Sagers selected convocation speaker

Carol Hillsman Sagers ’79 BS Advertising, has been selected as the 2016 College of Media Convocation speaker.

Carol is the principal at CHS Marketing Consultants, a company she founded in 1996. Carol’s firm provides business development and marketing management services to clients that have included McDonald’s, Fashion Fair Cosmetics, Kraft Foods, L’Oréal, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kellogg’s, Chicago Park District, The Federated Group and Unilever. In addition to her consultancy, Carol is an Assistant Professor at American Intercontinental University, where she teaches business and marketing courses.

Carol worked seven years as Marketing Director at McDonald’s USA. While there, she led all of the national marketing efforts for the African American Consumer Market and efforts targeted to the Asian American Consumer Market. She was responsible for the development and implementation of integrated marketing communications programs that drove year-over-year-over-year business growth. Prior to consulting and her work at McDonald’s, Carol worked for Soft Sheen Products (now a division of L’Oreal) in positions ranging from Group Marketing Manager to Vice President of Marketing with responsibility for 13 brands and more than 20 people.   Carol also worked in Brand Management at Kraft Foods and at the Quaker Oats Company.   

She is a past National Chairman of the Mosaic Council of the American Advertising Federation (the largest national trade organization for advertisers, advertising agencies, and media companies) and a former Executive Board Member of the Association of National Advertisers. Her client-side work in the Advertising Industry has been notable and award winning, including the prestigious Industry Career Achievement Award from the American Advertising Federation. Carol also has been recognized as Working Mother Magazine’s “Working Mother of the Year;” and the Chicago Illini of the Year from the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

Carol is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc., and Carats, Inc. She also serves on the Leadership Council for the College of Media at the University of Illinois.

In addition to her Advertising degree from Illinois, Carol has an MBA Degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to her college sweetheart, Rudolph Sagers, Jr. (another Illini).  They have two grown sons (Ryan and Randall) and live in Chicago's southern suburbs.