Mark Agnew is an adjunct associate professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth, where he teaches “Entrepreneurship through Acquisition.” Agnew began his career at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in high school and returned in 2011 to guide the company through nearly a decade of substantial growth. As chief executive officer and president, Agnew oversaw more than 4,000 employees and 58 company-owned locations in Chicagoland and Phoenix, along with the e-commerce company Tastes of Chicago. Lou Malnati’s was ranked a top workplace eight years in a row by the Chicago Tribune.

Before returning to Lou Malnati’s, Agnew spent five years as a vice president at Dixon Midland Company, a Chicago-based private investment firm, where he sourced platform and add-on investments and provided operational support to portfolio companies. He had previously been a private equity associate at Glencoe Capital, specializing in basic industries, and as an investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank, focusing on leveraged finance and M&A.

Agnew holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and an MBA with honors from Chicago Booth. He lives in Winnetka with his wife, Carolyn, and their four children, Molly, Elinor, James, and Henry.