Author, The 5-Week Leadership Challenge; Co-Author, Disrupt Everything; Global Leadership Practice Leader, FranklinCovey
Dr. Patrick Leddin is the Global Leadership Practice Leader at FranklinCovey and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The 5-Week Leadership Challenge: 35 Action Steps to Become the Leader You Were Meant to Be. A 19-year veteran of the firm, he has served as Director of Strategic Partnerships and Senior Delivery Consultant. He was an associate professor and Associate Director of the Practice of Business Studies at Vanderbilt University, where he taught Corporate Strategy, Negotiation, and Crisis Leadership. He led The Disruption Project at the university, where he studied how people ranging from household names to unsung heroes succeed in the face of disruption, interviewing over 350 positive disruptors from around the world. As the co-author with James Patterson, the world’s bestselling author, on his first leadership and management book, Disrupt Everything: Every Leader, Team Member, and Family Needs to Disrupt. Grow. Change. Triumph., Leddin uses his research from the project as real world, relatable stories and case studies to move its readers to disrupt. He is also the host of the popular, weekly FranklinCovey podcast, C-Suite Conversations with Dr. Patrick Leddin.
2:40 – 3:30 pm
Closing Keynote – Disrupt Anything
World’s Best-selling Author; Co-Author, Disrupt Everything
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the world’s bestselling author. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, Michael Crichton, and now adds Dr. Patrick Leddin, Wall Street Journal bestselling author and FranklinCovey Global Leadership Practice Leader, as his latest co-author on his first leadership and management book, Disrupt Everything: Every Leader, Team Member, and Family Needs to Disrupt. Grow. Change. Triumph. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
2:40 – 3:30 pm
Closing Keynote – Disrupt Anything
Board Member, AutoNation
Claire Bennett is a tenured global (NYSE, FTSE, HK) leader with an extensive customer experience, general management and consumer services background in top-tier B2B/B2C multi-national organizations. Her expertise is in driving transformation and leading teams through dynamic industry, customer, and technological change.
Ms Bennett is currently a strategic adviser for corporate, PE, and family offices in the areas of acquisition analysis, VCP delivery, and resource allocation. Previously she served as the Global Chief Customer Officer for Intercontinental Hotels Group (FTSE:IHG.L) where she was a member of the Executive Committee from 2017 through early 2024. Prior to joining IHG, Ms. Bennett held P&L roles at American Express and Dell Technologies, Inc. after beginning her career in finance/product management in CPG.
Throughout her career, Claire and her teams have earned numerous awards for customer experience, loyalty innovation, technology leadership and marketing- including Forbes CEO Next, JD Power Customer Satisfaction, ANA Marketer of the Year, and America’s Most Admired and Most Trusted Brand.
Ms Bennett currently serves on the boards of Samsonite, Inc. (OTCMKTS:SMSEY) and AutoNation (NYSE:AN) and is a member of the audit committee in both organizations. In addition, she is a board member of Culligan International- a privately held (BDT/MSD) worldwide leader in safe water delivery. Claire is actively involved in corporate governance continuing education, including Stanford Directors College, NYSE CE, PWC AI Oversight, Extraordinary Women on Boards, and Corporate Board Member Advisory Council.
Claire has an undergraduate degree in accounting, and an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
3:15 – 4:00 pm
When Risk Moves Faster Than Strategy: How Board Oversight Must Evolve
Board Member, Markel Group, Las Vegas Sands and Clarus Corporation
Mark Besca is a director at the Markel Group (Audit Committee Chair), Las Vegas Sands (Compliance Committee Chair) and Clarus Corporation (Audit Committee Chair). He spent 40 years at EY serving as a lead audit partner to some of the largest Fortune ranked companies. Over his career at EY, he also served as the NYC Managing Partner, Leader of the Americas Long-Term Value and Stakeholders initiative, Northeast Assurance and Advisory Managing Partner and the Media and Entertainment Group leader. Mr. Besca holds several civic positions including chairman emeritus of the Pace University Board of Trustees, the board of the Roundabout Theatre Production Company and is also a David Rockefeller Fellow of the NYC Partnership. He has an MBA degree in Finance from the Columbia Business School and a BBA in Accounting from Pace University.
3:15 – 4:00 pm
When Risk Moves Faster Than Strategy: How Board Oversight Must Evolve
Lead Director, Royal Caribbean Group
John F. Brock, III is the former CEO of Coca-Cola European Partners, where he retired in 2016 after a global career leading major consumer goods companies. He previously served as Chair and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises in Atlanta, CEO of InBev in Brussels, and COO of Cadbury Schweppes in London. His early career was with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati.
He currently serves on the Board of Royal Caribbean Group, where he is Lead Independent Director. He has previously served on the boards of Dow Jones & Company, the Campbells Soup Company, the Reed Elsevier Group, as well as Cadbury Schweppes and InBev
John is a Trustee Emeritus and previous Chair of the Georgia Tech Foundation, and a member of the Smithsonian National Board. John has previously served on the Board of Advisors at the Owen School at Vanderbilt University, the Board of Advisors at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, and is Past Chair of Horizons Atlanta, an organization focused on summer learning for underserved children in grades K-8.
Mr. Brock is currently Managing Director of Brock Holdings, LLC, a family investment group; and a Board Member of the Brock Recovery Group, a family organization focused on drug and alcohol addiction, research, and clinical trials.
John and his wife Mary previously served as co-chairs of Campaign Georgia Tech, which raised $1.8 billion.
John holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and an honorary doctorate from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He and Mary have 3 children and 8 grandchildren.
4:30 – 5:15 pm
How Great Boards Lead When It Matters Most
Managing Director, Forensics, BDO; Former Assistant Director, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Holly is a Managing Director within the Forensic and Investigations group of BDO Advisory, a division of BDO USA. She is a Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of experience that has achieved the accounting trifecta: Big Four auditor, Fortune 500 financial statement preparer and 10+ years as a financial regulator. Most recently, Holly served as Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leading market intelligence operations.
At the SEC, Holly played a critical role in the creation and maturation of a foundational SEC Enforcement group that evaluates 100K+ tips and Suspicious Activity Reports per year. She led teams of accountants and attorneys that performed expert analysis of accounting, disclosure, and auditor conduct whistleblower tips which resulted in the opening of investigations and examinations. Holly has served on the SEC’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Task Force, partnered closely with the Financial Reporting and Audit (FRAud) Group, collaborated with numerous financial regulators and self-regulatory organizations such as the PCAOB and FINRA, and worked in tandem with the agency’s Bank Secrecy Act Group.
During her tenure at the SEC, Holly received several awards including the SEC Enforcement Directors Award (twice) and recognition from the FBI for strengthening collaboration between the two agencies. Her forensic accounting, financial reporting and whistleblower experience has evolved alongside major U.S. regulatory efforts, including Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank and the JOBS Act. Senior leaders across the public and private sectors trust Holly to deliver in high-impact, highly scrutinized situations. She brings deep expertise in U.S. GAAP, internal controls and complex accounting areas, along with extensive experience in whistleblower investigations, retaliation claims and litigation risk mitigation as organizations navigate evolving regulations, including ESG reporting.
1:00 – 1:30 pm
Inside the SEC’s New Enforcement Playbook: Signals Boards Can’t Afford To Miss
Board Member, Hitachi
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.
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 is an elected Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel. She has been ranked Band 1 for Corporate Governance: Nationwide since its inaugural publication and Band 2 for Securities: Regulation: Advisory Nationwide by Chambers USA, where clients describe her as “an outstanding securities law partner and trusted adviser” who is “practical and pragmatic” and helps companies “navigate through tricky situations.” Lyuba is recognized by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Dealmakers in America,” “500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management”, and “500 Leading Lawyers in America.” She was named among the 2023 “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business, and “Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas 2022 Women in Business Law Awards. Lyuba is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” for M&A/Corporate and Commercial: Corporate Governance by Legal 500 US, where clients note she is “a brilliant and thoughtful lawyer with tremendous dedication to her clients and their projects. She has a wealth of knowledge in the area of public company governance.” She was also named “Best in Corporate Governance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas 2020 Women in Business Law Awards and is recognized as an expert in Corporate Governance by Expert Guides’ “Women in Business Law.” She was ranked fifth in the 2021 “Top Female M&A Lawyers in North America” by MergerLinks. Lyuba was also named among Law360’s 2015 “Rising Star” for Capital Markets.
Lyuba frequently writes and speaks on legal developments affecting public companies and is a regular contributor to Weil’s Governance & Securities Watch (blog). In 2023, Lyuba was selected among the winners of Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards for “Law Firm Thought Leadership.” She is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, where she speaks on issues affecting public companies and boards of directors. Lyuba recently spoke at the Conference Board’s panel “ESG Commitments in Practice: Guardrails for Managing Risks Around Development, Implementation, Disclosure & Withdrawal.” She co-authored “Fiduciary Duties in Uncertain Times” for Columbia Law School’s Millstein Center for which she received the 2018 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing.
Lyuba is also an expert in Not-For-Profit governance. She is involved with the Firm’s representation of numerous pro bono clients. Lyuba was recognized by Legal Services NYC as one of the “Top 25 Pro Bono Advocates of 2015.” She is one of the leaders of the Firm’s representation of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Global Citizen. Lyuba also serves on the Board of Directors of BCRF, and serves on its Nominating and Governance Committee. She is also a member of the Firm’s Hiring Committee and Inclusion Committee.
Vice Chairman, The Cohen Group
Ambassador Grossman served as the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the State Department’s third ranking official, until his retirement in 2005, after 29 years in the US Foreign Service. As Under Secretary, he helped marshal diplomatic support for the international response to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. He also managed US policies in the Balkans and Colombia and promoted a key expansion of the NATO alliance. As Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, he helped direct NATO’s military campaign in Kosovo and an earlier round of NATO expansion. In Turkey, Ambassador Grossman encouraged vibrant US-Turkish political, military, and economic relations.
Ambassador Grossman was a Vice Chair of The Cohen Group from July 2005 to February 2011.
In February 2011, President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton called Ambassador Grossman back to service as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ambassador Grossman promoted the international effort to support Afghanistan by shaping major international meetings in Istanbul, Bonn, Chicago and Tokyo. He provided US backing for an Afghan peace process designed to end thirty years of conflict and played an important part in managing US relations with Pakistan. Ambassador Grossman returned to The Cohen Group in February 2013.
Ambassador Grossman is the Chairman of the Board of the Senior Living Foundation of the Foreign Service. He also serves as a Trustee of the University of California Santa Barbara Foundation and is a member of the Board of the C&O Canal Trust.
Raised in Los Angeles, California, Ambassador Grossman has a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.Sc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
2:10 – 2:40 pm
Looking Outside: The 2026 Geopolitical Playbook for Boards
Board Member, Lloyd’s of London, Hays and Trustpilot
Joe Hurd is a Silicon Valley-based technology executive and public company board director. Having begun his career practicing securities law in London at Linklaters, he went on to join AOL/Time Warner, where he built business development teams in Japan and Australia, before moving to Silicon Valley to lead international expansion at two venture-backed companies. Mr. Hurd later served at the United States Department of Commerce under the administration of President Barack Obama, implementing the National Export Initiative and serving on the White House Business Council.
Mr. Hurd is currently CEO and managing partner of The Katama Group LLC (Los Altos, California), an operating partner of SOSV Investments LLC (Princeton, New Jersey) and a non-executive director of Trustpilot Group plc (Audit, Remuneration and Nominations committees) and Hays plc (Audit, Nominations, Remuneration committees). He is a Trustee of the Computer History Museum, a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum Class XXXIX, and a member of the Trilateral Commission, the Private Directors Association and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Hurd is currently the Culture Champion for the Council of Lloyd’s.
2:45 – 3:30 pm
The AI-Augmented Board: Applying AI to Governance
CEO, MaineHealth; Board Member, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina
In April 2021 Andrew T. Mueller, MD, became the CEO of Portland-based MaineHealth. MaineHealth is a 12 hospital integrated healthcare system that includes over 1500 providers, a regional reference laboratory, and a jointly-ventured Medicare Advantage health plan.
After receiving his medical degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in 1996, Mueller joined the Air Force and completed his residency at the Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he was later chief resident in family medicine. From 1999-2003, Mueller was a staff family physician and flight surgeon with the 437th Medical Group at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. Upon leaving the Air Force in 2003, he practiced as a family physician for three years in South Carolina. Though he remained a practicing physician, in 2006 Mueller began his career as a physician-executive with Novant Health, a large health care system spanning four states and based in North Carolina. He held roles of increasing responsibility at Novant, culminating with his role as president of Novant’s Greater Charlotte market. In May 0f 2019, he became the President and CEO of Centra, a Lynchburg, Virginia, health care system consisting of four local hospital organizations. At Centra he led the organization through its Covid response, a reinvestment in the organization’s commercial health plan, and a significant financial turnaround. Dr. Mueller is also a cofounder and chair of the board of Trellis Health, a fully-capitated, novel primary care practice that is a subsidiary of MaineHealth, he also serves on the board of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Chief Technology Officer at Lightspeed Commerce; Former CTO, Okta and Glassdoor
Bhawna Singh is Chief Technology Officer at Lightspeed Commerce, where she leads the company’s global engineering organization and technology strategy, driving innovation across its retail and hospitality platforms.
With more than 25 years of experience building and scaling enterprise software, consumer platforms, and data-driven products, Bhawna has held technology leadership roles at some of the industry’s most recognized companies. Prior to joining Lightspeed, she served as Chief Technology Officer at Okta, where she led engineering for a platform supporting billions of secure authentications each month. During her tenure, she advanced the evolution of Okta’s customer identity platform to meet increasingly complex enterprise requirements and accelerated the adoption of AI across products and engineering.
Previously, Bhawna served as CTO of Glassdoor, leading the company’s global engineering and data organization. She modernized the technology platform, supported international expansion, and expanded the use of data science and machine learning to enhance customer experiences. Earlier in her career, she held leadership and engineering roles at Ask.com (an IAC company), Sybase (now SAP), AT&T, and several technology consulting firms.
Throughout her career, Bhawna has led large-scale global engineering organizations and technology transformations across public and private companies, with deep expertise in cloud platforms, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and building high-performing technology teams.
Bhawna serves on the board of Generation: You Employed, Inc. and on the advisory boards of several early-stage technology companies. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and a Master’s degree in Computer Applications from Gujarat University, as well as a Master’s degree in Software Engineering from San José State University.
9:10 – 9:50 am
AI + Cyber: The New Architecture of Enterprise Risk
Chief Technology Officer, Atos
Florin Rotar is the Group CTO for Atos, a global technology powerhouse which is supporting public and private organizations throughout their entire digital transformation journey, from strategy and architecture to operations and optimization. He has been awarded 2025 & 2024 “Best AI Consulting Service Provider” by AI Breakthrough Awards and “2024 Chief AI Officer of the Year” by HMG Global Leadership Institute. Recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the ‘Top 10 CTOs To Watch In 2023’. Florin is a published coauthor of the books “We the People: Human Purpose in a Digital Age: A Guide to Digital Ethics for Individuals, Organizations and Robots of All Kinds” and “The Handbook for Chief AI Officers: Leading the AI Revolution in Business”
He is a frequent keynote speaker at AI global conferences, the UN, and featured in BBC, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Chief Executive Magazine.
Florin holds CERT Certification in Cybersecurity Oversight (Carnegie Mellon/NACD) and the Director Qualified credential (ACCD). Actively bridges the gap between academia and industry innovation as a Founding Board Member of the University of Washington Information School and as advisor to AI startups such as Bullfrog AI, Pay-I.
8:35 – 9:10 am
When AI Starts Making Decisions: Board Oversight in the Era of Autonomous Operations
Chairman and CEO, Atos Group
Philippe Salle was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Atos Group in October 2024 and became chief executive officer on February 1, 2025. He began his career with Total in Indonesia in 1988, before joining Accenture in 1990, where he was promoted to senior consultant. He joined McKinsey in 1995 and became a senior manager three years later. He joined Vedior in 1999 (now Randstad, listed on Euronext Amsterdam) and became chairman and CEO of Vedior France in 2002. He became a member of the executive board in 2003 and was appointed head of Southern Europe in 2006. In 2007, he joined the Geoservices Group (sold to Schlumberger in 2010), a technology company in the oil sector under LBO, first as Deputy CEO and then as chairman and CEO. In June 2011, he became chairman and CEO of Altran, an engineering consulting firm listed on the Euronext Paris. In April 2015, he was appointed chairman and CEO of the Elior Group, a global player in catering and services. From December 2017 to January 2025, he led Emeria, an LBO-backed company specializing in real estate services and technologies, where he remains a board member. Philippe Salle has also served as chairman of the board of directors of Viridien (formerly CGG) from 2018 to January 2025. He has since remained vice-chairman and has also been a member of the board of directors of Banque Transatlantique since 2010. A graduate of the Ecole des Mines de Paris, he holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University, Chicago). He is a Chevalier de l’ordre national du Mérite, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur and Commandeur de l’ordre du Mérite de la République italienne.
8:35 – 9:10 am
When AI Starts Making Decisions: Board Oversight in the Era of Autonomous Operations
Board Member, Eversource Energy
As an accomplished financial leader, board director, and experienced CFO, Loretta Keane has a proven track record of shaping strategy, driving transformational growth in technology and data-driven platform businesses, and enhancing governance. She combines her experience in public company board service with her years of C-Suite leadership of financial sponsor-backed growth-phase enterprises. Known for partnering with management and boards to align financial strategy to support the overall business strategy to deliver sustainable value for shareholders and stakeholders. Loretta brings extensive financial expertise and a disciplined governance perspective as a public company board director.
At Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES), Loretta chairs the Audit Committee and serves on the Finance (Cyber / Risk) and Executive Committees. In these roles, she provides strategic guidance to New England’s largest energy delivery company, providing board oversight of financial reporting, risk management, and capital allocation. She has supported major strategic decisions, including the company’s exit from the offshore wind business to focus on core regulated utilities, the approval of the pending sale of the water division, and equity offerings that improved cash flow and strengthened the balance sheet. Loretta’s board service reflects her ability to balance rigorous oversight with constructive partnership, ensuring governance priorities align with long-term enterprise value.
Most recently, Loretta, the Chief Financial Officer of Arcadia, played a pivotal role in transforming the company into a market-leading, AI-powered SaaS platform serving the healthcare and life sciences industries. She raised $200M in debt and equity to strengthen the balance sheet, guided multiple strategic transactions, and implemented disciplined forecasting and systems that expanded revenue from $15M with heavy losses to $135M with a mid-teens EBITDA. Her leadership was instrumental in the divestiture of a low-margin services business, the acquisition and integration of an AI-powered business, and ultimately in the successful $600M sale of Arcadia to Nordic Capital in 2025. By aligning governance, capital, and growth objectives with the CEO and board, she positioned the company for sustainable scale, profitability, and long-term enterprise value.
At Clarity Software Solutions, a growth equity-backed PaaS provider serving health plans and payers, Loretta scaled the business from $35M to $70M in revenue in two years with highly attractive EBITDA margins. As CFO, she built the finance team and infrastructure, implemented systems and KPIs to guide decision-making, and embedded financial analysis into board and management reporting. She also strengthened governance and risk management by standardizing contracts, protecting IP, and ensuring HIPAA and HITRUST compliance.
During her tenure as CFO of Decision Resources Group (DRG), Loretta transformed DRG from a $10M top line and low margin bottom line, entrepreneur-led business into a $120M global data and analytics platform with 35% EBITDA margins. She co-led all major buy-side and sell-side transactions, including successful liquidity events that generated significant returns for each successive investor group, among them a $225M sale to Providence Equity. Beyond these exits, she executed more than 10 accretive acquisitions, expanded operations from 40 to 500+ employees across the US, Europe, and Asia, and drove infrastructure investments that strengthened profitability, reduced costs, and positioned the company as a market leader in healthcare and life sciences informatics.
The foundational elements of Loretta’s career were formed at PWC, where she served as a senior manager in the Boston and London offices.
Loretta earned a Master of Science from Bentley University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Suffolk University. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Massachusetts and actively participates in the National Association of Corporate Directors and the CFO Leadership Council.
2:10 – 3:00 pm
The Intentional Board: Challenging Assumptions to Stay Ahead of What’s Next
Board Member, Armstrong World Industries and Amentum Holdings
Barb Loughran is a member of the board of directors of Amentum, a F250 global leader in advanced engineering and innovative technology solutions, primarily for the US government and its allies. She serves as the Nominating and Governance Chair and on the Audit Committee. Barb is also a board member of Armstrong World Industries, an engineering design and building products company, where she serves as Audit Committee Chair and a member of the Finance Committee and the Nominating, Governance & Sustainability Committee. Previously she served on the board of directors of Jacobs Solutions, a F250 global engineering consulting firm, serving as Audit Committee Chair and a member of the Enterprise Risk and ESG Committee. Barb was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) until 2018, serving global public company clients across a wide range of industries, including consumer products, industrial products, manufacturing, automotive, services, oil & gas, pharmaceutical and medical device. She also led the NY Metro Industrial Products Business Unit and NY Metro Retail & Consumer Business Development. Additionally, she served as a partner in PwC’s national office working with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and clients as they accessed capital markets and responded to regulatory requirements. Barb has also lived and worked internationally, initially
focused on a F20 manufacturing client and subsequently on M&A transactions in Europe. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Barb brings 40
years of global experience working with Fortune 500 executives and boards as they navigate strategic, transformational and operational issues. Barb also does angel investing in women founded and led companies, across a variety of industries with a focus on health/medical device and clean energy industries
8:35 – 9:25 am
The Leadership Litmus Test: How Boards Measure and Improve Performance
Board Member, Allegion, Group 1 Automotive and Grail Inc.; Former CHRO, Merck & Co.
Steven (Steve) C. Mizell is a member of the Board of Directors at Allegion and chair of the Compensation Committee.
Steve also serves on the Board of Directors at Group 1 Automotive, Inc. and Grail Inc. Steve previously served on the Board of Directors for Oshkosh Corporation, where he was chair of the Human Resources Committee.
Steve formerly served as executive vice president, chief human resources officer (CHRO) at Merck & Co., Inc. (2018 to 2024) and was responsible for all aspects of human resources for over 68,000 employees worldwide. Steve joined Merck in 2018 from Monsanto, where he was responsible for creating an industry-leading workplace for more than 20,000 employees around the world. In this role, he oversaw the company’s approach to talent acquisition and development, employee wellness as well as diversity and inclusion.
Steve joined Monsanto as senior vice president, human resources, in 2004 and served as executive vice president, human resources, from 2007 to 2018. Previously, he served as senior vice president and chief corporate resources officer for AdvancePCS, a pharmaceutical company, and he also held key human resources management roles at companies across the energy, defense, beverage and technology sectors.
Over the course of his career at Monsanto, Steve’s leadership has helped the company earn recognition as a best place to work. Most recently, this has included being named among World’s Best Multinational Workplaces by Great Place to Work®; 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption; Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc; and as a Top Employer by Science Magazine.
A resident of St. Louis, Missouri, Steve is actively involved in a number of community causes. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Opera Theater St. Louis and is a supporter of the U.S. Kidney Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and Youth in Need. He has been recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of St. Louis’s Most Influential Diverse Business Leaders.
Steve holds a B.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
1:55 – 2:40 pm
Rethinking CEO Succession for What’s Next
Board Member, MSCI and CSX
Bob was appointed Executive Director of the Council of Institutional Investors in July 2024. Prior to joining the CII, he was Managing Director at PJT Camberview advising public company boards and executives on a range of corporate governance matters. Prior to that, Bob was Chief Policy Officer at Glass Lewis where he was responsible for managing the research and proxy voting recommendations of over 20,000 research reports annually covering public companies in over 100 countries. Before joining Glass Lewis, he was Director of Investment Proxy Research at Fidelity Investments where he managed the annual voting of over 5,000 securities worth $1 trillion held in Fidelity mutual funds and client pension accounts.
Bob serves on the advisory boards of Columbia Law School’s Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center on Corporate Governance.
Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Providence College, a Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac University and a Graduate Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from Harvard University Extension School.
10:40 – 11:30 am
How Agile is Your Board?
Board Member, Lucid Motors and The Woodlands Financial Group
Janet S. Wong is an experienced business executive, board director, and SEC financial expert with success in driving business results. With more than 30 years of business experience in professional services and almost 10 years serving in the corporate boardroom, she is a valued strategic advisor and governance leader. Janet has a longtime commitment to developing future leaders. With recognition as a thought leader, Janet is a frequent speaker and author on issues impacting companies and their
boardrooms.
Janet served as a senior partner with KPMG, a global professional services
organization, where she spent most of her career based in the San Francisco and
Silicon Valley offices providing her industry experience in consumer products, financial services, retail, manufacturing and technology. Janet has worked with Fortune 500 companies and emerging technology companies that grew to successful publicly listed companies. Her consulting experience includes challenges facing many
global innovative companies such as strategic and operational issues, risk and
regulatory matters including cybersecurity, digital transformation, internal controls over financial reporting, and mergers and acquisition transaction advice.
9:30 – 10:20 am
Leadership Legacies: Timeless Advice from the C-Suite to the Boardroom
EVP and Chief Legal, Risk and Regulatory Officer, Nasdaq
As Executive Vice President and Global Chief Legal, Risk and Regulatory Officer, John Zecca is responsible for providing legal counsel to senior management and for overseeing the quality of legal services across the global organization. John is also responsible for developing, reviewing and maintaining Nasdaq’s global risk program, as well as market regulation and the Office of Corporate Secretary. John’s career spans market regulation, corporate law, corporate governance and market structure.
He previously served as Nasdaq’s General Counsel North America and Chief Regulatory Officer, responsible for Nasdaq’s corporate law, intellectual property and regulatory teams that maintain fair, orderly markets and protect investors. Prior to joining Nasdaq in 2001, John served as legal counsel to a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission and practiced corporate securities law at both Hogan Lovells and Kaye Scholer. Before that role, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable John H. Pratt of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
John received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and California, and a licensed solicitor in England and Wales. He is based in Washington, D.C.
3:00-3:50 pm
Global Policies, Domestic Regulations: Inside the SEC’s Playbook for 2025
Partner, Meridian Compensation Partners
Jared has 22 years of experience in executive compensation consulting. Prior to joining Meridian over 14 years ago, Jared was with Mercer for eight years as a Consultant and Principal within the executive compensation practice. He has experience consulting in a broad range of executive compensation matters that include executive and director compensation benchmarking, compensation strategies and pay philosophies, long-term incentive plan design, short-term incentive plan design, executive supplemental benefits, severance benefits, and change-in-control benefits. Jared has a proven capacity to help solve executive compensation issues and manage complex projects.
Jared currently works with clients ranging from the Fortune 50 to pre-IPO companies across a wide range of industries including: advertising, automotive,cpg, distribution, fintech, hotels and resorts, manufacturing, REITs, restaurants, and retail.
Jared has been a featured speaker at several Corporate Board Member conferences and frequent speaker at Equilar, NASPP and WorldatWork regional and national meetings. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society as well as the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and WorldatWork. He is also a Certified Executive Compensation Professional as designated by WorldatWork.
Jared holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the Olin School of Business, Washington University, a M.B.A. in Finance and Human Resource Management from the Olin School of Business, Washington University and M.S.F. in Finance from the University of Michigan.
1:30 – 2:00 pm
Inside the Pay Decision: What Boards See, What Investors See
Partner, Winston Taylor
Mike is the managing partner of the firm’s Houston office, co-chair of the firm’s Capital Markets Practice, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He focuses his practice on corporate finance and securities law, including securities offerings, public company advisory, special purpose acquisition company offerings, private equity and venture capital transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate representation.
Partner, Kekst CNC
Nick advises publicly traded and privately held clients across industries on complex financial and strategic communications matters. He has significant experience and expertise in investor relations and special situations, including M&A and shareholder activism.
Nick provides ongoing investor relations support to several clients, including quarterly earnings prep, assistance crafting complex earnings announcements, and investor targeting. He regularly advises clients on investor days and works closely with executive teams to refresh their investor messaging. Nick has also helped clients navigate leadership transitions, complex litigation, cyber incidents, bankruptcy, and transactions.
Prior to joining Kekst CNC, Nick worked in corporate finance and strategy at AIG, where he was responsible for building effective cross-functional, global working relationships to execute strategic initiatives during a period of significant transformation for the company. Nick began his career as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he supported the firm’s re-entry into the commercial market.
Nick holds a B.A. in Economics from Hamilton College and an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University.
10:10 – 11:00 am
Simulating a Proxy Fight: How to Respond, Defend and Win
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.
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 Society for Corporate Governance as well as the board of the National Association of Corporate Directors New Jersey Chapter, 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.
2:00 – 2:45 pm
When Smart Boards Hesitate: The Hard Conversations That Define Board Leadership
Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Lyuba Goltser is Co-Managing Partner of Weil’s Corporate Department, Co-Head of Weil’s Governance, Securities & Reporting Group and founding member of Weil’s Sustainability and ESG Advisory 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.
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.
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 is an elected Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel. She has been ranked Band 1 for Corporate Governance: Nationwide since its inaugural publication and Band 2 for Securities: Regulation: Advisory Nationwide by Chambers USA, where clients describe her as “an outstanding securities law partner and trusted adviser” who is “practical and pragmatic” and helps companies “navigate through tricky situations.” Lyuba is recognized by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Dealmakers in America,” “500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management”, and “500 Leading Lawyers in America.” She was named among the 2023 “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business, and “Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas 2022 Women in Business Law Awards. Lyuba is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” for M&A/Corporate and Commercial: Corporate Governance by Legal 500 US, where clients note she is “a brilliant and thoughtful lawyer with tremendous dedication to her clients and their projects. She has a wealth of knowledge in the area of public company governance.” She was also named “Best in Corporate Governance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas 2020 Women in Business Law Awards and is recognized as an expert in Corporate Governance by Expert Guides’ “Women in Business Law.” She was ranked fifth in the 2021 “Top Female M&A Lawyers in North America” by MergerLinks. Lyuba was also named among Law360’s 2015 “Rising Star” for Capital Markets.
Lyuba frequently writes and speaks on legal developments affecting public companies and is a regular contributor to Weil’s Governance & Securities Watch (blog). In 2023, Lyuba was selected among the winners of Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards for “Law Firm Thought Leadership.” She is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, where she speaks on issues affecting public companies and boards of directors. Lyuba recently spoke at the Conference Board’s panel “ESG Commitments in Practice: Guardrails for Managing Risks Around Development, Implementation, Disclosure & Withdrawal.” She co-authored “Fiduciary Duties in Uncertain Times” for Columbia Law School’s Millstein Center for which she received the 2018 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing.
Lyuba is also an expert in Not-For-Profit governance. She is involved with the Firm’s representation of numerous pro bono clients. Lyuba was recognized by Legal Services NYC as one of the “Top 25 Pro Bono Advocates of 2015.” She is one of the leaders of the Firm’s representation of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Global Citizen. Lyuba also serves on the Board of Directors of BCRF, and serves on its Nominating and Governance Committee. She is also a member of the Firm’s Hiring Committee and Inclusion Committee.
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.
2:00 – 2:45 pm
When Smart Boards Hesitate: The Hard Conversations That Define Board Leadership
Shareholder & Co-Chair, Litigation and Trials Practice Group, Littler
Paul C. Lantis represents employers of all sizes with counseling and litigation. He takes a practical approach to challenges his clients face and works to find solutions by developing a deep understanding of each company he represents. He also works extensively with start-ups and companies in the “Gig Economy” by navigating complex issues in litigation and regulatory compliance, including handling class actions, arbitrations, and agency audits.
His litigation practice focuses on employment discrimination, wage and hour, and trade secret/noncompete claims. He has extensive experience litigating in state and federal courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and has tried multiple cases to verdict. Paul is a member of Littler’s Jury Trial and Complex Litigation Practice Group.
Paul also helps employers draft, implement, and enforce arbitration agreements. He is a member of Littler’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, where he works with lawyers and clients across the firm adapt to the changing landscape of laws impacting these agreements.
Prior to joining Littler, Paul was at a regional law firm where he represented employees in employment discrimination and wage and hour matters. His experience representing both companies and employees provides with him with unique perspective on creative methods to minimize risk and effectively defend actions.
CEO, Kalexius
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11:10 am – 12:00 pm
The Governance Challenges Hidden Inside Global Scale
Partner & co-chair of Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice, Sidley
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. Under Kai’s leadership, Sidley rose to the top of the activism defense league tables, including the No. 1 ranking by Bloomberg, FactSet, Thomson Reuters (Refinitiv), and Activist Insight for 2020, 2021 and the 2022 H1.
Kai has been named “2019 Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer for Sidley’s groundbreaking Wynn Resorts proxy contest. He has been recognized by Chambers USA every year from 2017 to 2022 as one of the leading lawyers for “Takeover Defense,” lauding him as “terrific lawyer” who is “equally adept in front of a board as well as opposite an activist,” and “great at getting things done and obtaining great results.” In 2020, Kai was elected as a fellow of The American College of Governance Counsel, the honorary association of lawyers widely-recognized for their achievements in the field of governance.
Kai sits on the board of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and is a member of the Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions Editorial Board. He speaks regularly about shareholder activism on panels and at universities around the world, including Harvard University and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. Kai is frequently interviewed and quoted as a thought leader by the national and international media, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Financial Times, USA Today, Forbes, Law360, and The Deal.
Kai holds a Ph.D., magna cum laude, from Freiburg Law University; an Executive MBA, summa cum laude, from Münster Business School; and an LL.M., James Kent Scholar, from Columbia Law School. He was in the top 0.1% nationwide in his First Legal State Exam (J.D. equivalent) and in the top 1.5% nationwide in his Second Legal State Exam in Germany.
10:10 – 11:00 am
Simulating a Proxy Fight: How to Respond, Defend and Win
Founding Partner, Compensation Advisory Partners
Kelly Malafis is a founding partner of Compensation Advisory Partners LLC (CAP) in New York. She has over 25 years of executive compensation consulting experience working with compensation committees and senior management teams. Kelly’s areas of focus include compensation strategy development, evaluating the pay and performance relationship for senior executives, annual and long-term incentive plan design, compensation program governance and board of director compensation.
Kelly has advised large and small publicly-traded companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and retail. Kelly has also provided advice on compensation issues for privately-held companies and companies with special circumstances such as IPOs and spin-offs. Kelly has also advised the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GOA) on executive compensation matters. Kelly writes and speaks frequently on executive compensation and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and other business press.
Before joining CAP, Kelly was a principal at Mercer in their Human Capital group and worked in the Performance and Compensation consulting practice at KPMG.
Kelly holds a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Shareholder, Littler
Kim Miers is chair of the firm’s Strategy Lab practice group. Kim has experience in a variety of state and federal labor and employment law matters, with an emphasis on: complex class and collective action litigation, emerging legal issues that impact employers, developing crisis response plans, wage and hour advice, title VII single plaintiff and class litigation, equal Employment Opportunity Commission negotiations and litigation, department of Labor matters.
She regularly advises clients in all areas of employment law practices and policies, including wage and hour compliance, employee discipline and counseling and internal investigations.
Kim previously served as the Office Managing Shareholder of Littler’s Austin office.
Prior to joining Littler, Kim was a senior employment attorney for a leading retailer. After law school, Kim served as law clerk to the Honorable Dixon W. Holman of the Texas Second Court of Appeals.
Head of Board Advisory, Americas & Asia-Pacific, Nasdaq
Phil is the Head of Board Advisory in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions at Nasdaq. In his role, Phil advises boards and executive management teams at public, private, and non-profit organizations. Phil leverages his experience to help organizations address board composition and effectiveness, strategic alignment with management, and other corporate governance and compliance matters.
Phil was president, board member, and founding investor/advisor of the Center for Board Excellence (CBE), which was acquired by Nasdaq in 2019. Prior to that, Phil held several senior leadership positions at public and private companies, including Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary roles.
Phil obtained his J.D. from the University of Virginia and his B.A. from the University of Washington. Phil is a member of the Washington State Bar.
9:10 – 9:50 am
AI + Cyber: The New Architecture of Enterprise Risk
Leader, EY America’s Center for Board Matters
In her role as regional leader for CBM, Cigdem brings insights on emerging issues and governance trends to boards and CEOs. She draws from a range of research and ongoing discussions to synthesize and share critical matters and leading practices for board oversight in areas including ESG, cyber risk, enterprise resilience, human capital and enterprise risk management. Her focus is helping directors get past the ‘what’ and focus on the ‘so what.’ Cigdem also provides support for new directors with onboarding and is a sought-after thought partner for c-suite executives who are enhancing their communication with the board.
Cigdem has been a trusted advisor to directors, boards and c-suite executives for twenty years. Her combination of governance, strategy and finance expertise, along with her experience of delivering insights in boardroom settings, enable her to drive productive, actionable discussions for key decision makers.
Prior to joining EY, Cigdem managed and delivered an education program serving F500 audit chairs across multiple cities in the US while at Tapestry Networks. She was responsible for identifying key issues, structuring and facilitating sessions, and managing delivery teams. She also worked with global audit chairs and CFOs on an initiative focused on defining the challenges inherent in the evolving role of today’s CFO.
Cigdem’s past experiences include overseeing syndicated research and content delivery for global programs serving hundreds of finance and strategy executives during her decade of tenure at CEB (now Gartner). Subject areas covered included: ERM, dynamic strategic planning, finance structure and IT, and management reporting. She continued her work with c-suite oversight of transformational projects while at SAP Value Engineering.
Cigdem has also experienced the challenges of the start-up world, serving as CFO for a risk-management software company where she shaped the business plan, led strategic planning, and delivered investor presentations.
Cigdem is based in Atlanta, GA. She can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/coktem/ where she regularly posts articles on emerging issues in governance and gives a glimpse into her conversations with boards.
3:15 – 4:00 pm
When Risk Moves Faster Than Strategy: How Board Oversight Must Evolve
Executive Vice President, Board and C-Suite Advisory Services, APTMetrics
Dr. Matt Paese is a globally recognized leadership coach, consultant, author, keynote speaker, and pioneer of top approaches for helping leaders succeed. 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.
Matt has advised thousands of CEOs, senior teams, and executives in more than 20 countries. As a researcher, product designer, and practitioner, he brings practical clarity to the science and practice of leadership effectiveness. He is sought after for his expertise in C-suite succession and development, board and senior team effectiveness, and executive onboarding and coaching. He has authored scores of articles and white papers on these topics, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, Chief Executive, Board Leadership Journal, The Conference Board, Human Resources Executive, and more.
As an entrepreneur, Matt was one of several originators who launched an innovative executive leadership services business in 1995, which flourished to provide coaching, development, and consulting to hundreds of thousands of executives in more than 3,000 organizations worldwide. He led the development and implementation of industry-leading solutions in executive succession and assessment, coaching, C-suite team effectiveness, and board leadership. Matt began his career at Anheuser-Busch, where he managed executive assessment and development programs throughout the corporation.
Matt holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and a B.A. in Psychology from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and an active contributor to the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP).
11:10 am – 12:00 pm
CEO Succession from the Inside: What Boards Seldom Hear About Leadership Transitions
Publisher, The Authority Company
Michelle Prince is a best-selling author, speaker, publisher, and personal development leader with more than 25 years of experience helping individuals and organizations turn their stories into powerful tools for influence and growth. She is passionate about helping people discover that their story matters—and that when they share it, they create ripples of influence far beyond what they can imagine.
Michelle founded Performance Publishing in 2010. Her collaborative approach and proven process have guided hundreds of aspiring authors from idea to book publication. Her success and authority in the field caught the eye of Adam Witty, CEO of Advantage, and led to the acquisition of Performance Publishing by Advantage in September 2025.
Her programs have empowered thousands of leaders to not only write their books but also to use them as launchpads for speaking careers, business growth, and personal transformation.
7:30 – 8:15 am
Board & Executive Brand Strategy: Building Authority for Boardroom Impact
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. Amy further develops certain of our firm’s board of director forums as well as participates in external events for corporate directors.
She also participates in the development and implementation of BDO’s national strategies and initiatives that support industry, business, technical, and client service goals. She is responsible for publication and issuance of BDO’s annual voluntary Audit Quality Reports and tools and templates supporting communications with our client Audit Committees.
Amy currently serves as BDO’s Policy Lead to and participates on the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) Advisory Committee and has assisted in CAQ initiatives, including audit committee communications and audit quality indicators. She has participated in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)’s EDMAX forum for accounting firm learning specialists to share knowledge/practices on learning methods.
She fully supports BDO initiatives aimed at flexibility, development, and career progression, and serves on the BDO’s Women’s Inclusion initiative and the Virtual Parenting Network as well as BDO’s focus on the audit of the future.
1:00 – 1:30 pm
Inside the SEC’s New Enforcement Playbook: Signals Boards Can’t Afford To Miss
Partner, DLA Piper LLP
Oksana Koltko Rosaluk is a restructuring partner with more than thirteen years of experience in the distressed space. Oksana’s practice consists of all aspects of company-side in-court and out-of-court restructurings, including complex reorganizations, going concern liquidations, asset sales, state liquidations and structured wind-downs, both within the US and offshore. A significant focus of Oksana’s practice is cross-border restructurings (including chapter 15 representations of foreign debtors), for which she is well known in the industry.
Oksana represents companies across all sectors, although she has significant experience in real estate investment trust (REIT), regulatory, retail, healthcare, tech/intellectual property (IP) and professional services segment as well as with distressed microfinance and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) receiverships.
Oksana’s success is fueled by her passion of working closely with companies and their constituency, being fully immersed in the financial and operational restructuring process alongside management and boards of directors, working together with financial advisors, investment bankers and strategic communications firms, untangling legal issues that straddle many disciplines (and often jurisdictions) and, ultimately, crafting the most optimal strategic solutions that best position businesses to maximize their enterprise value and for long-term success.
Oksana also leverages her deep knowledge of the distressed markets to bring strategic opportunities to various players in the field (through distressed acquisitions and investments, to name a few).
2:10 – 2:40 pm
Looking Outside: The 2026 Geopolitical Playbook for Boards
Chief Technology Officer, Atos
Florin Rotar is the Group CTO for Atos, a global technology powerhouse which is supporting public and private organizations throughout their entire digital transformation journey, from strategy and architecture to operations and optimization. He has been awarded 2025 & 2024 “Best AI Consulting Service Provider” by AI Breakthrough Awards and “2024 Chief AI Officer of the Year” by HMG Global Leadership Institute. Recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the ‘Top 10 CTOs To Watch In 2023’. Florin is a published coauthor of the books “We the People: Human Purpose in a Digital Age: A Guide to Digital Ethics for Individuals, Organizations and Robots of All Kinds” and “The Handbook for Chief AI Officers: Leading the AI Revolution in Business”
He is a frequent keynote speaker at AI global conferences, the UN, and featured in BBC, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Chief Executive Magazine.
Florin holds CERT Certification in Cybersecurity Oversight (Carnegie Mellon/NACD) and the Director Qualified credential (ACCD). Actively bridges the gap between academia and industry innovation as a Founding Board Member of the University of Washington Information School and as advisor to AI startups such as Bullfrog AI, Pay-I.
8:35 – 9:10 am
When AI Starts Making Decisions: Board Oversight in the Era of Autonomous Operations
Chairman and CEO, Atos Group
Philippe Salle was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Atos Group in October 2024 and became chief executive officer on February 1, 2025. He began his career with Total in Indonesia in 1988, before joining Accenture in 1990, where he was promoted to senior consultant. He joined McKinsey in 1995 and became a senior manager three years later. He joined Vedior in 1999 (now Randstad, listed on Euronext Amsterdam) and became chairman and CEO of Vedior France in 2002. He became a member of the executive board in 2003 and was appointed head of Southern Europe in 2006. In 2007, he joined the Geoservices Group (sold to Schlumberger in 2010), a technology company in the oil sector under LBO, first as Deputy CEO and then as chairman and CEO. In June 2011, he became chairman and CEO of Altran, an engineering consulting firm listed on the Euronext Paris. In April 2015, he was appointed chairman and CEO of the Elior Group, a global player in catering and services. From December 2017 to January 2025, he led Emeria, an LBO-backed company specializing in real estate services and technologies, where he remains a board member. Philippe Salle has also served as chairman of the board of directors of Viridien (formerly CGG) from 2018 to January 2025. He has since remained vice-chairman and has also been a member of the board of directors of Banque Transatlantique since 2010. A graduate of the Ecole des Mines de Paris, he holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University, Chicago). He is a Chevalier de l’ordre national du Mérite, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur and Commandeur de l’ordre du Mérite de la République italienne.
8:35 – 9:10 am
When AI Starts Making Decisions: Board Oversight in the Era of Autonomous Operations
Executive Director, Diligent Institute
Dottie Schindlinger is Vice President and Governance Technology Evangelist for Diligent Corporation, the leading provider of secure corporate board communication and collaboration software used by over 19,000 organizations globally. In her role, Dottie provides thought leadership on governance, cybersecurity, and technology topics through presentations to boards and executives dozens of times each year at events around the globe. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and in multiple governance and technology publications including Corporate Board Member Magazine,Trustee Magazine, Corporate Secretary Magazine, Execranks, CSO Online, and Dark Reading.
Dottie brings over twenty years’ experience in governance-related roles, including serving as a director, officer, committee chair, senior executive, governance consultant and trainer for private, public, and nonprofit boards. She was a founding team member of the tech start-up BoardEffect – a board management software provider focused on healthcare and nonprofit boards, acquired by Diligent in late 2016. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
2:45 – 3:30 pm
The AI-Augmented Board: Applying AI to Governance
Head of M&A and Activism Communications, Americas, 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.
Shareholder & Co-Chair, Workplace Policy Institute, Littler
James A. Paretti, Jr. is an experienced management-side employment and labor relations attorney with in-depth political and policy knowledge of labor, pension, healthcare and employment law, regulations and legislation. Jim is well versed in all aspects of legislative and political processes with demonstrated knowledge in the substance of federal labor and employment policy. He has over two decades of experience working with federal legislators and policymakers, including former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Chairmen of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and senior level administration officials.
Prior to joining Littler, Jim was chief of staff and senior counsel to the acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He provided legal and political counsel with respect to all aspects of agency business, administered and managed the Office of the Chair where he was responsible for over 2,200 employees and a 375 million dollar annual budget, and served as primary liaison to regulated stakeholders and Capitol Hill.
His extensive experience includes developing policy and providing legal counsel on the Committee on Education and Labor in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as coordinating external communications and media relations for a senior member of Congress. Jim represented corporate and nonprofit clients in employment litigation in federal and state court, before administrative agencies and in private arbitration while with two Boston firms.
During law school, he held positions as editor as well as note and comment editor for the New York University Law Review.
9:25 – 10:15 am
Navigating AI Oversight: The Board’s Role in Governing the Future
Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Shareholder Engagement and M&A Capital Markets, J.P. Morgan
Alfredo leads J.P. Morgan’s North America team focused on Shareholder Engagement and M&A Capital Markets (“SEAMAC”). Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Alfredo was a Managing Director and Head of the Greenhill’s Shareholder Advisory Group and a senior member of Morgan Stanley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense Team in New York. During his tenure, Morgan Stanley became the leading shareholder advisory team on Wall Street.
Earlier in his career, Alfredo worked in Lazard’s Financial Institutions M&A and Activism Defense Groups in New York and as an M&A lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York, focusing both on private equity and strategic transactions. Alfredo regularly speaks at conferences and leading industry events on the topic of shareholder engagement, activism, ESG and corporate defense.
Alfredo graduated from Harvard Law School (LLM), the College of Europe in Bruges – Belgium (LLM) and from the University of Milan – Italy (JD)
10:35 – 11:25 am
Preparing for a Proxy Fight
National Managing Partner – Governance, Emerging Issues and External Communications, 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. Amy further develops certain of our firm’s board of director forums as well as participates in external events for corporate directors.
She also participates in the development and implementation of BDO’s national strategies and initiatives that support industry, business, technical, and client service goals. She is responsible for publication and issuance of BDO’s annual voluntary Audit Quality Reports and tools and templates supporting communications with our client Audit Committees.
Amy currently serves as BDO’s Policy Lead to and participates on the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) Advisory Committee and has assisted in CAQ initiatives, including audit committee communications and audit quality indicators. She has participated in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)’s EDMAX forum for accounting firm learning specialists to share knowledge/practices on learning methods.
She fully supports BDO initiatives aimed at flexibility, development, and career progression, and serves on the BDO’s Women’s Inclusion initiative and the Virtual Parenting Network as well as BDO’s focus on the audit of the future.
1:10 – 1:55 pm
Closing the Gap: Board Assumptions versus Investors’ Expectations
Director, PwC Governance Insights Center
Carin is a Director with PwC’s Governance Insights Center, with a focus on corporate governance and enterprise risk management. Throughout her career she has provided advisory and implementation services that enable private and public companies to efficiently and effectively meet their governance, risk management, and compliance responsibilities. She also assists organizations with integrating governance and risk considerations into their strategy setting, business planning and performance management processes. Her background includes corporate governance strategy and structure; corporate governance training; managing board relations; director succession and recruitment; board planning and operations; enterprise risk management; compliance program development; and corporate policy & procedure development.
8:35 – 9:25 pm
The Leadership Litmus Test: Measuring and Improving Board Leadership Effectiveness
Partner, Meridian Compensation Partners
Bob Romanchek, Partner, has more than 30 years of experience in consulting on executive compensation matters and has advised Compensation Committees and executive management at a significant number of large, small, and mid-cap companies, both public and
private.
Bob leads numerous client engagements and provides expert consulting advice on issues relating to executive compensation including, but not limited to, equity and cash-based long-term incentive design and grant structure, short-term incentive program design, employment
contract design including change-in-control and severance provisions, supplemental retirement and deferred compensation program design and funding, responding to proxy advisory firms, and proxy and CD&A disclosure. Bob also consults on committee meeting process, overall executive compensation
philosophy development, outside director pay, and capital structure change transactions including private equity
buyouts, initial public offerings, divestiture and spinoffs, and bankruptcy confirmation and emergence.
He is a frequent presenter at board and compensation committee meetings, and has lectured extensively and has
been interviewed on executive compensation matters for such organizations as the National Association of Corporate Directors, Corporate Board Member, Boardroom Resources, Equilar, and various industry groups. Bob
also has authored numerous articles and has been published in business periodicals such as the NACD Directorship magazine, CEO magazine, the Corporate Board Member Board Governance Series, WorldatWork Journal, the International HR Journal, the Journal of Compensation and Benefits, CFO magazine, the Agenda,
Insights, and Board Room Reports.
Bob is an attorney and a Certified Public Accountant, and is a Certified Executive Compensation Professional. He
is a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, and also holds an M.B.A., cum laude, from the DePaul
University College of Commerce. His undergraduate degree is in accounting and economics.
2:25 – 3:25 pm
The Board’s Ultimate Cautionary Tale: Lessons From Enron’s Former Finance Chief
Partner, DLA Piper
Adam Witty is the Founder and CEO of Advantage Media and Forbes Books, a global leader in publishing and Authority-building content media services for top business leaders and entrepreneurs. Today the select community comprises more than 2,000 authors across 44 U.S. states and 14 countries.
A sought-after speaker, teacher, and advisor on marketing and business growth, Adam has shared the stage with Steve Forbes, Gene Simmons of KISS, and other industry icons. His expertise in “Authority Media” is showcased through his best-selling books, including The Authority Advantage and Authority Marketing. His latest book, The Authority Advantage: Building Thought Leadership Focused on Impact Not Ego, became a #1 Amazon bestseller in
five categories and received acclaim from major reviewers like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Indie.
Adam’s insights have been featured in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, and USA Today. Adam, wife Erin, and sons Ellis and Warren are proud to call Charleston home.
11:30 am – 12:20 pm
Anticipating and Hedging Financial Risk
Executive Director, Diligent Institiute
In her role as Executive Director of the Diligent Institute, the think tank and global governance research arm of Diligent Corporation, Dottie provides thought leadership on governance, cybersecurity and technology topics through presentations to boards and executives dozens of times each year at events around the globe. She is co-author of the book, “Governance in the Digital Age: A Guide for the Modern Corporate Board Director,” and she co-hosts the fortnightly show, The Corporate Director Podcast. Dottie brings over 20 years’ experience in governance-related roles, including serving as a director, officer, committee chair, senior executive, governance consultant and trainer for private, public and nonprofit boards.
9:25 – 10:15 am
Navigating AI Oversight: The Board’s Role in Governing the Future
Corporate Governance Director, BDO
Lee Sentnor is a corporate governance expert and Professional Practice Director at BDO’s Center for Corporate Governance. With over 20 years of experience advising boards and audit committees, she helps leaders navigate oversight, risk, and strategic decision-making. Lee is also a frequent speaker and author on boardroom dynamics, leadership accountability, and emerging governance trends.
2:25 – 3:25 pm
The Board’s Ultimate Cautionary Tale: Lessons From Enron’s Former Finance Chief
Senior Managing Director, Strategic Communications – Americas Head of M&A, Activism & Governance, 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.
10:15 am – 1:30 pm
Board Committee Peer Exchange (with Working Lunch)
