, and the John J. Dugan Award from OneGoal. She was featured in Make It Better Magazine as one of Chicago’s Top Black Women of Impact. She has appeared as a keynote speaker for the Grantmaker’s for Education Conference, The Walton Family Foundation, the National Center on Family Philanthropy, the Forefront Annual Luncheon, the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, and the Chicago Venture Summit.

Liz has been married to Don for 30 years. They have two adult children and live in the southwest area of metropolitan Chicago.

Tyler Mathisen is one of the nation’s most respected business news journalists and interviewers. For more than 27 years, he was a news anchor and co-anchor for CNBC, the world’s top business news television channel. In that time he hosted or co-hosted virtually every program on the CNBC schedule, most recently “Power Lunch,” one of the network’s longest running program franchises. His coverage credits include: the bursting of the so-called “market bubble” in 2000; the 9-11 terror attacks; the financial crisis of 2007-2009; and the Covid-19 pandemic and its profound business impact. Additionally, he was CNBC’s Vice President of Events Strategy. In that role, he helped map the company’s initiatives in the live events business, virtual and in person.

Previously, Mathisen was Managing Editor of CNBC Business News, responsible for directing the network’s daily content and coverage, and Vice President for Strategic Editorial Initiatives.

He also co-anchored “Nightly Business Report,” an award-winning evening business news program produced by CNBC for U.S. public television. In 2014, NBR was named best radio/TV show by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW).

Mathisen also reported multiple one-hour documentaries for the network including “Best Buy: The Big Box Fights Back,” “Supermarkets Inc: Inside a $500 Billion Money Machine” and “Death: It’s a Living,” which won SABEW’s 2014 “Best in Business” award for best radio/TV feature or field report. He was also the host and chief correspondent of two CNBC series, “How I Made My Millions” and “High Net Worth.”

Before joining CNBC in 1997, Mathisen spent 15 years as a writer, senior editor and top editor for Money magazine. He also served as Money Editor for ABC’s “Good Morning America” from 1991 to 1997.

A native of Arlington, Va., Mathisen graduated with distinction with a degree in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.