About Ron Dukes
Founded in 1999, and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Ronald Dukes Associates, LLC has extensive consulting experience with industrial manufacturing corporations. Since inception the focus has been on placing executives in engineering, sales, marketing and operations in positions ranging from plant managers, vice presidents, operations directors, general managers and presidents. Clients have been Fortune 500 and equivalent-sized organizations to medium-sized businesses, both private and private equity backed operations.
Before founding his firm in 1999, Mr. Dukes spent 19 years with Heidrick & Struggles, where he was a Partner, Shareholder and Member of the Board of Directors and was one of the founding members of the firm’s industrial practice. His early professional consulting career was with Booz Allen & Hamilton.
Prior to his consulting career, he was a key human resources executive at American Motors Corporation. As a private roll employee he served as corporate director of recruiting and management development and at age 32 reporting to a corporate officer was the youngest ever promoted to the role. His responsibilities included management of executive search, international human resources, management development, and succession planning for the corporation. Previously, he held a corporate human resources position with Emerson Electric Company and a plant human resources supervisor's role at Continental Can Company.
Shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree and being elected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, Ron served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, earning a combat badge with an infantry battalion in Vietnam.
Ron is a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, the Economic Club of Chicago and the Executives Club of Chicago. He is a former member of the Board of Visitors of the Peter F. Drucker Graduate Management Center.
For the past 20 years he has been a board member of Chicago Youth Centers, one of the largest youth agencies in the city of Chicago. Previously, he was board chairman and served on the executive committee. Ron also sits on the board of First Nonprofit Insurance Company and serves on its Audit and Investment Committees. He served ten years as a member of the Retirement Plan Subcommittee of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.