Academic Degrees
MBA, University of Chicago
BS, Accounting, DePaul University
Professional Certifications
Certified Public Accountant
Biography
John J. Vitanovec is a senior lecturer in DePaul's School of Accountancy & MIS. He has been teaching at DePaul since 2009. In addition, he serves the coordinator of scheduling and curriculum for the school.
Prior to DePaul, Vitanovec's career included both public accounting and the media industry. Upon graduation from DePaul, he joined the Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) audit practice and served a variety of publicly and privately held clients in manufacturing, consumer products and real estate. After PwC, he spent 25 years at Tribune Broadcasting — the television, radio and entertainment group of Tribune Company. Initially the group manager of financial planning, his responsibilities included both operational and strategic planning for the group, along with acquisition analysis, support and transition. His Tribune career included 13 years at WGN-TV, initially as controller, then later as station manager and finally as the vice president/general manager. He also served as the vice president of WLVI – TV in Boston. His final position with Tribune was as the executive vice president of Tribune Broadcasting Company, which generated $1.5 billion of sales across its 30-plus operating units.
Vitanovec earned his MBA from the University of Chicago and is also a registered CPA in Illinois. As a DePaul undergraduate student, he studied in the honors accounting program (now Strobel Scholars) and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Vitanovec was also active on campus, and served as resident advisor in Clifton (now Munroe Hall). He also was elected president of the honors accounting society Beta Alpha Psi. In addition, he presented the Student Commencement Address at DePaul's university wide graduation ceremony.