Board Member, Alkermes plc and Amneal Pharmaceuticals
Emily Peterson Alva is an accomplished finance and strategy executive and advisor to boards, CEOs and leadership teams across industries. Ms. Alva’s professional experience includes almost twenty years as an Investment Banker and Partner at Lazard (NYSE: LAZ). Over many years as a visible and trusted Lazard banker and corporate board advisor, Ms. Alva built a notable track record leading complex strategic evaluations and M&A transactions for major global corporations representing, in aggregate, hundreds of billions of dollars in transaction value. During her Lazard tenure, Ms. Alva led corporate boards and leadership teams on initiatives affecting corporate strategy including business development, risk management and financial planning, as well as corporate transformations including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, capital structure evaluations and other significant partnership and restructuring transactions. In recent years, Ms. Alva has worked in an executive capacity as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO, leadership team and the Chairman of the Board of Constellis, a large global defense contractor and provider of complex security solutions to government agencies and commercial partners.
Ms. Alva is an experienced corporate director working with both public and private boards. Ms. Alva has served on the boards of Alkermes plc (Nasdaq: ALKS) since 2021, and Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRX) since 2018. Ms. Alva is also a board member of The Mission Society, a landmark non-profit with more than two hundred years of history working to end the cycle of poverty through education for underserved families in New York City. Ms. Alva has previously served on the private company boards of Forterra (formerly Robotic Research, a SoftBank funded autonomy company for defense and commercial markets) and the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
Ms. Alva received a B.A. in Economics from Barnard College, Columbia University.
Board Member, Games Global Ltd.; Former Chief Strategy Officer & GC, MP Materials
Sheila Bangalore is a board member and former public company C-level executive with global business experience spanning public and private multinational technology (B2B/C), healthcare and specialty materials businesses over 20+ years. Presently, Ms. Bangalore serves as a non-executive director for StoneAge Holdings, Inc., an ESOP company pioneering innovation for the global industrial sector; and Games Global Limited, a private global gaming technology company, where she chairs the Risk & Compliance Committee and serves on the Nominations and Audit Committees. She also acts a Venture Partner at Springtide Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investment in cutting-edge healthcare technology businesses. Previously, Ms. Bangalore served as Chief Strategy Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of MP Materials (NYSE: MP), a regulated specialty materials company she helped take public in 2020. MP’s IPO raised $545 million in capital. At MP, Ms. Bangalore promoted business sustainability and optimization strategies while overseeing legal, compliance and corporate governance on behalf of the company. Prior to MP, spent close to 15 years in senior legal and business roles at Zappos.com, Aristocrat Technologies, and Bally Technologies. Ms. Bangalore received her MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; her Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis; and her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Tufts University.
10:40 – 11:30 am
How Agile is Your Board?
Lead Director, ScanSource; Board Member, GMS Inc; Former CEO, Sonoco Products Company
As founder and Managing Director of Peter Browning Partners, LLC, a board advisory service, Peter has a wide range of experience in business. Beginning as a sales trainee, he spent 24 years with the Continental Can Company, including President of two different divisions, last serving as Executive Vice President – Operating Officer. He joined National Gypsum Company in 1989, and in September 1990, was elected Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Gypsum Company, seeing the company through and out of bankruptcy.
He joined Sonoco Products Company, (a $5 billion global packaging company)
in November 1993 where he last served as President and Chief Executive Officer, before retiring in July 2000. In March, 2002, he was appointed Dean of the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte where he served until May 2005.
He is a native of Boston, MA. A 1963 graduate of Colgate University with an AB in history, he earned his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1976. The Harvard Business School prepared a case study regarding his success in effecting changes at Continental’s White Cap Division. A case study has also been written on his experience at National Gypsum for use at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Since 1987, he has served on the board of directors of fourteen publicly traded companies during which time he has served as Chairman and CEO, CEO, non-executive chair, lead director and chairs of audit, compensation, and governance/nominating committees. Recent board service include ten years at Wachovia Corporation, sixteen years at Lowes Companies, sixteen years at Nucor Corporation where he served as non-executive chairman and lead director, fourteen years at EnPro Industries and most recently twenty years at Acuity Brands last serving as lead director.. At present he serves as the lead director of ScanSource, Inc. and is a member of the board of directors of GMS,Inc. In January, 2013, he joined the board of the private company Equilar, the leading provider of compensation and governance data, as lead independent director stepping down June of 2022
In the fall of 2004 Board Alert Magazine selected Peter as one of eight “Outstanding Directors of the Year” for his role in the successful CEO transitions at Lowe’s and Nucor. He is also the 2009 recipient of Boston University’s “Gislason Award for Leadership in Executive Development.”
He was selected for the “2011 and 2012 NACD Director 100 List” (the list of the most influential people in corporate governance in the boardroom).
On December 6, 2023 in New York City The National Association Of Directors honored him with their Life Time Achievement Award during their annual Directorship 100 Recognition Gala.
The Nucor Corp. 2014 Annual Report noted: “This year also marks Peter Browning’s final year on the board of directors. I cannot say enough about the tremendous value Peter brought to Nucor during his 15 years as a director….. Peter sets the standard by which other public company directors are measured. His knowledge of corporate governance, outstanding judgment and excellent interpersonal skills are second to none…‘’
In April 2010, his chapter “Leadership in the Corner Office: The Board’s Most Important Responsibility” was published in the Jossey-Bass and Center for Creative Leadership book titled “Extraordinary Leadership: Addressing the Gaps in Senior Executive Development”.
He is the coauthor (with his business partner William Sparks) of “The Director’s Manual: A Framework for Board Governance” published by Wiley in February 2016.
He is a lifetime member of The University of Chicago, Council on the Booth Graduate School of Business; and served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Peter is married and has four children and seven grandchildren, currently living with his wife Kathy in Charlotte, NC.
9:30 – 10:20 am
Leadership Legacies: Timeless Advice from the C-Suite to the Boardroom
Author, Boards That Lead and Boards That Deliver
Ram Charan is a world-renowned business consultant, author and speaker who has spent the past 40 years working with many top companies, CEOs, and boards of our time.
In his work with companies including Toyota, Bank of America, Key Bank, ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, Novartis, Max Group, Yildiz Holdings, UST Global, Fast Retailing (Uniqlo), Humana, Matrix, Ram is known for cutting through the complexity of running a business in today’s fast changing environment to uncover the core business problem.
Ram’s real-world solutions, shared with millions through his books and articles in top business publications, have been praised for being practical, relevant and highly actionable — the kind of advice you can use Monday morning–in areas such as growth, talent development, corporate governance, and moneymaking models for the digital age.
Ram was first introduced to business while working in the family shoe shop in a small town in northern India, where he was raised. He earned an engineering degree in India, then took a job in Australia. He went on to earn MBA and doctorate degrees from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction and was a Baker Scholar, and served on the faculties of Harvard Business School and Northwestern University before pursuing consulting full-time.
Ram has coached more than a dozen leaders who went on to become CEOs. He reaches many more up-and-coming business leaders through in-house executive education programs. His energetic, interactive teaching style has won him several awards, including the Bell Ringer award at GE’s famous Crotonville Institute and best teacher award at Northwestern. He was among BusinessWeek‘s top ten resources for in-house executive development programs.
Ram has authored more than 30 books since 1998 that have sold over 4 million copies in more than a dozen languages. Three of his books were Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including Execution, coauthored with former Honeywell CEO Larry Bossidy, which spent more than 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He also has written for publications including Harvard Business Review, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Time, Chief Executive and USA TODAY.
Ram was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and has served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance. He has served on the boards of Hindalco in India, Emaar, Austin Industries, Tyco Electronics, and Fischer and Porter.
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Expect the Unexpected: Timeless Board Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Times
Board Member, NorthWestern Energy Group
Tony Clark is a Sr. Advisor at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, where he advises clients on regulatory and policy matters. He is a former Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (2012-2016), and prior to that was a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner (2001-2012). He was Labor Commissioner in the Cabinet of North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer and is a former state legislator. He holds undergraduate degrees from North Dakota State University and an MPA degree from the University of North Dakota. In addition to his work at WBK, he is an Independent Director of NorthWestern Energy Group.
10:40 – 11:30 am
How Agile is Your Board?
Global Head of Litigation and Investigations, Diageo
Brenda is Global Head of Litigation and Investigations at Diageo, bringing to the role 25 years of experience handling complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, and sensitive corporate internal and governmental investigations.
Prior to joining Diageo, Brenda was a Litigation Partner at Linklaters LLP, where she represented clients in a wide variety of challenging disputes and investigations across a broad range of industries, including consumer products, financial services, transportation, mining and healthcare. She also has extensive experience advising boards of directors on sensitive internal and governance matters, compliance with U.S. securities, antitrust and other regulatory regimes, and providing strategic counseling and risk management advice in connection with existing and contemplated transactions and business practices.
In addition to her role at Diageo, Brenda serves on the Board of Trustees of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance (RIPA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that collaborates with the City of New York and its surrounding communities to provide an exciting, innovative and welcoming destination offering a wide array of sports venues, cultural events and opportunities for environmental exploration. Brenda is Co-Chair of RIPA’s Nominating and Governance Committee.
Chief Executive Officer, The Chicago Network
As the CEO of The Chicago Network, the premier organization of Chicagoland’s most influential women leaders, Maria Doughty leads with deep personal purpose. She is an ambassador for the organization and its purpose of empowering women to lead and its mission to connect women for personal and professional growth, advance communities, and support and inspire the next generation of women. Having joined in April 2020, she successfully led the organization through the global pandemic, developed a new strategic plan, digitally transformed the operations, rebuilt the employee team, maintained the organizations fiscal stability, and increased member engagement.
Maria brings significant industry experience in highly regulated areas, including insurance and financial services. She is a skilled regulatory compliance, governance, enterprise risk management, litigation, public policy, and government affairs strategist. She has considerable board director knowledge in the non-profit and insurance industry association areas.
She is the board President of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a group of member entities throughout Illinois that provide services for persons experiencing domestic violence. Maria is a board member of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a nonprofit body dedicated to increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs. She is a current board member and the past board President of the Latino Policy Forum, an organization that provides policy analysis and information in the pursuit of fair housing, education, and immigration laws for the Latino community. She was recently appointed as a Special Advisor to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession. Maria holds a gubernatorial appointment as Co-Chair of the State of Illinois Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Task Force, whose purpose is to reform existing employment systems via implementation of Employment First, a law addressing subminimum wage, housing, and transportation.
Maria has been on numerous regulatory boards in the insurance sector, including the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund (audit committee member), the National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds (audit and finance committee member), the Minnesota Joint Underwriting Association (audit and finance committee member and personnel committee chair), the Illinois Insurance Association (board chair, member of audit and finance committee), and the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance.
She previously served as the Director of Public Policy and Regulatory Examinations for Allstate Insurance Company. She oversaw the public policy team and engaged with the CEO and Senior Executive Leadership Team surrounding local, state, and national issues. In this role, she educated and influenced legislators, regulators, and other stakeholders, saved the company millions of dollars in potential fines, oversaw the legal and compliance issues surrounding ESG reporting, and helped manage public opinion on critical ESG-related issues. Maria also led the regulatory examination team and oversaw market conduct examinations and other regulatory investigations countrywide.
While at Allstate, Maria managed complex class action litigation, was the chief legal counsel for Allstate’s Midwest field operations and served as the chief counsel for the Claims Department responsible for managing the claims legal issues nationally. She supervised challenging regulatory crises resulting from catastrophes, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. Maria also counseled the field operations team to identify loss cost and compliance opportunities.
Maria received her BA in Political Science and Psychology from Emory University and JD from Emory University School of Law. She did post-graduate work as a Robert T. Jones Scholar at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Being the daughter of Italian immigrants, Maria has a strong work ethic, an ability to foster collaboration, and an appreciation for community service. She enjoys traveling, hiking, ballroom dancing, and gardening. She lives with her husband and has two grown sons.
12:25 – 1:15 pm
Sustainability Under Fire – How Do Boards Find the Right Balance?
Board Member, Altria Group and TFI International
Ms. Kelly-Ennis was President and Chief Executive Officer of Diageo Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Diageo plc, a global spirits, wine and beer company, from 2008 to June 2012. From 2005 to 2008, she was Chief Marketing Officer for Diageo North America, Inc., another subsidiary of Diageo plc. Ms. Kelly-Ennis has also held marketing, sales and general management positions with RJR/Nabisco, Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, General Motors Corporation and Grand Metropolitan PLC.
She is a director of TFI International Inc. (NYSE and TSX: TFII) and of Altria where she serves as Chair of the Governance Committee (NYSE-MO). She is a Director at Schreiber Foods. She also serves as a director of Trivium Packaging B.V. and is Director Emeritus of Dress for Success Worldwide. She previously served as a director of Carnival Corporation & plc, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. and PulteGroup, Inc.
2:00 – 2:50 pm
A People-Centric Approach to Building Resilience
Former Chief Financial Officer, Enron
Andy Fastow was the Chief Financial Officer of Enron Corporation from 1998 through 2001. In 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection. As a result of the bankruptcy, $40 billion of shareholder wealth and retirement savings was destroyed, thousands of people lost their jobs, and many businesses and institutions in Houston and elsewhere were adversely affected. In 2004, Mr. Fastow pled guilty to two counts of securities fraud, and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Andy is the only Enron executive that has taken full responsibility for his actions, and he has repeatedly and publicly expressed remorse. In addition to serving his prison sentence, Mr. Fastow forfeited far more money than he ever earned at Enron. He is credited with being the individual most responsible for helping to recover $6 billion for Enron shareholders.
Andy Fastow has been invited to speak at schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Rice, University of Texas, University of Houston, Dartmouth, Tufts, and USC. He was the keynote speaker at the United Nations conference on responsible business practices, at the FBI’s Advanced White Collar Financial Crimes conference to train agents, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the American Accounting Association annual conferences, and the Financial Times’ Outstanding Directors conference, and to many other groups and businesses around the world.
Mr. Fastow lives with his family in Houston, Texas. He currently serves as a Principal with KeenCorp, an artificial intelligence software firm, and he consults with Nonexecutive Directors, Management, Hedge Funds, and Auditors, in order to identify potentially critical finance, accounting, compensation, and cultural issues.
2:25 – 3:25 pm
The Board’s Ultimate Cautionary Tale: Lessons From Enron’s Former Finance Chief
Chair of Board, Mastercard International
Merit E. Janow is an internationally recognized expert in international trade and investment. She has extensive experience in business, academia and government, and life-long involvement with Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.
Corporate and Board Experience: For over 20 years, Janow has had corporate and nonprofit board and governance committee experience. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board, Mastercard, and serves on boards within the American Funds/Capital group, and Aptiv. She was previously Chair of the Nasdaq Stock Market for nearly a decade as well as Trimble Corp and Rockefeller Financial. Janow also serves on the Boards of non-profit organizations such as Japan Society (where she is Chairman); the National Committee on US China Relations (Trustee); Peterson Institute of International Economics (as a Director) and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is on the global advisory council of MUFG and was an inaugural member of China’s sovereign fund, the China Investment Corporation (CIC). She has served on nominating, finance, technology, audit and executive committees. Early in her career, Janow was a corporate lawyer specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York.
University Leadership: Janow became Dean of the faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in July 2013, a position she concluded in December 2021. She remains on the Columbia faculty. As Dean of SIPA, she strengthened the school by launching new programs in the areas of technology & public policy with a focus on cyber security, the digital economy and advanced data analytics and public policy; central banking and financial policy; and key regions of the world, notably China, Brazil, Japan and India. She expanded the faculty; created new research centers; initiated new programs around entrepreneurship and sustainable investing; and completed two ambitious capital campaigns. For the past 28 years, she has been a professor at both SIPA and Columbia Law School. For over a decade, she ran a major academic program on international finance and economic policy. Janow has taught graduate courses on trade and the digital economy; international trade and investment law and policy; comparative antitrust law; and China and Asia in the global economy. She is co-director of the APEC Study Center at Columbia Business School, and previously served as Chair of the Committee for Socially Responsible Investing which oversees the proxy voting of shares owned by the Columbia University endowment. Janow has written three books and numerous articles and frequently speaks before business, policy, and academic audiences around the world.
Government and Policy Experience: Janow has had three periods of senior government service. In December 2003, while at Columbia University, she was elected as one of the seven Members of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body. In the course of her four year term, she reviewed more than 30 appeals covering a diverse range of trade disputes. From 1997-2000, Janow served as the Executive Director of the first international antitrust advisory committee to the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust of the US Justice Department. From 1989 to 1993, Janow served as Deputy Assistant USTR for Japan and China in the Executive Office of the President. At USTR, she was responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing U.S. trade policies and leading sectoral trade negotiations with Japan and China. She negotiated more than a dozen bilateral trade agreements.
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Expect the Unexpected: Timeless Board Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Times
Retired Host, Inside America’s Boardrooms; Co-Founder, Corporate Board Member
TK Kerstetter is the founder and CEO of Boardroom Resources, a Diligent Company since 2017, Co-founder of Corporate Board Member, and recently host of “Inside America’s Boardrooms which was filmed at the New York Stock Exchange. “Inside Today’s Boardrooms” is the premier boardroom and governance webshow for boards of directors, senior executives, GCs, and corporate secretaries of public companies. In 2019 Kerstetter also launched Diligent’s “Inside Europe’s Boardrooms” and “Inside Australia’s Boardrooms” which recently were incorporated into “Inside Today’s Boardrooms”. He is also credited in 2017 with organizing the Next Gen Board Leaders now managed by Diligent and Spencer Stuart. The Next Gen Board Leaders is a community of board members in their 30s and 40s who meet to improve boardroom processes and share corporate director experiences.
Prior to launching Boardroom Resources in 2015, Kerstetter served as Chairman of NYSE Governance Services and President of NYSE Board Member after the New Your Stock Exchange acquired Board Member Inc. where he served as Chief Executive Officer and built the nationally recognized brands Corporate Board Member and Bank Director. He currently sits on the Diligent Institute’s board and serves as a senior fellow for The Conference Board.
Prior to board education work, Kerstetter served as president and director of the now $20 billion Nasdaq-listed WSFS Financial Corporation spanning a 20-year banking career. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program, he was the recipient of the university’s Outstanding Alumni Award and was inducted into IUP’s Sports Hall of Fame.
9:30 – 10:20 am
Leadership Legacies: Timeless Advice from the C-Suite to the Boardroom
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Expect the Unexpected: Timeless Board Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Times
Board Chair, Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Board Member, GM, Merck and KKR; Former CEO, Former CEO, Lucent Technologies
Patricia Russo is chair of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company. She served as lead director of the Hewlett-Packard Company Board of Directors from 2014 to 2015. She was independent lead director of the GM Board of Directors from March 2010 to January 2014 and in 2021 she was re-appointed to that role. She also served as CEO of Alcatel-Lucent S.A. from 2006 to 2008; Chairman and CEO of Lucent Technologies, Inc., from 2003 to 2006; and President and CEO of Lucent from 2002 to 2006.
Russo is also a director at General Motors, KKR Management LLC, and Merck & Co. Inc.
9:30 – 10:20 am
Leadership Legacies: Timeless Advice from the C-Suite to the Boardroom
President and Chief Executive Officer, Verisk
Lee M. Shavel is Verisk’s president and chief executive
officer (CEO), driving long-term sustainable value for
shareholders, customers, and employees. He brings over
30 years of experience advising and leading publicly
traded companies to Verisk—determining strategies and
policies, overseeing financial performance, and furthering
company culture.
Lee joined Verisk in 2017 as chief financial officer (CFO).
As CFO, he modernized Verisk’s corporate financial
operations, including treasury, investor relations, and
procurement, and grew the company’s relationships with
debt and equity investment communities, including buyside institutional investors and sell-side research analysts.
He implemented an enhanced capital discipline process
for internal and external capital deployment, extending
that philosophy to the company’s operating focus as CEO.
Before joining Verisk, Lee was Nasdaq, Inc.’s executive
vice president and chief financial officer from 2011 to
2016. From 1993 to 2011, he served as managing director,
Americas head of Financial Institutions Investment
Banking, and other roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Lee holds a BA in English from the University of
Pennsylvania and a BS in economics from the Wharton
School.
As CEO of Verisk, Lee’s been elected to the company’s
board of directors and is on the executive committee. He
also serves on the board of directors of FactSet Research
Systems and chairs its audit committee. He previously
served as a director and chair of the audit committee of
Investment Technology Group and served on the board of
NJ SEEDS, an educational nonprofit
3:00 – 3:50 pm
The 3 Secrets of CEO Succession Planning Done Right
SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Global Industrial Company; Board Member, Medical Facilities Corporation (TSX: DR)
A dynamic and seasoned public company General Counsel with 25 years of domestic and international experience, Ms. Storch has spent the past decade inside board rooms advising corporate boards on governance, regulatory compliance, transactional, strategic and risk management issues. She currently serves on the board of directors of Medical Facilities Corporation (TSX: DR), a publicly-traded Canadian company that owns specialty hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers across the U.S., and is a member of its Audit Committee, as well as its Nominating/Corporate Governance and Compensation Committee. In addition to her board role, Ms. Storch is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Global Industrial Company (NYSE: GIC), a $1.3 billion global wholesale and distribution company with operations in the U.S., Canada, China and India.
11:35 am – 12:25 pm
SEC Enforcement, AI, ESG and CEO Succession – Critical Discussions Your Board Should Be Having with Your Chief Legal Officer
Board Member, T-Mobile, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Camden Property Trust, and The Mosaic Company
2:00 – 2:50 pm
A People-Centric Approach to Building Resilience
Board Chair, DocuSign; Board Member, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Sana Biotechnology; Former CEO, Frontier Communications
Maggie Wilderotter is a seasoned executive who, as CEO, has led both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in her career. In addition, she has extensive Board leadership serving on over 35 public company and 14 private company Boards of Directors.
Today, Maggie serves on the public boards of Costco Wholesale Corporation, Sana
Biotechnology, and is Board Chair at DocuSign. She serves on the private boards of Tanium, and Sonoma Biotherapeutics. In addition, Maggie is also a Senior Advisor to a number of
companies including Accenture, Okta, the Blackstone Group, Atairos Private Equity, Sixth Street Partners, American Century Investments, Celonis, Garden City, GEP, SHRM and she Co-Chairs the Bank of America Executive Mentor Program with CEO Brian Moynahan.
Maggie was Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Communications from November, 2004 to April, 2015, and then Executive Chairman of the company until April, 2016. During her tenure with Frontier, the company grew from a regional telephone company with customer revenues of
less than $1 billion to a national broadband, voice and video provider with operations in 29 states and annualized revenues in excess of $10 billion.
Previously, her career included being the Senior Vice President of Global Business Strategy and ran the Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft. Before this, she was President and CEO of Wink Communications Inc., Executive Vice President of National Operations for AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Chief Executive Officer of AT&T’s Aviation Communications Division, and a Senior Vice President of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc.
Maggie previously served on the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) as both Vice Chairman and Chairman during her 4-year tenure ending in 2014. Mrs. Wilderotter also served until January, 2017 on the President’s special Commission responsible for a recommendation report to the new President of the United States on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.
Her educational credentials include a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the College of the
Holy Cross. She has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the Stevens Institute of Technology and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Rochester.
9:30 – 10:20 am
Leadership Legacies: Timeless Advice from the C-Suite to the Boardroom
Chairman of the Board, Molina Healthcare Inc.
Wolf served as President and Chief Executive Officer (January 2016 to February 2019) and Executive Chairman of Onecall Care Management (September 2015 to January 2016). He has been President and CEO, DBW Healthcare, Inc. (January 2014 to June 2018) and the Executive Chairman, Correctional Healthcare Companies, Inc. (December 2012 to July 2014).
Some other roles he has held is Chief Executive Officer of Coventry Health Care, Inc. (2005 to 2009) and Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of Coventry Health Care, Inc. (1996 to 2005).
Currently, Wolf has been a member of the Board of Directors of EHealth, Inc., a Nasdaq listed company, since August 2019. He has also become a member of the Board of Directors of Adapt Healthcare since October 2019. He has recently become a Chair for Adapt Healthcare.
Previous member roles were being part of the Board of Directors of Correctional Healthcare Companies, Inc. (December 2012 to July 2014), the Coventry Healthcare, Inc. (January 2005 to April 2009), and a member of the Board of Directors of Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc. (2003 to 2012).
Dale Wolf graduated from Eastern Nazarene College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics, with honors. After graduating he completed MIT Sloan School Senior Executive Program and was a fellow in the Society of Actuaries since 1979.
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Expect the Unexpected: Timeless Board Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Times
Co-Head of the ESG Practice and Managing Director, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Lisa Boyd is Co-Head of the ESG Practice and a Managing Director at Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. Lisa has over 20 years of experience in ESG, Reputation Management and Stakeholder Engagement.
Prior to joining Joele Frank in 2022, Lisa was senior director of sustainability and ESG at Target. In this role she was responsible for driving enterprise-wide environmental and social impact integrated with all areas of Target’s business and elevating the company’s ESG profile.
Under her leadership, Target set its first Climate policy and she later led the organization in its work to set an ambitious Net Zero aspiration. Supply Chain Dive recognized Lisa’s work as “Sustainability Plan of the Year” in 2019. A centerpiece of her innovation work, Beyond the Bag, was named an honoree on Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas. She also led the company’s effort to launch its most comprehensive human rights policy, grow and market sustainable brands, and effectively communicate with stakeholders. She served as a member of the company’s enterprise Risk & Reputation Council, which oversaw business decisions and investments through the lens of ESG risk and reputation.
Lisa has led and participated in numerous industry collaborations at The Conference Board, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Forum for the Future, Sustainable Food Lab, Guatemala Highlands Alliance and Food Marketing Institute. She received her B.A. Communications from the University of Minnesota.
12:25 – 1:15 pm
Sustainability Under Fire – How Do Boards Find the Right Balance?
Director, Office of the CISO, Google Cloud
Alicja Cade, Director, Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (OCISO), Google Cloud, is responsible for shaping cloud security and compliance approaches for financial sector institutions and partnering with GCP clients throughout their security transformation.
Prior to Google Cloud, Alicja was CISO Americas and Global Head of Data Confidentiality Operations at UBS and was CISO for Investment Banking, Group Functions and Americas at
Credit Suisse. Earlier in her career Alicja worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK and US in the IT and Cyber Risk Practice, where she helped to lead the way for the growth of the financial services business.
Alicja has previously served as the Chair of the Institute of International Bankers (IIB) Information Security and Operational Resilience Committee and i s a member of Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Financial Services Leadership Council and CxO Trust Advisory Council.
Partner and Global Chairman of Corporate, Linklaters LLP
George Casey is Global Chairman of Corporate of Linklaters LLP, a global law firm with over 3,100 lawyers across 31 offices in 21 countries. Prior to joining Linklaters, George was Global Managing Partner of Shearman & Sterling LLP and has served as Global Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and Global Head of Corporate, while continuing his full-time practice.
He has extensive experience in U.S. domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, ranging from public company acquisitions to complex carve-out sales, strategic investments and joint venture transactions, representing major US and non-US multinational corporate clients and sovereign wealth funds in their most complex transactions. In addition, he regularly advises Boards of Directors and management on corporate governance and shareholder relations issues. He combines a very diverse transactional experience with a deep understanding of clients’ businesses across the chemicals, healthcare, mining and metals, media, cable, technology and telecommunications industries.
The American Lawyer named George a “Dealmaker of the Year” and “Transatlantic Corporate Dealmaker.” He has been recognized as a leading M&A practitioner by Chambers, Legal 500 and IFLR. George has been inducted by Legal 500 into the Corporate/M&A “Hall of Fame,” one of only 21 M&A lawyers across the United States who were awarded this recognition, and is included in the 2023 Legal 500 US M&A Powerlist. He was named by clients as one of nine M&A “Super All-Stars” in a survey of US M&A lawyers by BTI Consulting.
In addition to his work with clients, George is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he teaches a course on mergers and acquisitions. He is also a regular lecturer on U.S. M&A at L’école De Droit De La Sorbonne – Université Paris I.
George is a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Audit Committee of the American University and American College of Greece and a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington DC think tank.
Senior Advisor on Corporate Governance and ESG Programs, Nasdaq
Joan C. Conley is currently a Senior Advisor on Corporate Governance and ESG Programs at Nasdaq, a role she assumed in January 2021, and a member of several boards. In February 2021, Joan was elected to the board of EJF Acquisition Corp., where she also serves as Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. In July 2021, Joan was elected to the board of Tigo Energy, a private company providing smart module technology for the solar industry.
Co-Head, Global White Collar Defense, Regulatory and Investigations practice, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Sarah Coyne is Co-Head of Weil’s global White Collar Defense, Regulatory and Investigations practice. She handles a wide range of civil and criminal white collar matters, as well as internal investigations, compliance program development, and related governance issues, and has experience across industry sectors, with an emphasis on financial institutions.
Sarah is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where she was Chief of the Business and Securities Fraud Section. She is ranked among the leading lawyers in New York for White Collar Crime and Government Investigations by Chambers USA, which quoted a source describing her as “the kind of person you want in your corner; she will not compromise her client’s interests for anything.” She has three times been named “White Collar Crime Lawyer of the Year” at Euromoney’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards, in 2019, 2021 and 2023, and was also shortlisted for the award in 2020, 2022, and 2024. In 2018, she was featured by Global Investigations Review as one of the top 100 “Women in Investigations” worldwide, and has been recognized nationally by Legal 500 for Corporate Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense since 2017, including as a “Next Generation” lawyer. She is currently named a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation, and is recognized in Euromoney’s White Collar Crime Expert Guide.
11:35 am – 12:25 pm
SEC Enforcement, AI, ESG and CEO Succession – Critical Discussions Your Board Should Be Having with Your Chief Legal Officer
Partner, Morrison Foerster
Val Dahiya is a partner in the firm’s Capital Markets and Broker-Dealer Compliance + Regulation practice groups.
Val advises financial services clients on complex compliance, regulatory, and transactional matters arising under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Institution Regulatory (FINRA) jurisdiction. She has nearly two decades of experience in advising on securities market infrastructure, including over 10 years of work history at the SEC and three years at FINRA.
Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Val chaired the securities trading and markets practice and served as office managing partner at another international law firm. Before that, she served as the Washington, D.C. Branch Chief in the Office of Trading Practices in the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC, where she provided analysis and recommendations on complex legal and policy issues related to the securities industry, including the application of Exchange Act rules and regulations to emerging areas such as cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Val’s counsel was essential in shaping SEC policies and ensuring their consistent application across the evolving financial landscape.
Prior to this, Val’s responsibilities as Special Counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets included providing essential guidance on securities regulation compliance, including the Commission’s financial integrity and regulatory programs for broker-dealers and securities exchanges. Val also worked closely with the Divisions Office of Market Supervision reviewing self-regulatory organization (SRO) rule filings.
In her capacity as Attorney/Senior Counsel in the Division of Examinations, Broker-Dealer Group, Val led comprehensive examinations and inspections of broker-dealers and dually registered entities, ensuring compliance with federal securities laws and SRO rules. Her responsibilities also extended to preparing enforcement referral memoranda and assisting the Enforcement Division in complex trading cases.
While at the SEC, Val also worked extensively on issues related to trading practices, including market making, ETFs, direct market or sponsored access, when-issued securities, and trading in the grey markets.
Prior to her tenure at the SEC, Val worked at FINRA (formerly NASD), where she conducted reviews and investigations of broker-dealer activities, identified violations of relevant regulations, and made disciplinary recommendations. Her work at FINRA involved analyzing trading activity for irregularities and patterns indicating violative conduct.
Collectively, this experience informs Val’s counsel on the highly complex regulatory issues associated with broker-dealer, transfer agent, clearing agency, exchange and Alternative Trading System (ATS) operations, registration requirements, and compliance.
Val also advises clients in the distributed ledger technology space that are seeking to understand the potential securities regulatory implications. Her practice ranges from product counseling all the way through to counseling on complex compliance and regulatory issues.
Other areas Val is particularly well qualified to advise on include:
Val is a member of the Nasdaq Exchange Review Council for each of Nasdaq’s six exchanges. Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Val served as office managing partner at another international law firm.
Principal, PwC’s Governance Insights Center
Paul DeNicola is a principal in PwC’s Governance Insights Center, which strives to strengthen the connection between directors, executive teams and investors by helping them navigate the evolving governance landscape.
With more than 15 years of corporate governance experience, Paul has a broad range of knowledge in numerous emerging governance issues. Paul is also an Associate Professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business where he teaches courses in corporate governance and professional responsibility. Paul serves on the board of the National Association of Corporate Directors New Jersey Chapter and formerly served on the board of the Society for Corporate Governance and on the Markets Advisory Council of the Council of Institutional Investors.
Paul has authored and contributed to many PwC governance publications, including the renowned Annual Corporate Directors Survey. He has twice been named to Directorship Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in US corporate governance.
Paul earned his BA and MA degrees in interdisciplinary studies from The Gallatin School of New York University and completed a PhD in philosophy and communications at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee Switzerland. He lives in New York with his wife and three children
8:35 – 9:30 am
Understanding Why Good Boards Make Bad Decisions: An Interactive Exercise
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
Rick is a purpose-driven entrepreneur and executive search
leader on a mission to unleash human potential. As co-founder and managing partner of Acertitude, he is building a reimagined executive search firm founded on the principle that clients’ interests — always — come first.
Also the firm’s Technology practice lead, Rick brings over 20 years of experience to his role as a leadership advisor to CEOs and senior executives of private equity firms and technology companies, spanning AI, data & analytics, communications, cybersecurity, digital, IT services, and SaaS. Rick and his team are also highly specialized in running CIO, CISO, and CTO searches and in supporting value creation, growth, restructuring, carve-out scenarios.
Acertitude’s success expands on Rick’s role as founder of TEG Consulting, an Acertitude company specialized in management search across technology, healthcare, and professional services. Prior to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Rick progressed through an array of leadership roles at Cable & Wireless Communications. He earned an MBA, Finance from Drexel University, and a B.S., Accounting from St. Joseph’s University.
Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Linklaters
Yiting Du is Counsel in Linklaters’ Mergers and Acquisitions team in New York.
Her practice includes public and private mergers and acquisitions, including carve-outs, divestitures, joint ventures, reorganizations, minority investments, activist matters, takeover defense strategies and corporate governance matters.
Principal, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP | EY – US.
Roselyn is a principal at Ernst & Young LLP in the People Advisory Services, consulting on transformation and transactions.
She has been a key contributor to thought leadership about COVID-19 pandemic and is supporting companies with trusted transition to the office and reimagining work.
She has extensive experience consulting for Fortune 500 companies on workforce planning and strategy and labor cost review.
Roselyn holds a BS in Actuarial Science from St. John’s University and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.
2:00 – 2:50 pm
A People-Centric Approach to Building Resilience
CEO, AlixPartners
Simon is the Chief Executive Officer of AlixPartners. He is based in New York and, with his team, provides transformative leadership to businesses and stakeholders, responding quickly and decisively to their most complex and critical challenges.
Simon became CEO of AlixPartners in 2015. In his more than 30 years of experience, Simon has combined his skills in business turnaround, strategic consulting, and stakeholder management in the development of performance improvement and accelerated transformation projects for many large and high-profile businesses. Before joining AlixPartners, Simon was CEO of Zolfo Cooper Europe from 2008 to 2015. Prior to this, he was CEO of Kroll Inc., a corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in New York.
Long involved in philanthropic causes, Simon is the chairman of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as chairman of Grange Park Opera and London Music Masters.
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Expect the Unexpected: Timeless Board Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Times
Co-Head, Public Company Advisory Group, Weil Gotshal
Lyuba Goltser is Co-Head of Weil’s Public Company Advisory Group and founding member of Weil’s Sustainability and ESG Group. Lyuba has deep expertise in counseling public and private companies and not-for-profit corporations, as well as their boards of directors and independent board committees, in complex governance, disclosure and compliance matters.
In her practice, Lyuba advises on a breadth of company governance and compliance issues, including fiduciary duties, director independence, board and committee structure, risk oversight, ESG and sustainability matters, securities law compliance, executive compensation and other employment matters, board leadership structures, shareholder proposals, shareholder engagement and the impact of evolving stakeholder concerns, and corporate governance “best practices.” She also frequently advises on highly sensitive matters that are often confidential in nature, including on internal investigations, leadership transitions, related party transactions and conflicts of interest, corporate culture, climate transition, cybersecurity, discrimination and harassment, and whistleblower protection.
In addition, Lyuba advises on ESG disclosures and related benchmarking on topics such as emissions and climate strategy, cybersecurity, diversity, equity and inclusion, human rights and product and workplace safety matters. She works with boards and senior management teams on strategic matters relating to ESG and voluntary framework developments, and evolving shareholder and rating agency viewpoints.
Lyuba also has deep expertise in counseling clients on a full range of corporate governance and compliance in M&A, capital markets and corporate restructuring transactions. She regularly advises on SEC regulations and governance issues faced by newly-listed public companies and companies preparing to go public.
Lyuba received her J.D., cum laude, from Emory University School of Law and her B.A, cum laude, from Brandeis University.
11:35 am – 12:25 pm
SEC Enforcement, AI, ESG and CEO Succession – Critical Discussions Your Board Should Be Having with Your Chief Legal Officer
Director, PwC’s Governance Insights Center
Catie Hall is a director in PwC’s Governance Insights Center, which strives to strengthen the connection between directors, executive teams and investors by helping them navigate the evolving governance landscape.
With nearly 20 years of experience at PwC, Catie brings significant experience in risk management, governance risks and controls.
Catie focuses on governance research, authors PwC governance publications and speaks to a variety of audiences on governance trends, including risk oversight and cybersecurity oversight.
Catie is a Certified Public Accountant (licensed in New York), a Certified Internal Auditor and is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
8:35 – 9:30 am
Understanding Why Good Boards Make Bad Decisions: An Interactive Exercise
Solutions Consultant, Office of the CISO, Google Cloud
David is in the Office of the CISO at Google Cloud where he shapes cloud security and risk management practices for the Financial Services Sector. He has over 15 years of experience implementing security policies and strategies, protecting information assets, preparing and testing incident response plans, and developing security protocols.
David helps customers reduce operational risk by ensuring organizations have the people, technologies, and processes in place to enable business operations while preventing, detecting, and responding to threats. He also specializes in advising on compliance to laws, regulations, and standards that govern information security, including ISO, NIST, and FISMA frameworks.
Before Google, David worked in both the U.S. government at DoD and DHS and the financial services sector at JP Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse.
Partner, Executive Director & National In-House Diversity Practice Leader, Major Lindsey Africa
Melba Hughes is a Partner, Executive Director of In-House Counsel Recruiting and the National In-House Diversity Practice Leader. She works collaboratively with her counterparts across the U.S. to develop strategy and implement process improvements for business development and relationship building. She coaches, mentors and guides recruiters, providing leadership, counseling and motivation needed to help them succeed and thrive.
Melba is a nationally recognized executive search consultant known for her creativity, commitment and extensive network across industries. She conducts executive searches and works closely with CEOs, boards and general counsel. A change agent and leader, Melba has been instrumental in placing general counsel in Fortune 500 companies, such as McDonald’s and Phillips 66. Her client base includes Westrock; Home Depot, Inc.; Entergy Corporation; Southwire; Southern Poverty Law Center; Flowserve Corporation and The Azek Company; and The Frick Collection. She has extensive experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, energy, consumer products and healthcare. As the National In-House Diversity Practice Leader, Melba employs her knowledge and expertise to develop and implement programs that promote diversity and inclusion within the legal community. She was recognized for her expertise in Lawdragon’s Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting in 2022 and 2023.
Melba lives in Midtown Atlanta with her husband, James B. Hughes Jr., a law professor with Emory University School of Law. A native of Jamaica, she appreciates Caribbean history, foreign travel and World Cup soccer. She enjoys cooking, music, gardening and the beach. Her favorite spot at home is the front porch with a good book and a cup of coffee.
Melba joined Major, Lindsey & Africa as a partner in 2012. She is committed to advancing DE&I in leadership and has devoted much of her career to advancing that cause. She actively partners with her clients to help them meet their objectives and to attract the best talent. She does so by focusing on the goal of increasing the representation of historically underrepresented groups in senior leadership teams. She has been the recruiter of choice for Fortune 500 companies, pre-IPO organizations and not-for-profit entities.
Melba has assisted countless corporations in attracting and developing talent to a variety of legal departments. She brings deep expertise, considerable experience and an extensive network in the diversity space to assist her clients in meeting and exceeding their objectives in talent acquisition.
An innovative and creative leader in the legal search field, Melba, in conjunction with the Emory University School of Law, launched the Diversity Speakers Series in 2014. She is an active professional and community leader, serving on the boards of several charitable and nonprofit organizations, including the Kanuga Conferences, Inc. and the Paideia School.
She is a certified professional career coach and a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, who is frequently invited to present at and participate in national conferences and seminars. Her speaking engagements have included Harvard Law School’s Fall Market Series; Women, Influence and Power National Conference; and Corporate Counsel Women of Color. She is regularly featured in the business and legal press, including The Atlanta Business Chronicle, The American Lawyer magazine and the Altman Weil Inc. newsletter.
Head of Board Advisory for the Americas, Nasdaq
Kaley is the Director of Board Engagement at Nasdaq. Prior to Nasdaq’s acquisition of Center of Board Excellence (CBE) in October 2019, Kaley was CBE’s Vice President, Client Services, Business Development & Legal from September 2015 through 2019. In her current role, and under her role at CBE, Kaley advises boards and CEOs on corporate governance matters, board and director effectiveness, CEO and leadership evaluation and performance, board and management alignment, and compliance and risk matters.
10:40 – 11:30 am
How Agile is Your Board?
Chair, Financial Services Group, Goodwin
Samantha Kirby is Chair of Goodwin’s Financial Services group and co-chair of the Banking and Consumer Financial Services practice. Samantha advises boards and management of financial institutions, fintech companies (including fintechs operating in the crypto space), and other financial services firms on strategic corporate governance and bank regulatory and compliance matters, SEC reporting, and capital markets and M&A transactions. For banks, Samantha’s transactional work includes mutual-to-stock conversions, holding company formations, and de novo bank chartering. In addition to working with the firm’s full service bank and thrift clients, Samantha has worked extensively with nonbank financial services providers to establish limited purpose trust banks and other nontraditional vehicles for providing fiduciary and asset management services, and advises banks and trust companies that manage collective investment funds and other commingled pools. She has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Managing Director, FW Cook
Todd Krauser joined FW Cook in 2015 and has 25 years of executive compensation consulting experience working with compensation committees and senior management teams. Todd works closely with his clients to ensure their executive compensation programs are responsible to shareholders and support the company’s short and long-term business strategy.
Todd’s areas of expertise include pay strategy development; incentive plan design; performance measurement linkages; governance and regulatory issues; CD&A disclosure; equity share plan authorizations; and non-employee Director pay.
He has advised companies of all sizes in a variety of industries, including health care, consumer brands, REITs, restaurants, banking and technology. Todd has also consulted on compensation issues for privately held companies as well as companies with special circumstances such as IPOs, joint ventures and spin-offs.
Todd has spoken on executive compensation related topics for national and regional industry groups. Recent presentations, articles and research reports have covered topics such as “Diving Deeper into the Evaluation of Executive Compensation Plans,” “Tools and Techniques for Aligning Pay and Performance,” “Trends and Best Practices,” and “Director Compensation”.
Partner, Morrison Foerster
Scott Lesmes chairs Morrison Foerster’s Public Company Advisory & Governance practice, and is a partner in the firm’s Capital Markets practice. Scott focuses his practice on counseling clients with respect to corporate and securities matters. He advises publicly-listed companies and boards of directors on a broad range of securities regulation and corporate governance issues and has substantial experience in dealing with restatements and internal control concerns.
Scott also counsels issuers and underwriters in the public offering process and in corporate compliance matters involving SEC reporting and disclosure requirements.
Prior to his career in private law, Scott served as in-house counsel at two public companies. He worked extensively in establishing corporate compliance programs and policies, including those related to insider trading, Section 16, and corporate disclosure while serving as Chief Legal Officer for Allied Capital Corporation, a NYSE-listed business development company, as well as Deputy General Counsel/Chief Securities Counsel for Fannie Mae, a financial services company. Scott draws on his significant in-house experience to provide valuable perspective in his role as an outside advisor.
Scott has received nationwide recognition for excellence in capital markets law. Legal 500 US recognizes Scott as “a key partner in the team [for debt offerings]” and acknowledges his “capital markets expertise. IFLR1000 distinguishes Scott as “highly regarded” in the areas of Capital markets: Debt and Capital markets: Equity, and U.S. News’ Best Lawyers identifies him as a leading lawyer in Securities/Capital Markets Law.
Scott currently serves as chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Practice and Opinion Review Committee, and as a co-chair of Practising Law Institute’s Annual Disclosure Documents program.
Co-Chair, Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice, Sidley Austin
KAI H. E. LIEKEFETT is a partner in New York and co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice. He has 20 years of experience in corporate law in New York, London, Germany, Hong Kong and Tokyo. He spends 100% of his time on activism campaigns, proxy fights and hostile takeovers. In the last five years, Kai has been involved in over 80 proxy contests, more than any other defense attorney in the world, and 25% of all U.S. proxy fights that went all the way.
Partner, Goodwin
David Lynn is a partner in Goodwin’s Capital Markets group and chair of the firm’s Public Company Advisory practice. His practice is focused on advising companies, boards of directors, and underwriters on regulatory matters, capital markets transactions, and corporate governance. Dave previously served as Chief Counsel of the Division of Corporation Finance at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and he is a leading authority on SEC issues who is widely known for his role as Senior Editor of TheCorporateCounsel.net. Dave has nearly three decades of experience as a practicing securities lawyer, having served in leadership roles at the SEC, advised clients in private practice on a wide range of securities and corporate governance matters, and has been an author and speaker addressing the securities and governance topics that are of particular interest to public companies, members of board of directors, and capital markets participants. He has extensive experience advising clients on SEC reporting and disclosure requirements, shareholder activism and engagement, shareholder proposals, ESG matters, corporate governance, SEC investigations, and public and exempt securities offerings. Dave is particularly well known in the area of the SEC’s executive compensation disclosure requirements, having led the rulemaking team at the SEC that drafted significant changes to the executive compensation and related party disclosure rules and serving as a co-author the Executive Compensation Disclosure Treatise.
Partner and Board Member, Simon-Kucher
Bhavin is a Partner in Simon-Kucher’s North American B2B practice based in New York City. For the past 18 years, Bhavin has supported clients in boosting their top line growth by developing and implementing growth strategies, value-oriented pricing concepts, and designing programs that optimize sales effectiveness.
Bhavin has deep expertise in M&A growth strategy, sales force effectiveness, pricing strategy, and process optimization. Bhavin has successfully led 15 pre-deal merger integration projects. He has guided management teams through large, complex scale transformations. He has served a broad base of B2B clients, and understands the complex environment within which B2B companies and intermediaries transact.
He has coached management teams of leading companies in the space to transform their businesses and increase their profitability by formulating business unit strategy, simplifying product portfolios, optimizing channels, restructuring list prices and optimizing discounts across project quoted work, and buying programs. He also has experience in digital topics, including the application of recurring revenue models, and two-sided marketplaces.
Prior to joining Simon-Kucher, Bhavin worked at a consultancy, where his primary focus was on pre-deal and integration planning for Mergers and Acquisitions. He is a frequent guest lecturer on pricing and marketing topics for full time MBA programs at Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School. He graduated with degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia (USA).
Partner and Head of US Transactions, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP
Pamela is a partner and Head of US Transactions in New York. Her practice focuses on capital markets transactions and corporate governance matters. She has deep experience providing issuers and underwriters with advice on the full range of debt and equity offerings, including initial public offerings, direct listings and SPAC transactions; shelf registrations and takedowns; convertible offerings; block trades; private placements; stock repurchase programs; exchange offers; MTN programs; derivatives; tender offers; open market purchases; consent solicitations and liability management matters.
She regularly advises boards of directors and management on a variety of corporate governance topics, including dual class and multi-class share structures; crisis preparedness, mitigation and response; board composition, refreshment, and director independence; succession planning; stakeholder governance and public benefit corporation (PBC) matters; fiduciary duties, conflicts and risk oversight; shareholder engagement and activism defense; shareholder proposals and proxy season trends; environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues; and cybersecurity matters. In addition to her practice, she regularly lectures and writes on corporate governance and securities law topics.
Over the course of the last few years, Pamela has been invited to participate as a speaker with TechGC’s Global Summit, Corporate Board Member’s annual Board Summit, Berkeley Law’s Independent Director Initiative, focused on training for executives/leaders from underrepresented backgrounds in Silicon Valley to serve as independent directors on venture-backed boards, TechGC fireside dinners, KPMG’s Board Leadership Webcast, PLI’s Advance Venture Capital 2023 conference and Niri’s Fundamentals of Investor Relations, among many others.
In September 2022, Pamela authored the second edition of “So you want to do well by being good?” – a one-of-a-kind publication that covers considerations for companies converting to public benefit corporations. Pamela remains the only lawyer in the entire United States ranked in the Hall of Fame for corporate governance by Legal 500. She is ranked among the top lawyers for Corporate Governance in Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Expert Guides for 2021 and 2022; and was named to The Deal’s Top Women in Dealmaking 2021 and 2022 for advising boards in the activism defense context.
1:10 – 2:00 pm
Sustainability Under Fire – How Do Boards Find the Right Balance?
Global Practice Leader, Board Services, Major Lindsey Africa
Keith Meyer is the Global Practice Leader of our Board Services practice. Keith has more than 20 years of global experience developing high-performing boards and senior leadership teams for Fortune 500, mid-cap and not-for-profit organizations, as well as personally leading over 250 board, CEO, and C-suite searches. He has also been named one of the 100 most influential corporate governance leaders by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).
Keith co-founded and currently leads the Directors Academy, a national not-for-profit focused on accelerating the development of the next generation of diverse directors. The Directors Academy has developed a pipeline of 175+ board-ready diverse senior executives who have served on over 110 corporate boards following their participation in the NextGen Directors program.
Before transitioning to MLA Board Services, Keith was the global practice leader of Allegis Partners’ CEO and Board Practice, focusing on building diverse boards and leadership teams. Prior to that, Keith was the Founder of Park Avenue Advisors, a board of directors and CEO advisory and recruitment firm. He worked closely with Fortune 500 public companies, private equity portfolio investments and early-stage ventures. He previously held leadership roles at Heidrick & Struggles, where he was Vice Chair, Co-Head of the North America CEO Practice and founder of the firm’s Global Board Consulting Practice. Keith also was a Partner at Egon Zehnder, where he led the firm’s Chicago office. He began his consulting career with McKinsey & Company and has prior management experience at PepsiCo and ExxonMobil.
2:10 – 3:00 pm
Navigating the AI Frontier: Unleashing Potential, Ensuring Trust
Partner, Meridian Compensation Partners
Darren Moskovitz is a Partner at Meridian Compensation Partners and has over 20 years of consulting and financial industry experience. Darren’s primary roles have been advisory consulting, incentive plan design and helping firms develop policies and governance
procedures to conform to regulatory guidance and changes.
Areas of focus include: executive compensation advisory and consulting, including: incentive
plan design, regulatory responses, and long-term compensation planning; client relationship
management with leading global universal banks and commercial banks; and expertise
across a range of financial services business areas, corporate support and related areas.
Prior to joining Meridian Compensation Partners, Darren was the Global Head of Total Rewards for Citadel and
Citadel Securities — one of the world’s leading hedge funds. Prior to Citadel, Darren was the leader of the Global
Financial Services industry group within Willis Towers Watson’s Talent & Rewards segment.
Darren received his MBA in Corporate Finance from Fordham University and a B.S. in Mathematics and
Economics from Dickinson College
12:25 – 1:15 pm
Sustainability Under Fire – How Do Boards Find the Right Balance?
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Acertitude
As co-founder and managing partner of Acertitude, Kevin’s quest is to unleash the human potential of today’s leading organizations by discovering, connecting, and empowering brilliant people at work.
His 25-year career in search has earned him the role of trusted advisor to many of the world’s top board members, CEOs, and C-suite executives, having led over 2000 searches for notable companies and private equity firms globally. He leads the firm’s global Consumer and Industrial practices, and co-leads the firm’s global Private Equity practice.
Acertitude’s success builds on Kevin’s leadership of O’Neill Consulting, an Acertitude company specialized in management search, which he founded in 1996. Prior, O’Neill spent his early career with investment banks Merrill Lynch and Kidder, Peabody & Co, as well a serving as a top client partner with a major search firm in Philadelphia. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from Marietta College.
Kevin is a board member of Avishkar Holdings, a biotech investment firm, and was a board member and founder of Cargenix, a clinical-stage CAR-t cell immunotherapy company, which was sold to a strategic buyer.
Active in public service, Kevin serves as trustee of his alma-mater Marietta College, trustee of the Bryant University College of Business Deans Council, and director on the board of the World War II Foundation. Previously, Kevin served as regional Chairman of the Board for the American Heart Association and the YMCA of Greater Providence.
Senior Vice President, Leadership Insights, DDI
Dr. Matt Paese is a globally recognized author, CEO coach, C-suite consultant, keynote speaker, and pioneer of many of today’s leading approaches for helping leaders succeed at the top. He is the lead author of Leaders Ready Now: Accelerating Growth in a Faster World (2016) and co-author of its award-winning predecessor, Grow Your Own Leaders (2002), which have shaped over two decades of impact in growing leaders into skilled, self-aware, compassionate enterprise executives.
1:15 – 2:05 pm
The 3 Secrets of CEO Succession Planning Done Right
Americas Leader, EY Center for Board Matters
In this time of accelerated change, having effective governance and oversight processes in place is paramount. As the leader of the Americas EY Center for Board Matters, Kris Pederson directs the firm’s engagement with boards, committees, and directors to help them address an increasingly complex and global environment.
2:00 – 2:50 pm
A People-Centric Approach to Building Resilience
Leader, U.S. Center for Corporate Governance, BDO
Amy has spent over 16 years with BDO as part of the National Assurance practice office. She founded and directs BDO’s Center for Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting, designed for financial executives and those charged with governance of both public and private companies. She is responsible for the development and presentation of a significant volume of BDO’s continuing professional education (CPE)-worthy webinar, on-demand and podcast programs and thought leadership pieces on a variety of matters related to corporate governance, including cybersecurity, fraud, succession planning, and audit quality.
12:25 – 1:15 pm
Sustainability Under Fire – How Do Boards Find the Right Balance?
Chief AI Officer, Avanade
Chief Technology Officer Florin Rotar leads the strategic development of a portfolio of solutions and services that position Avanade to be a market maker and category leader, emphasizing our commitment to emerging technology and innovation.
Florin previously led Avanade’s global Modern Workplace business, where we reimagine and redefine the workplace as a creator of sustainable business value, and Accenture’s Microsoft Business Group (AMBG) business in the areas of Digital Workplace and Workplace Experience.
Curious by nature and a technologist by trade ever since he wrote his first program on a Commodore 64 as a child, Florin was the company’s first Chief Technology Innovation Officer. He has had key roles leading Avanade’s Digital Market Unit globally, and establishing and growing Avanade’s business in the UK and the Nordic region, both as a senior practitioner and as a leader. His early career was with Accenture, Procter & Gamble and as a start-up entrepreneur.
Florin is a world citizen, having spent most of his adult life working in five European capitals. He and his family now call Seattle home.
2:10 – 3:00 pm
Navigating the AI Frontier: Unleashing Potential, Ensuring Trust
Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Pat Tucker brings a depth of experience on all aspects of domestic and cross-border M&A – across multiple sectors – including but not limited to interloping bidders, complex structures, antitrust litigation, foreign ownership review, SPACs, founder/family ownership and shareholder challenges. He has led transaction matters for companies including Advent International, Carlyle Group, Comcast, KKR, JAB, Intuit, Keurig Dr Pepper, Royalty Pharma, Sanofi, Symbotic, Tapestry, TPG and T-Mobile.
In addition to transactions work, Pat has also helped create communications strategies to help clients navigate the evolving field of shareholder engagement as it relates to economic activists, increasingly vocal institutional investors and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds. He has advised AECOM, Callaway Golf, F5, LogMeIn, Nuance and Office Depot in engaging with activists.
As a recognized leader in M&A and activism communications, Pat has been invited to speak at events including the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, National Investor Relations Institute National Conference and Transaction Advisers forum at the University of Chicago.
Pat is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and was named to PR Week’s 40 Under 40 list in 2019. Prior to joining FTI Consulting, he led the M&A and Activism practice at Abernathy MacGregor.
