Leadership Team

Mr. Sunil Puri was born in Bombay [Mumbai], India and emigrated to the United States in 1979. Mr. Puri’s entrepreneurial, volunteer, and charitable work has been a driving force in the Midwest, and specifically the Northern Illinois region.

In 1984, Mr. Puri founded First Rockford [now Midwest] Group – a vertically integrated real estate developer, investor, property manager, and holding company for a diverse array of investments including:

• MedMar: one of the first Cannabis dispensaries in Illinois, now part of Cresco Labs Inc., one of the largest vertically integrated cannabis companies in the world
• Road Ranger: one of the largest networks of Truck Stops in the Midwest, with a now nationwide footprint, since sold
• Over 3.2 million square feet of retail, office, and industrial space
• 11 high-end multi-family residential properties
• Over 10,000 single-family lots across the Midwest
• Over 100 outside investments across private equity, venture capital, and more across geographies including China, Mexico, Pan-Africa, SE Asia, and the United States

Mr. Puri has long valued education and received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Rockford College in 1982. Throughout his career as CEO and President of First Midwest Group, Mr. Puri attended several prestigious executive education programs, including: London Business School (2000), Harvard Business School (2002-2012), and the University of Chicago. He was also the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rockford University (2013).

Mr. Puri’s previous local board affiliations include RAVE, RAEDC, the Operating and Finance Committee of RPS205, and Rockford University.

Nationally, Mr. Puri is part of YPO/WPO, ICSC, and was appointed by President Obama in 2010 to be part of the White House Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Mr. Puri’s philanthropic activities include: the Perryville Path, the Puri School of Business, the Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza, and many more.