Suzanne Stantley

Founder & CEO

Contractors Advisors Business Development

Upon receiving her MBA, Suzanne began her career in the advertising agency industry, where she managed advertising programs for many Fortune 500 firms like P&G, Nestle, and Kraft. As a professional marketer with a zeal to operate her own firm, she went on to found and operate several successful businesses starting with Image Advertising in the mid-’80s. In 1990, she co-founded and served as CEO of National Black Expo where she operated black expo events for 12 years in Chicago and other cities, until 2002. Regrettably, the business was forced to close as a result of the 911 attack.

Throughout her career, she has sought out and identified solutions that would positively impact the viability of varying business and community segments. These efforts have aided in strengthening the capacity of small, mid-sized, and socially disadvantaged businesses through education, training, strategizing, consulting, advising, and mentoring. She continues to keep her finger on the pulse of business opportunities and aggressively seeks out information to assist emerging firms.

In keeping with her core mission, in 2011 Suzanne founded Contractor Advisors Business Development Inc., a division of Black Expo Community Development Association, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit corporation founded in 1990, to strengthen the operations capacity of small and mid-sized construction and building industry professional services firms. As she continued to expand her engagement to become a more effective resource in this segment, she became a surety bonding agent to address their surety bonding challenges. Programs executed through this company focused on construction industry engagement are conducted under the Construction Development Institute (CDI).

In 2013, she launched the Construction Industry Conference™, to conduct training, education programs, and events to address major impediments to growth and expansion for small construction businesses...education, information, and access to capital. Suzanne states, “As majority firms continue their dominance over the business and new opportunities, it is imperative that small and mid-sized firms innovate and avail themselves of every opportunity to drive business. This is accomplished by understanding the core processes that drive construction businesses, continuing to remain abreast of industry trends, networking with decision-makers, and knowing when opportunities become available.”

In 2015, Suzanne established a new product with the creation of BUILDING ENTREPRENEUR™ magazine, which debuted in November 2016. BUILDING ENTREPRENEUR is an industry resource for business owners and stakeholders in the construction, architecture, and engineering industries, with an emphasis on those who operate businesses with annual revenue of less than $40 million.

In 2022, recognizing the extreme labor shortage that exists in the construction industry, including large firms, the organization launched a new program targeted to at-risk and socially disadvantaged individuals to prepare them to gain employment in the construction industry. This program, Building Better Futures, provides trade training, remedial education, mentoring, and life skills training. The program brings together business and industry community partners to create an impactful employment pathway for program participants.

She is currently a member of the City of Chicago’s Government Procurement Forum and has served on several boards, taught practical business classes, and advised a multitude of businesses throughout her career.