Dan, a proud LA graduate and valedictorian of the Class of 1979, has 40 years of executive and managerial experience, most recently as interim executive director of the Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia Care (G4 Alliance). Previously serving as G4 Alliance’s treasurer, as interim executive director Dan strengthened organization, rebuilt professional staff, energized fundraising efforts, revitalized the board of directors, and built connections to key partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO). He has now transitioned back to its board of directors as vice chairman.

Prior to his work at G4 Alliance, Dan spent 36 years with ZS Associates, helping grow it into a global professional services firm specializing in sales and marketing analytics. Dan spent six years living in the UK and five years in Japan launching ZS’s operations across Europe and Asia. As managing principal-operations, he led several functional areas and served clients, working in 31 countries. Notably, he was employee number four of the firm, which was founded at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School in 1983. By the time Dan retired in 2020, ZS had over 12,000 full-time employees in 35 offices in 15 countries and over $1B in annual revenues.

Dan holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (1984) and a bachelor of science in business administration (actuarial science and accounting) from Drake University (1983). He also completed post-graduate business programs at Harvard and Wharton and is a certified public accountant.

Deeply engaged with his community, Dan was twice elected and served 12 years as a member of the Glenview Park District Board. He also served on the board, and as president, of Northlight Theatre in Skokie. Dan and his wife Melanie, who live in Glenview and have three adult children, have long been parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, where Dan co-leads a scripture study group. Additionally, he has been an active scout leader with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for over 20 years, serving in many roles at the unit, council, and national levels. He is a member of the Northeast Illinois Council’s Catholic Committee, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Catholic Committee on Scouting, and the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. He has also coached youth volleyball and basketball and served as an AYSO soccer referee. In 2012, Dan received the presidential award for volunteering from the White House.

Dan and his family love to travel, and Dan is the international vice president of the Circumnavigators Club and a member of the Travelers Century Club (having visited over 100 countries and territories, as well as all 50 US states and all 10 Canadian provinces). The Petersons are also avid sports fans, and Dan is working on getting to all 30 NFL stadiums. In his spare time, Dan is an instrument-rated private pilot with over 2,500 flight hours in nine countries, and has taken over 150 kids flying for their Aviation Merit Badge and through the EAA Young Eagles program.

A native of Bronxville, New York, Dan has two brothers who are also Loyola Academy alumni, David R. Peterson ’82 and James N. Peterson ’86, along with brother-in-law Arthur B. Carlson IV ’87.

Dan will assume his position as vice president of finance & operations, CFO/COO on October 10, 2023. He replaces outgoing CFO/COO Brian Hake P’09, ’12, who is retiring this fall after seven years of service at Loyola Academy.