Arielle Johnson

Chief Executive Officer
Business Leadership Council

Arielle is a serial entrepreneur, social enterprise, and non-profit leader. Arielle is the CEO of TheBusiness Leadership Council (BLC), the premier organization for Black Business Leaders in Chicago withthe mission to harness the collective strength and influence of its members to cultivate and fortify theBlack Business Ecosystem.

In 2017, Arielle’s heart for entrepreneurship and removing barriers to success for disenfranchisecommunities led her to start Fierce Staffing, a Social Enterprise with a special commitment toworkforce development.

In 2019, the workforce development efforts of Fierce led Arielle to the public sector. There, she served asthe Deputy Director of Civil Rights, Inclusion, and Opportunity for the City of Detroit, where she led alldepartment operations.

Moving her passion and work ethic to Chicago, Arielle served as the Deputy Director of the Business Enterprise Program (BEP), and CMS Senior Policy Advisor. Arielle’s team oversaw certification, State contract goal setting, compliance, and outreach, committed to representation of businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.

Arielle received her B.A. from The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University and her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Michigan. Arielle is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Her proudest accomplishment is being a mother to her son, Dorian. She enjoys working on her golf game and coaching girls basketball.