Robert Crawford is the Founder, Past Chairman and CEO and Senior Advisor of Brook Furniture Rental, Inc., a national chain with 500 employees offering high quality residential and office furnishings for temporary use. Brook was founded by Mr. Crawford in 1979, and he sold the company in 2014.
In 2007, Mr. Crawford was inducted into the Illinois Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame. In 2005 he was recognized as the Alumnus of the Year of Phi Kappa Sigma, in 2013 he received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Illinois St. Andrew Society, in 2015 he received the Gerald J. Roper Award for Excellence from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, in 2016 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Corporate Housing Providers Association, and in 2017 he received the Chicagoland Chamber PAC Advocacy Champion Award. In 2025 he received the Founders Award from the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.
Mr. Crawford is past Chairman of the Board of Directors and a Director of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce; is on the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees at The Field Museum, Trustee of the Ravinia Festival, and Lake Forest College; is an Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, is a past Trustee of McCormick Theological Seminary, is a past Trustee and Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Recreation Foundation; is Past Chairman and President of the Board of Directors of the International Furniture Rental Association; and a member of the 2016 Chicago Olympic Committee. Additionally, Mr. Crawford served as Regional Chairman of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships.
Currently, Mr. Crawford has dedicated his time and resources as the founder of NEL (Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab), a joint effort with The Chicago Community Trust and Allies for Community Business (A4CB) to support entrepreneurs in disadvantaged and historically underserved Chicago communities. Since 2016, NEL has supported more than 150 entrepreneurs and helped create and sustain approximately 1,000 jobs.
He is a member of: The Commercial Club of Chicago; The Economic Club of Chicago; The Chicago Club; The Chairman’s Circle, and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Mr. Crawford holds a BS degree from Dickinson College and an MBA from the Wharton School University of Pennsylvania.
Bob has been married to his wonderful wife, Winnie, for 60 years and they have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.