John Plunkett Email & Phone Number

I am a serial social entrepreneur and experienced CEO. As the principal of Plan B Synergy, I am interested in helping nonprofits through social enterprise, nonprofit turnaround and nonprofit merger consulting engagements. Throughout my career my mission remained the same— to provide opportunity for a better life for those disenfranchised from the mainstream economy.I was a founder of Harborquest, Inc. in 1970 and served as its president and CEO until leaving to start Plan B Synergy Consulting at the end of 2013. I led Harborquest through six economic recessions, three nonprofit mergers, and spearheaded the planning and startup of six social enterprises—one being Illinois’ very first L3C, Civic Staffing.To date, Harborquest-related social enterprises have directly employed and provided transitional employment to almost 80,000 Chicagoans, met client payrolls totaling more than $235 million, and earned a quarter-billion dollars in sales revenue from satisfied business customers, which made up more than 90% of total income.I currently serve as the president of the board of directors of the Chicago Jobs Council and am on the advisory board of the Alternative Staffing Alliance based in Boston. Previously, I was the founding vice president and a charter board member of the Social Enterprise Alliance’s Chicago Chapter; served on various civic committees including the Chicago Private Industry Council, as an appointee of two different Chicago Mayors; and was on the Workforce Investment Board as an appointee of the Cook County Board President. In 1992 I became the only person from the not-for-profit sector ever inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, then sponsored by Arthur Andersen & Company, the LaSalle National Bank of Chicago and the University of Illinois.