Speakers

Meet the Speakers

Welcome to the 2026 National Conference speaker page. National 2026 is the only place where you have access to the industry's most powerful voices: leading in-house practitioners, top-tier law firm experts, and seasoned corporate directors. They aren't just presenting - they're ready to share the specialized, real-world knowledge you won't find anywhere else. Keep checking back as we are adding speakers every day.

Featured Speakers

Paul Atkins

Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission

Derreck Kayongo

Social Entrepreneur, Global Soap Project Founder, Executive Director of Clean Production Action, CNN Hero

From Ugandan refugee to successful entrepreneur, CEO, and renowned human rights activist, Derreck’s journey inspires audiences to dream big. Through personable and articulate storytelling, he shares his visionary ideas for harnessing the power of observation and creative problem solving, applicable to any organization. It’s all about taking responsibility while looking for opportunities to improve.

Derreck is the founder of the Global Soap Project: a humanitarian aid organization that collects discarded and unused soap from thousands of hotels worldwide, and distributes it to in-need populations around the world. The project was born from his simple observation about how much soap is available in hotels, and how much is thrown away when hotel rooms are turned. This simple observation became an innovative idea that is now battling global health issues in 90 countries. Hygiene-related diseases, and the resulting deaths, have dissipated in many at-risk communities, thanks in part to Derreck’s creative problem solving.

His energy and enthusiasm are unmatched as he brings his stories and principles to life. Key factors of his personal and professional success are identified with the memorable acronym S.E.L.F.: Service, Education, Leadership and Faith. He calls upon his dynamic experiences to empower audiences, inspiring an entrepreneur spirit made possible only through creative problem solving. Derreck’s emotionally-packed presentations linger long after his speech, empowering audiences to invent their own self-made motto of success so they can create tangible change in the world.

Derreck’s passion for helping others and commitment to innovative thinking led him to the role of CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. During his time as CEO, he elevated the global visibility of the Center, showcasing stories of victims of civil rights abuse and the heroic actions that changed the course of history. Derreck currently serves on the board of advisors at Sharing Sacred Spaces, an organization devoted to building local, interreligious communities working together for peace and civic change.

Wednesday Keynote Luncheon (Speaker)

Paul S. Atkins was sworn into office as the 34th Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 21, 2025, after being nominated by President Donald J. Trump on January 20, 2025, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 9, 2025.
Prior to returning to the SEC, Chairman Atkins was most recently chief executive of Patomak Global Partners, a company he founded in 2009. Chairman Atkins helped lead efforts to develop best practices for the digital asset sector. He served as an independent director and non-executive chairman of the board of BATS Global Markets, Inc. from 2012 to 2015.

Chairman Atkins was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as a Commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure, he advocated for transparency, consistency, and the use of cost-benefit analysis at the agency. Chairman Atkins also represented the SEC at meetings of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council. From 2009 to 2010, he was appointed a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Before serving as an SEC Commissioner, Chairman Atkins was a consultant on securities and investment management industry matters, especially regarding issues of strategy, regulatory compliance, risk management, new product development, and organizational control. From 1990 to 1994, Chairman Atkins served on the staff of two chairmen of the SEC, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt, ultimately as chief of staff and counselor, respectively. He received the SEC’s 1992 Law and Policy Award for work regarding corporate governance matters.

Chairman Atkins began his career as a lawyer in New York, focusing on a wide range of corporate transactions for U.S. and foreign clients, including public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He was resident for 2½ years in his firm's Paris office and admitted as conseil juridique in France. A member of the New York and Florida bars, Chairman Atkins received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1983 and was Senior Student Writing Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his A.B., Phi Beta Kappa, from Wofford College in 1980.

Thursday Keynote Address (Speaker)

Paul Washington

President & Chief Executive Officer, Society for Corporate Governance

Mr. Washington is the President and CEO of the Society for Corporate Governance (the “Society”). Founded in 1946, the Society is a nonprofit organization with over 3700 members dedicated to enhancing corporate governance through education, collaboration, and advocacy.

Prior to becoming the Society’s President in April 2024, Paul led The Conference Board ESG Center, the premier US-based nonprofit think tank addressing corporate governance, sustainability, and citizenship. During his five-year tenure, the Center significantly increased its membership, programming, publications, prominence, and public impact.

Before joining the ESG Center, Paul served for two decades as an executive at Time Warner Inc., including as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. He was responsible not only for the company’s corporate governance, but also for an array of legal areas including antitrust, intellectual property, and regulatory and international law. Prior to Time Warner, Paul practiced law at Sidley & Austin and served as Vice President and Corporate Secretary of The Dime Savings Bank of New York.

Paul also has had a career in public service, including working at the federal, state, and local levels — and in all three branches — of government. Among other roles, he served as a law clerk for former Supreme Court Associate Justice William Brennan and Associate Justice David Souter, and for Circuit Court Judge David Tatel. Paul also worked on the staff of former Congressman Stanley Lundine and, later, as his principal speechwriter when Lundine served as New York’s Lieutenant Governor.

Paul is a former Chair of the Board of the Society and President of its New York Chapter. He has served on over two dozen other boards of cultural, civic, and professional nonprofit organizations. For more than a decade, he was an adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School where he taught corporate governance and later served as a Resident Fellow.

Paul graduated magna cum laude from both Yale College and Fordham University School of Law.

Thursday Keynote Luncheon (Moderator)

A View from the Corner Office: A CEO’s Perspective on Governance (Moderator)

Governance Principles to Guide Non-Profit Organizations (Lead Participant)

All Speakers

Aaron Briggs

Partner, Gibson Dunn

Aaron Briggs is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco, CA office, where he works in the firm’s securities regulation and corporate governance practice group. Mr. Briggs’ practice focuses on advising public companies and their boards of directors, with a focus on technology and life sciences companies, on a wide range of securities and governance matters, including SEC compliance, corporate governance, ESG and sustainability reporting, investor engagement and disclosure effectiveness, proxy solicitation and annual meeting process, shareholder activism and executive compensation matters.

Before rejoining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Briggs served as Executive Counsel - Corporate, Securities & Finance, at General Electric Company. His in-house experience, which included driving GE’s revamp of its full suite of investor communications (proxy statement, 10-K, earnings releases, and integrated report), provides a unique insight and practical perspective on the issues that his clients face every day.

In 2023, Mr. Briggs was elected a Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel, an organization of leading corporate governance lawyers from the US and Canada, and inducted into the Governance Intelligence Hall of Fame. In 2016, Corporate Secretary Magazine named Mr. Briggs Governance Professional of the Year. Mr. Briggs’ work has also been recognized by Financial Executives International, ReportWatch, Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, and TheCorporateCounsel.net.
Mr. Briggs serves as Co-Chair of the Certified Corporate Governance Professional Oversight Commission and is a frequent speaker on governance, disclosure and ESG topics. Recent presentations include to the Center for Professional Education, Practicing Law Institute, and Society for Corporate Governance. Mr. Briggs also is the author of several governance and securities-related publications, including a chapter on “Proxy Disclosure Effectiveness” in the Practical Guide to SEC Proxy and Compensation Rules treatise.

Mr. Briggs received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School in 2007, where he was a Kosmerl Scholar. He received his Bachelor of Arts with high honors from the University of Notre Dame in 2004.

Workshop: Shareholder Engagement in Today's Environment (Respondent)

Austin Vanbastelaer

Managing Director, Semler Brossy

Bob Herr

SVP/Director of Corporate Governance, Alliance Bernstein

Austin helps boards make critical decisions about executive pay, especially in moments of rapid growth or reinvention. With over a decade at Semler Brossy, he’s built a reputation for crafting incentive designs that are both analytically sound and creative. Austin has a unique talent for identifying and addressing the most pressing strategic questions in his work. Clients appreciate his clarity, composure, and ability to introduce innovative thinking, even in the most complex or sensitive compensation issues.

Austin also leads Semler Brossy’s Say on Pay and governance research, with a particular focus on understanding evolving investor expectations and translating those insights into clear, actionable guidance for boards.

Executive Compensation Trends (Panelist)

Bob Herr is a Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Governance within the Responsible Investing team. He joined AB in 2023. Herr oversees the firm's proxy voting, corporate governance and engagement functions, and serves as Chair of the Proxy Voting and Governance Committee. His prior experience includes serving as the head of investment stewardship at Lord Abbett, manager of corporate governance and stockholder services at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and corporate governance analyst at Morrow Sodali. Herr has worked in the financial services industry since 2010. He holds a BA in economics from Wake Forest University.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Caroline Stasium

Carolina Stasium

Legal Analyst in Corporate Governance, Chevron Corporation

Carolina Stasium is a Legal Analyst in Corporate Governance at Chevron Corporation, supporting the Board of Directors and advancing strong governance, regulatory compliance, and high quality board operations.

With nearly 20 years of experience across the energy and technology sectors, Carolina brings deep expertise in board and committee administration, SEC reporting, insider trading compliance, and complex, end to end governance processes. Her work spans the full governance lifecycle—from board and committee administration and director independence to regulatory compliance, governance processes, and corporate record management—supported by a disciplined, analytical approach and a commitment to precision and consistency.

Carolina is also recognized for driving innovation within governance functions, leading initiatives that enhance processes, strengthen internal controls, and elevate the use of technology, including board portal platforms and knowledge management systems. She is known for her ability to manage highly detailed, multi stakeholder workflows while delivering operational excellence.

An active member of the Society of Corporate Governance’s Non‑JD community, Carolina was named a Governance Pioneer finalist for the 2026 Diligent Elevate Awards and is part of Chevron’s Corporate Governance team, recognized as Governance Team of the Year (Large Cap) at the 2025 Governance Intelligence Awards.

Workshop: Using AI as a Governance Professional (Respondent)

Catherine Winner

Global Head of Stewardship, Goldman Sachs

Catherine is a managing director within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, serving as global head of Stewardship. She manages the firm's global proxy voting, issuer engagement and collaborative industry activities. Through these programs, she promotes the adoption of best practices in corporate governance and the firm's commitment to accelerating the climate transition and driving inclusive growth.

Catherine is an ambassador for One Million Black Women, Goldman Sachs' $10 billion investing initiative focused on narrowing opportunity gaps for Black women. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2018 as a vice president in Fundamental Equity and was named managing director in 2021. Prior to joining the firm, Catherine worked in Corporate Governance at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), where she was a member of MSIM’s Proxy Review Committee, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Working Group and the firm's Women in Business Alliance. Before that, she managed the Corporate Governance program at Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC.

Catherine serves on the Investor Advisory Group for the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and is a former chair of the Corporate Governance Advisory Council within the Council of Institutional Investors. Catherine earned a BA in Economics from Colgate University in 2002 and an MBA from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University in 2009.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Christine Shaw

Head of Sustainability Policy & Reporting, Franklin Templeton Investments

Christine Shaw serves as Head of Sustainability Policy & Reporting for Franklin Templeton Investments as part of its multi-disciplinary Investment Sustainable Solutions Team, charged with supporting the firm’s stewardship and sustainability initiatives. Shaw joined Franklin Templeton in 2023 after more than 20 years with Connecticut’s Treasury, where she was principally responsible for directing the shareholder engagement, corporate governance and proxy voting activities for its $68 billion pension and trust funds. She holds three degrees from the University of Connecticut (a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science, an MBA and a Juris Doctor), and is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and the District of Columbia. Christine is a member of the Council of Institutional Investors’ Corporate Governance Advisory Council, the Harvard Institutional Investor Forum Advisory Council, and serves as Vice Chair of the Human Capital Management Coalition, a group of institutional investors and asset owners with combined assets under management of roughly $10 trillion. She holds the IFRS Foundation's Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting credential.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Beyond the SEC: Navigating Fragmented US and International Regulation (Panelist)

Charles Hambly

Drew Hambly

Investment Director, Stewardship, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)

Drew joined CalPERS in 2022, where he is responsible for the pension funds stewardship activities including global proxy voting and engagement. Previously he held similar roles at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, State Street Global Advisors and Moody’s Investor Service. Drew has worked in stewardship for the past 28 years starting at the Investor Responsibility Research Center.

He graduated with a BA in Economics from American University and earned his MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Investor Forums (Investor)

The Investor Perspective: Governance Expectations in a Changing Environment (Panelist)

Elizabeth Morgan

Partner, King & Spalding LLP

Elizabeth Morgan represents public and private companies, as well as investment banks and investors, in a broad range of capital markets transactions, as well as on corporate governance and disclosure matters. Liz co-leads King & Spalding’s Public Companies group.

Liz has significant experience advising public companies and their boards of directors on corporate governance and securities law matters, including best practices and disclosures. Representative experience includes advising on Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements, proxy disclosures, stakeholder engagement, proxy advisory services, board and committee charters and governance guidelines, and disclosure controls and procedures. Liz also advises public companies on shareholder activism, including on shareholder proposals and preparing for and responding to hedge fund and corporate governance activism.

Liz’s capital markets experience includes investment grade and high yield debt, sustainability-linked and green bonds, convertible notes, preferred stock, initial public offerings, secondary offerings, “shelf” offerings, “at-the-market”offerings and Rule 144A transactions, as well as private placement transactions, tender offers, exchange offers, consent solicitations and other corporate reorganization and liability management transactions.

Liz’s experience also includes a variety of syndicated loan transactions, leveraged acquisition finance, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic corporate transactions. A frequent speaker and author on corporate governance and disclosure,
she is a Legal 500 recommended capital markets practitioner, and has been a member of the Capital Markets Law360 Editorial Board.

Latest in Proxy Statements & Disclosure Practices (Lead Participant)

Emma Butler

Senior Manager of US Investment Stewardship, Dimensional Fund Advisors

Emma Butler is the Senior Manager of US Investment Stewardship, a group within Portfolio Management. Based out of the Charlotte office, Emma is responsible for implementing the firm’s proxy voting policies and overseeing voting execution and US issuer engagement efforts.

Prior to joining Dimensional, Emma was a research and operations analyst for proxy voting and corporate governance at the Bank of New York Mellon. Emma attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she earned a bachelor of arts in sociology with minors in political science and international relations.

Investor Forum II (Investor)

Executive Compensation Trends (Panelist)

Eric Geber

Investment Stewardship Analyst, Northern Trust Asset Management

Eric Geber is an Investment Stewardship Analyst within the Asset Management group at Northern Trust. He joined the Americas Stewardship team in July 2025 where he primarily manage the team’s proxy voting and corporate engagement activities. Prior to Northern Trust Asset Management, he spent 2 years with the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office (ISTO) as Deputy Director of Corporate Governance and Sustainable Investment. In that role, he oversaw the Office’s proxy voting activity, external fund manager due diligence, and corporate engagements. Prior to the ISTO, he spent over 8 years in the United States Army, first as a Field Artillery officer and then as a Civil Affairs officer. He received a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) degree from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Erica Williams

Erica Willaims

Former Chair, President, and CEO, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)

Erica Y. Williams is the former Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Under Erica’s leadership, the PCAOB developed and executed an ambitious strategic plan to modernize standards, enhance inspections, strengthen enforcement, and improve the PCAOB’s organizational effectiveness.

Erica joined the PCAOB from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she was a litigation partner. Previously, she was a Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, advising the president and his senior advisors on legal and constitutional issues involving economic policy, financial regulation and reform, financial technology, trade, intellectual property, and data protection and privacy.

Before that, Erica spent 11 years at the SEC serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for three chairs. In this role, she oversaw all aspects of the SEC’s operations and served as a senior legal advisor to the SEC chair on regulatory policy and rulemakings, enforcement, compliance examinations, agency management and strategy. Earlier in her career, Erica served as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Trial Unit, where she investigated and litigated numerous complex, high-profile matters. Erica earned both a J.D. and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Beyond the SEC: Navigating Fragmented US and International Regulation (Panelist)

Geoffrey Walter

Partner, Gibson Dunn

Geoffrey E. Walter is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group. He advises public companies and their boards of directors on a wide range of corporate law matters, including securities and corporate governance practices and disclosure issues, compliance with SEC regulations and executive compensation, shareholder engagement and activism matters, insider trading, shareholder proposals, and responses to SEC inquiries. Geoff also has experience advising nonprofit organizations on issues related to corporate governance.

Geoff received the Certified Corporate Governance Professional designation, is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, and is recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America 2025. He co-authored a chapter in the “Executive Compensation Disclosure Handbook: A Practical Guide to the SEC’s Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules” and is a frequent speaker on securities law and corporate governance issues.

Geoff earned his Juris Doctor in 2013 from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. While at Columbia, Geoff was awarded the Isaac and Jacqueline Weiss Shapiro Fellowship in Japanese Law and received a Certificate in International Law from the Parker School. He graduated in 2004 from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was an associate in the Executive Compensation Group of another international law firm in New York, where he advised clients on executive compensation, equity-based incentive, severance plans and other executive compensation arrangements.

Workshop: Shareholder Engagement in Today's Environment (Respondent)

Glenn Booraem

Head of Vanguard Capital Management Investment Stewardship, Vanguard.

Glenn Booraem is a principal at Vanguard and serves as the investment stewardship officer for Vanguard Capital Management. He oversees voting policy development, proxy voting, and company engagements for Vanguard’s global range of index strategies. Glenn has served in senior leadership roles supporting investment stewardship activities on behalf of
Vanguard funds for more than 20 years.

Since joining Vanguard in 1989, he has previously served as the controller and treasurer for each of the Vanguard funds. In addition to engaging with Vanguard funds’ portfolio companies and serving as a frequent speaker on corporate governance matters, Glenn has also represented Vanguard and its investors through governance-focused industry working groups. Glenn currently serves on the advisory boards of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School and the Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, and he is a member of the Vickie & Jack Farber Institute of Neuroscience Campaign Committee at Jefferson Health. He holds a BBA from Temple University and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Investor Forums (Investor)

How to Focus Your Board on Risks That Truly Matter (Panelist)

Jacob Jenkelowitz

Deputy General Counsel – Public Company Advisory, Ally Financial Inc.

Jacob is currently the Deputy General Counsel – Public Company Advisory of Ally Financial Inc., a financial services company with the nation's largest all-digital bank and an industry-leading auto financing business. In this role, Jacob manages the company’s corporate governance, securities law, and sustainability functions. Before joining Ally Financial in 2026, Jacob was Corporate Secretary of Brighthouse Financial, Inc., a leading life insurance and annuities company, and assistant secretary and senior counsel – general corporate law at MetLife. Jacob earned a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA in philosophy from Columbia University.

Jacob has held various Society leadership positions. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors and has served as the chair of the Small and Mid-Cap Companies Committee. He also has served as president and held other officer positions in the New York Chapter and currently serves on its Advisory Board.

Workshop: Using AI in the Boardroom (Moderator)

Maloney

James J. Moloney

Director, Division of Corporation Finance, SEC

James J. Moloney became the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the SEC in October 2025. Jim previously served at the SEC for six years prior to joining Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where he worked for 25 years, ascending from corporate associate to equity partner. He served as a longstanding Co-Chair of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice. He advised a wide base of clients on corporate governance matters, disclosure rules, mergers & acquisitions, tender offers, proxy contests, and going-private transactions among other areas.

During his tenure at the SEC from 1994 to 2000, Jim was an attorney-advisor and later a Special Counsel in the Office of Mergers & Acquisitions in the Division of Corporation Finance. Notably, Jim was the primary author of the proposing and adopting releases for Regulation M-A, a comprehensive set of rules governing mergers & acquisitions, tender offers and proxy solicitations.

Jim received his LL.M. degree in securities regulation with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center. He received his J.D. degree cum laude from Pepperdine University, where he was an editor of the Pepperdine Law Review. He received his B.S. degree in business administration from Boston University.

Fireside Chat: Discussion with Corporation Finance Staff (Panelist)

Jane Sadowsky

Senior Advisor in Human Capital Management, Moelis & Company

Jane Sadowsky has served as an independent director on corporate and non-profit boards for more than a decade and currently serves on three global boards: two NYSE-listed mining companies, Allied Gold (AAUC) and Nexa Resources (NEXA) and one PE-backed gaming technology company, Scientific Games, as well as two non-profit boards: NACD NY Chapter and Art Omi. She retired from a career in investment banking as a Senior Managing Director and head of the Power & Utility Group for Evercore Partners and is currently a Senior Advisor at Moelis & Co. Jane also coaches executives both inside Moelis and externally and started a furniture business during the pandemic. She earned her BA from UPenn, her MBA from Wharton and her coaching credentials from Columbia.

Latest in Board Recruitment, Onboarding, & Education (Panelist)

Board Oversight of Management Succession (Panelist)

Jared Brandman

Chief Legal & Strategy Officer, Corporate Strategy, National Vision

Mr. Brandman is Chief Legal & Strategy Officer and the Corporate Secretary at National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE), one of the largest optical retail companies in the United States with over 1,200 retail stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico. In his role, he oversees corporate strategy, legal, compliance, government relations and sustainability functions. Jared joined National Vision in 2017 as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, and following its successful IPO in 2017, was promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in 2019, serving in these roles until his appointment as Chief Legal & Strategy Officer in 2025. Prior to joining National Vision, Jared served as Securities Counsel at The Coca-Cola Company from 2010 to 2017. Jared began his legal career practicing at law firms in Atlanta, New York and London.

Mr. Brandman regularly speaks on topics such as leadership, governance, securities law and board service. Jared is one of the leaders of the Society for Corporate Governance, serving on its Nominating Governance Committee, Securities Law Committee, Corporate Practices Committee and Small & Mid-Cap Committee. Jared previously served as the Chair of the Society’s Policy Advisory and Securities Law Committees and recently completed his term as a member of the Board and Executive Steering Committee. Jared is an active member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, serving on the Board of its Atlanta Chapter. He also serves on the Board of the National Association of Retail Optical Companies and is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Mr. Brandman is active in the non-profit community, including serving on the Boards of the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, a non-profit focused on engaging volunteer attorneys to provide nonprofits with business legal services, and 20/20 Quest, Inc., National Vision’s non-profit charitable foundation chartered to provide eye care and eyewear to the optically underserved.

Mr. Brandman received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Emory University School of Law. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, playing soccer and reading.

Board Oversight of Management Succession (Panelist)

Effectively Engaging Your Brand in Strategic Planning (Moderator)

Jessica Lange

Member, Bodman PLC

Jessica Lange is a Member of the Michigan-based law firm Bodman PLC, where she advises corporate senior leadership teams and boards of directors on corporate governance, corporate transactions, securities law, and finance matters.

Before joining Bodman, Jessica practiced for more than 20 years as in-house counsel to several Fortune 500 publicly-traded corporations. Most recently, Jessica served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Securities and Finance for Darden Restaurants, Inc., the world’s largest full-service restaurant company. She has previous experience as an Expert Attorney for Securities, Finance, and Governance for DTE Energy Company, a Detroit-based diversified energy company and as Vice President of Corporate Finance & Securities Counsel for Comerica Bank, a major regional bank. She has also served as Counsel & Assistant Secretary for The Boeing Company, a manufacturer of large commercial aircraft and defense systems and as Associate Counsel for of Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc., the financial services division of Harley- Davidson, Inc.

In those roles, she advised on matters related to securities law, financial transactions, corporate governance, subsidiary management, corporate policies, and mergers and acquisitions. Jessica began her legal career as a Finance Associate in the Chicago and London offices of Mayer Brown, a global law firm.

Roundtable: Doing More with Less: Managing the Board and Disclosure at Small & Mid Cap Companies (Lead Participant)

Jody Bilney

Board Member, Alignment Healthcare

Joseph Lo

Head of AI Innovation, Broadridge

Jody Bilney is an accomplished senior executive with a track record of driving brand transformation and business strategy
Ms. Bilney served as a senior executive for a number of public companies, including Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM), Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). At Humana, Inc., she served as the Chief Consumer Officer from 2013 until her retirement in 2020, where she focused on consumer-driven initiatives including marketing, data analytics, digital, consumer experience across the enterprise and was responsible for the company’s Wellness Solutions business.

Prior to Humana, Ms. Bilney served as Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer for Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., an upscale-casual dining restaurant company where she headed various departments including brand and business strategy, marketing, corporate communications, business development and food and beverage R&D across the enterprise. She was a key member of the Management Team who completed a successful IPO in 2012. Prior to Bloomin’ Brands, she held senior executive positions at Charles Schwab and Verizon, including General Management roles leading large lines of business as well as roles at the enterprise level where she led consumer-focused brand-transformation initiatives.

Ms. Bilney is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Alignment Healthcare (Nasdaq: ALHC), a provider of customized health care in the US to seniors through Medicare Advantage plans; Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL), an operator of full-service homestyle food restaurants and unique retail. She was previously on the Boards of Masonite, Inc. (NYSE: DOOR) and Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHUY) until their sales in 2024. She also serves as an advisor and board member of PE sponsored companies in the fitness and healthcare industries. Ms. Bilney graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics with a minor in marketing. She earned a full athletic scholarship in women’s tennis.

Workshop: Crisis Management Workshop (Respondent)

Joseph Lo, Head of AI Innovation at Broadridge, leads the firm’s AI initiatives across corporate governance, capital markets, and wealth and investment management, helping clients operate, innovate, and grow. A technologist by trade with an extensive background in software engineering and product development, Joseph leads initiatives to strategically, safely, and rapidly scale the use of AI capabilities for the benefit of Broadridge clients and associates. He also holds multiple patents at the intersection of AI and financial services.

Joseph serves as a member of the faculty for the Securities Industry Institute at The Wharton School, with a focus on organizational leadership and AI. In his spare time, you may find him plucking his bass guitar, perfecting his home-made pizza recipe, and traveling the world with his family.

Beyond the Hype: How are Boards Effectively Addressing the Opportunities and Risks of AI? (Panelist)

Julia Lapitskaya

Partner, Gibson Dunn

June Hu

Special Counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP

Julia Lapitskaya is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group and co-chair of the ESG: Risk, Litigation and Reporting Practice Group. Julia’s practice focuses on SEC, NYSE/Nasdaq and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 compliance, securities and corporate governance disclosure issues, board and committee matters, corporate governance best practices, state corporate laws, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, SEC regulations, investor engagement, proxy and annual meeting matters, sustainability and corporate responsibility matters, and executive compensation disclosure issues, including as part of initial public offerings and spin-off transactions.

Julia is a frequent author and speaker on securities law and state law issues and is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance. She contributed to chapters in the “Executive Compensation Disclosure Handbook: A Practical Guide to the SEC’s Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules”, as well as the PLI Treatise titled “Climate Change, Sustainable Investments, and Social Governance: Law and Compliance.”

Julia earned her Juris Doctor in 2010 from the New York University School of Law, where she served as Developments Editor of the Journal of International Law and Politics. Prior to attending law school, she graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Political Science and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Workshop: Shareholder Engagement in Today's Environment (Respondent)

June Hu is Special Counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. June advises public and private companies, as well as their boards of directors, on a broad range of corporate governance, crisis management, shareholder and stakeholder activism and engagement, regulatory compliance and disclosure-related matters. She coordinates the firm’s global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice, and frequently speaks and publishes on corporate governance and ESG topics.

Beyond the SEC: Navigating Fragmented US and International Regulation (Panelist)

Kate Haynes

Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer, H&R Block

Ms. Haynes has served as Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer of H&R Block since January 2022. Prior to her current role, she was Senior Corporate Counsel and Assistant Secretary at H&R Block from August 2015 until January 2022. Before moving in-house, Kate was in private practice at a large law firm in Kansas City.

Ms. Haynes has been practicing corporate law for more than 20 years, and has expertise in a variety of areas, including public company corporate governance, subsidiary governance and management, securities law, executive compensation, M&A, corporate finance, ethics and compliance, enterprise risk management, crisis response, and executive protection program management, among others. She has been a member of the Society for Corporate Governance since 2014, and is currently President of the Kansas City Chapter. Ms. Haynes earned her juris doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law, and received a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Business Administration, also from the University of Kansas.

The Latest in Board Recruitment, Onboarding & Education (Moderator)

Roundtable: Doing More with Less: Managing the Board and Disclosure at Small & Mid Cap Companies (Lead Participant)

Kevin Coleman

Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, Ally Financial Inc.

Kevin Coleman serves as Associate General Counsel – Corporate Governance and Assistant Secretary in the Legal Department of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY). In this role, he supports the Board of Directors and executive management with all aspects of the company’s corporate governance framework. He monitors and analyzes changes in the voting policies and positions of institutional investors and proxy advisors and regularly engages with them on key governance matters. Mr. Coleman supports the preparation of the company’s proxy statement, including drafting, reviewing, and refining key disclosures. He also assists with other regulatory and non-regulatory disclosures. Further, he provides support to other internal departments, including Investor Relations, Human Resources, Treasury, and Sustainability.

Since 2014, Mr. Coleman has held a range of increasingly senior corporate governance roles within the financial services industry, with a focus on public company board support, shareholder engagement, and disclosure-related matters. He was a finalist in 2017 and 2019 for the Governance Intelligence’s Rising Star award. He has authored or contributed to multiple governance and legal publications, including as a contributing author to the American Bar Association’s ESG: A Guidebook for Directors and Handbook for the Conduct of Shareholders’ Meetings and as a working group member for the Council of Institutional Investors’ Report of the 2020 Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Practices for Virtual Shareholder Meetings. He has also contributed to the drafting and refining of multiple comment letters to various regulatory agencies.

Mr. Coleman earned his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Cumberland’s Law Review. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar.

Latest in Proxy Statements & Disclosure Practices (Lead Participant)

Krista McAninley

Vice President & Deputy General Counsel – Corporate Ferguson

Ms. McAninley serves as Ferguson’s Vice President & Deputy General Counsel – Corporate. Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG; LSE: FERG) is North America’s largest value-added distributor of essential water and air solutions, serving specialized professionals in the residential and non-residential construction markets.

Since joining Ferguson in 2020, Krista oversees SEC/NYSE compliance, corporate governance, capital market transactions, executive compensation, privacy/cyber/AI, subsidiary governance, and other general legal support for the Finance, HR Total Rewards and IT functions.

Prior to Ferguson, Krista spent 20 years at Norfolk Southern Corporation. As Deputy General Counsel - Corporate, she was responsible for corporate governance and securities law matters. Prior to her corporate role, Krista developed and implemented a corporate-wide compliance and ethics program, including formalizing the process for legal risk assessments.

Krista is a member of the Society’s Board of Directors and former President and current advisory committee member of the Society’s Middle Atlantic Chapter. She received her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law, where she was a Law Faculty Scholar, and her undergraduate degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is admitted to practice in Virginia.

Choosing a State of Incorporation: Strategic, Legal, and Governance Consideration (Moderator)

Lillian Brown

Partner & Chair, Corporate Governance and Disclosure Group, WilmerHale.

Lillian Brown is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. Lily is a member of the Transactional and Securities Departments and Chair of the Corporate Governance and Disclosure Group. Lily advises public companies and boards across a wide range of industries on federal securities law compliance and corporate governance matters. She has extensive experience in SEC reporting and disclosure requirements, proxy and annual meeting matters, shareholder activism and engagement, shareholder proposals, and sustainability matters. Before joining WilmerHale in 2013, Lily spent nearly 14 years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Division of Corporation Finance. In her time at the SEC, among other roles, Lily served as Senior Special Counsel to the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Special Counsel in the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Lily is a regular speaker on securities and corporate governance matters. She co-chairs PLI’s Corporate Governance Master Class and PLI’s Directors’ Institute on Corporate Governance and serves as an Advisory Board member for the Securities Regulation Institute and as a Fellow in the American College of Governance Counsel. Lily also serves as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Federal Regulation of Securities Committee and previously served as Chair of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Proxy Statements and Business Combinations.

Chambers USA has recognized Lily as a nationwide leader in the Securities Regulation category, and she has been recognized as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Dealmakers in America. Lily has also been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America and named a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer.

SEC Rulemaking and Enforcement: What Companies and Boards Should Expect (Panelist)

Linea Crouse

Vice President, Corporate Governance, Horace Mann

Mrs. Linea is Vice President, Corporate Governance, and Assistant Corporate Secretary of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE: HMN), an insurance and financial services company. Her responsibilities include corporate governance, sustainability, law operations and administrative services.

Mrs. Linea has held various positions of increasing responsibility since joining Horace Mann as a Paralegal in 2000. She has 25 years of corporate governance experience including entity management, insider trading compliance, mergers and acquisitions, Proxy Statement production, annual shareholders meetings, sustainability reporting and managing relationships with Proxy advisory firms. She assumed responsibility for the administrative services function in September 2024 including the company’s security operations and executive protection program.

Mrs. Linea received a Master of Business Administration degree from Benedictine University in 2015. She received the Certified Corporate Governance Professional designation through the Society for Corporate Governance in April 2024.

Roundtable: Doing More with Less: Managing the Board and Disclosure at Small & Mid Cap Companies (Lead Participant)

Lori Zyskowski

Partner, Gibson Dunn

Lori Zyskowski is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York office and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Practice Group. Lori advises public companies, their boards of directors, and committees on corporate governance matters, securities disclosure and compliance issues, shareholder engagement and activism matters, shareholder proposals, environmental, social and governance matters, and executive compensation practices.

Lori’s practice focuses on fiduciary duties, oversight of enterprise risks, director independence, Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements, proxy statements, annual shareholders meetings, proxy advisory services, and executive compensation disclosure best practices. Lori also advises on board succession planning, board evaluations, and has considerable experience advising nonprofit organizations on governance matters.

She graduated from Columbia University School of Law in 1996 and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Lori received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

Workshop: Shareholder Engagement in Today's Environment (Moderator)

Marc Larkins

Worldwide Vice President, Corporate Governance & Corporate Secretary, Johnson & Johnson

Marc Larkins is Worldwide Vice President Corporate Governance and Corporate Secretary at global healthcare leader Johnson & Johnson. Larkins also serves as the company attorney for the Neurovascular business. Larkins started at Johnson & Johnson as Senior Counsel in the Law Department managing government litigation, investigations and internal compliance reviews.

Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson in 2015, Larkins served as the Acting State Comptroller for the State of New Jersey. From 2010 to 2013, Larkins served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA), where he was responsible for the management and implementation of the state’s school construction program throughout New Jersey.

Larkins previously served in various capacities as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he held positions of Acting First Assistant United States Attorney, Executive Assistant United States Attorney and Acting Counsel to the United States Attorney.

Larkins began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable James H. Coleman, Jr., on the New Jersey Supreme Court. He then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals, while Judge Greenaway sat on the District Court. In 1999, he was accepted into the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Larkins received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Seton Hall University and his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law.

How to Focus Your Board on Risks That Truly Matter (Moderator)

Marcy McCullaugh

Marcy McCullaugh, Ph.D.

Director, Sustainable Research, and, Director, Sustainability and Stewardship, Parnassus Investments

Marcy McCullaugh is the director of sustainability research and a director on the firm’s sustainability and stewardship team. She is responsible for the integration of sustainability research into the firm’s investment process and for providing strategic support for the firm’s sustainability and stewardship program. She is a member of the firm’s Proxy Committee and sits on the firm’s sector research teams.

Prior to joining Parnassus Investments in 2024, Marcy was the director of investment stewardship at Schwab Asset Management. Before moving into the investment stewardship space, Marcy worked at a small impact investing firm and was a senior advisor on the sustainability and public policy team at Chevron. Marcy previously pursued an academic career with a focus on post-Soviet politics.

Marcy received her bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in Russian from Swarthmore College. She has a master’s degree from Harvard University in Russian and Eurasian Studies. Marcy also holds a doctorate in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Voluntary Sustainability Reporting (Panelist)

Mary Francis

Mary A. Francis

Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer, Chevron Corporation

Mary A. Francis is corporate secretary and chief governance officer for Chevron Corporation, a position she has held since 2015. She provides advice and counsel to the Board of Directors and senior management on corporate governance matters, manages the company’s corporate governance function and serves on the Law Function Executive Committee. She also serves as secretary to the Board, the Executive Committee, and the Board Nominating and Governance Committee.

Previously Francis served as Chevron’s deputy corporate secretary since 2014. Prior positions include: 2012, chief corporate counsel, Corporation Law Department; 2009, general counsel, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company; 2007, managing counsel, Chevron Pipe Line Company and Chevron Shipping Company; 2005, lead senior counsel, Chevron Shipping Company.

Francis is on the board of directors of the Chevron Employees Political Action Committee. She serves on the advisory board of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance and on the Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association, and is a Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel. She also serves on the board of directors of the American Heart Association, Western Region, and on the governing board of the San Francisco Symphony.

Francis joined Chevron in 2002 as senior trademark counsel in the Corporation Law Department. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Mount Holyoke College in 1986, a Juris Doctor degree from the College of William and Mary in 1990, and a master’s degree in business administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2006.

The Latest in Board Recruitment, Onboarding & Education (Panelist)

Choosing a State of Incorporation: Strategic, Legal, and Governance Considerations (Panelist)

Peggy Foran

Margaret M. Foran

Chief Governance Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary, Prudential Financial, Inc.

Margaret “Peggy” Foran is Chief Governance Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Prudential Financial, Inc.

Peggy has been a corporate governance leader throughout her career at Sara Lee Corporation, Pfizer, Inc. and J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. In addition, Peggy has served as a Director on the Boards of several public companies. From October 2019 through May 2026, she was on the Board of Orion Group Holdings, Inc. During her tenure at Orion, she served as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and Compensation Committee. From December 2010 through May 2020, she served on the Board of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, where she was Chair of its Sustainability and Shareholder Engagement Committee, Compensation Committee and Governance Committee. Peggy previously served on the Board of The MONY Group and MONY Life Insurance Company.

Peggy currently serves as a member of many influential advisory boards including, a member of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Governance Counsel, a member of the NACD’s Nominating and Governance Committee Chair Advisory Council and a member of the Gupta Governance Institute’s Advisory Board at Drexel University.

Past roles include The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group (SEIAG), the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance’s Advisory Board, Catalyst’s Advisory Board and most recently, Peggy was co-chair on the Board of Directors of the Council Institutional Investors.

Peggy received her B.A., magna cum laude, and J. D. degrees from the University of Notre Dame, where she serves on the law school’s Advisory Committee. She is admitted to the New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey (In-house) Bars. Additionally, Ms. Foran is NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) Directorship Certified™, the recipient of the International Corporate Governance’s (ICGN) Lifetime Achievement Award in March 2024 and received a certificate from MIT Sloan School of Management for completing their Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy program.

How to Focus Your Board on Risks That Truly Matter (Panelist)

Michael Rhodes

CEO, Ally Financial Inc.

Michael Rhodes is the chief executive officer of Ally Financial Inc., leading Ally’s evolution as the nation's largest all-digital bank and an industry-leading auto financing business. He also serves on the company’s board of directors.Rhodes has more than 30 years of experience in banking and has a track record of delivering transformative digital, data, and technology strategies.

Prior to joining Ally in April 2024, Rhodes served as the CEO and president of Discover Financial Services and president of Discover Bank, as well as a member of the board of directors of Discover Financial Services and Discover Bank. Before Discover, Rhodes spent over 12 years at TD Bank Group, serving as Group Head of Canadian Personal Banking. During his tenure at TD Bank, Rhodes also led North American Credit Card and Merchant Services and served as head of Innovation, Technology, and Shared Services. In this role, he strengthened operational resilience, security, and efficiency while improving the bank's capability to support emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cloud migration.

Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership positions at Bank of America and MBNA America Bank. He managed businesses in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland in a variety of roles within payments and banking. He began his career as an engineer working for a leading engineering and scientific consulting firm.

Rhodes is active in community and industry leadership. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Duke University, where he chairs the Governance Committee, and sits on the Board of the Bank Policy Institute. He is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council. Prior community boards include the United Way of Delaware, the Boys and Girls Club of Delaware, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, Christiana Care Health Systems, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, and Winterthur Garden Museum and Library. Rhodes earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Duke University.

A View from the Corner Office: A CEO's Perspective on Governance (Speaker)

Mohani Maharaj

Director, Responsible Investing, Nuveen

Mohani Maharaj is a director and a member of the responsible investing (RI) team at Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA. Nuveen’s RI team supports the integration of ESG factors into the investment decision-making process and develops RI-focused products and solutions for clients seeking to pursue ESG objectives alongside their performance objectives and risk-adjusted returns.

Mohani’s responsibilities include supporting the stewardship efforts to influence companies and other members of the investor ecosystem, advocate for increased transparency and accountability to promote risk mitigation and develop standards for proxy voting. Since joining TIAA in 1994, Mohani has held various roles throughout the organization and has been a member of the Responsible Investing team since 2005.

She studied Business Management at Adelphi University.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Paul Rodel

Corporate Partner and Co-Chair of Debevoise's Capital Markets Group, Debevoise

Paul Rodel is a corporate partner and Co-Chair of Debevoise’s Capital Markets Group. He represents clients across a range of industries in all manner of capital markets transactions and all aspects of corporate governance, including digital assets, cybersecurity and the deployment and impact of AI.

Workshop: Using AI in the Boardroom (Respondent)

Phoebe Wood

Principal, CompaniesWood

Phoebe Wood has served as a director on publicly traded company boards since 2003, as well as on several private company boards. She has held significant leadership positions on those boards (Executive Chairman, Chairman, Chair of Audit, Chair of Compensation, Chair of Nominating and Governance) and is a qualified SEC financial expert. Her current boards include: Invesco, Ltd. (Audit Committee Chair), Leggett & Platt (Audit Committee Chair), and PPL Corporation (Governance, Nominating and Sustainability Committee Chair). Prior board service includes Pioneer Natural Resources (sold to ExxonMobil), Coca-Cola Enterprises, and OshKosh B'Gosh (sold to Carters). She is turned to for confidential internal investigations as well as board evaluations.

Ms. Wood spent almost 24 years at Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in roles of increasing responsibility in financial management. She lived in Alaska and England (as Divisional CFO of each) and negotiated large projects internationally, including in Indonesia and Venezuela. [She has the distinction of being the first female Business Manager in an oil and gas production office.] She has a very broad background in capital markets, investor relations, corporate development (M&A), strategic planning, financial and management reporting, accounting, audit and control. She also managed information technology functions in a rapidly changing environment.

BP acquired ARCO in 2000, and in 2001 Ms. Wood became Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer of Brown-Forman Corporation. In that role, she was responsible for all financial functions and information technology. During her tenure, the company implemented Sarbanes Oxley legislation. She led several divestitures, including Hartmann Luggage and Lexon China, but also several acquisitions of [global] brands, and managed their integration into the company. She also set up a financial development program and was very active in the development of financial talent across the global company.

After retiring from Brown-Forman, she created CompaniesWood, a firm that advises and invests in start-up companies, and she has been an active investor and advisor since then. She has made over 40 investments in companies. She serves as a judge at the Rice Business Plan competition and was a three-year judge at the EY's National Entrepreneur of the Year Award. [She was named Investor of the Year by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in 2024.]
She is a member of The Committee of 200, International Women's Forum, National Association of Corporate Directors, Women Corporate Directors, and Extraordinary Women on Boards.

Her recognitions include the NACD Directorship 100 Award in 2018 in "recognition of her exemplary board leadership, oversight, and courage in the Boardroom." She received the prestigious Lettie Pace Whitehead Award from OnBoard in 2013 and was named by Women Inc as one of the Most Influential Corporate Board Directors for 2018 and 2019. UCLA recognized her as one of 100 Inspirational Alumni of the Anderson School of Management. She was named to the Kentuckiana Business Hall of Fame in 2019.

Ms. Wood is chair of The American Printing House for the Blind and is chair of the Gheens Foundation. She is a graduate of Smith College cum laude and has her MBA from UCLA's Graduate School of Management (now known the Anderson School of Management.)

Beyond the Hype: How are Boards Effectively Addressing the Opportunities and Risks of AI? (Panelist)

Rabia de Lande

Founder of Rabia de Lande Long LLC

Rabia de Lande Long is a management consultant and executive coach who helps governance leaders and executive teams drive transformation while navigating complexity. A former CHRO, she advises Boards and leaders on strategic planning, board and leadership effectiveness, succession planning, and human capital governance.

As a sitting board member, Rabia launched a human capital committee to strengthen oversight of workforce strategy and currently chairs a revitalized strategic planning committee—bringing operational fluency, governance acumen, and a bias for impact. Clients value her diagnostic precision, business pragmatism, and ability to align people strategy with business outcomes—especially during growth, integrations, and turnarounds.

Rabia earned a master’s in public and private management from Yale and a psychology degree from the University of Virginia. A member of the American Psychological Association, she is a sought-after speaker on organizational design and resilience, senior team effectiveness, and the future of work – especially the evolving role of human capital in creating long-term value.

Workshop: Professional & Personal Resilience (Moderator)

Rebecca Kim

Vice President, Stewardship and Sustainable Investing, Neuberger

Rebecca (Becky) Kim, Vice President, joined Neuberger in 2020. Rebecca supports the Stewardship and Sustainable Investing team and contributes to the firm’s work on issuer engagement and corporate governance across the investment platform. She also develops and implements the firm’s proxy voting guidelines, supports the development of thought leadership through research and writing on active ownership, corporate governance, and financially material environmental and social topics, and leads the firm's advanced vote disclosure program, NB Votes. Prior to joining the firm, she was an Associate at Dimensional Fund Advisors, where she led engagements with management and board members, along with the firm’s proxy voting efforts.

Rebecca earned a BA in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College and an MA in Economics and International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she received the William C. Foster Leadership Award for demonstrating sound scholarship and a record of leadership and distinguished service. Rebecca holds the SASB FSA credential, and has been a member of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) Corporate Governance Advisory Council (CGAC) since 2025.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Choosing a State of Incorporation: Strategic, Legal, and Governance Considerations (Panelist)

Richard Fields

Head of Board Effectiveness, Russell Reynolds Associates

Rich Fields leads the firm's Board Effectiveness Practice and is a member of the firm's Board and CEO Advisory Partners and Family Enterprise Advisory Practices.

He is a trusted advisor to boards, corporate leaders, and investment professionals who regularly ask him to customize and deliver annual board and director assessments, enhance oversight of CEO succession planning, benchmark boards against both peers and evolving investor standards, avoid or mitigate activist vulnerabilities, and develop more productive relationships with their largest and most influential shareholders.

Rich joined the firm from King & Spalding, where he was a partner who advised companies on complex, high-stakes corporate governance issues. Before that, Rich was a partner at governance boutique Tapestry Networks, where he led the firm's programs with lead directors and the chairs of boards and board committees.

Rich is a recognized authority on corporate governance who regularly writes and speaks on critical governance and board leadership topics. He has been quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, and the Financial Times. He has authored chapters in each edition of The Handbook of Board Governance, including most recently "Evaluations that Enhance Board Effectiveness." Rich was also one of four global winners of the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership's Rising Star of Corporate Governance Award in 2015 and recently was named to the National Association of Corporate Directors' Directorship100 as one of the 100 most influential leaders in corporate governance.

Rich earned his JD with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and a BA in government from Clark University, magna cum laude. Rich serves on the Board of the Society for Corporate Governance and is the past President of the Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middlesex County.

The Latest in Board Recruitment, Onboarding & Education (Panelist)

Scott Siamas

Senior Vice President, Office of Board Affairs, Public Company Compliance & Global Governance, Salesforce

Scott is Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel – Public Company Compliance, Global Governance and Enterprise Risk Management, as well as Assistant Corporate Secretary, at Salesforce. Scott oversees a broad functional area, including SEC disclosure and reporting, NYSE compliance, the proxy statement and annual stockholder meeting, all issuances of Salesforce securities and related matters (including for mergers, acquisitions and investments), corporate governance for 150+ global subsidiaries, insider trading and equity compensation matters, support of Salesforce's Tax, Treasury, and Accounting teams, and Enterprise Risk Management. As Assistant Secretary, Scott also provides key corporate governance and corporate secretary support to Salesforce's Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Salesforce, Scott was Corporate Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary of The Clorox Company. Prior to working at Clorox, Scott was a Senior Corporate Associate at Latham & Watkins LLP specializing in corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions.

Scott is on the Board of Directors of the Society for Corporate Governance, and was previously President of the Northern California Chapter.

Executive Compensation Trends (Moderator)

Shawn Filippi

Board Member, KARES Foundation

Bio coming soon.

Workshop: Professional & Personal Resilience (Respondent)

Roundtable: Doing More with a Lot Less: Managing the Board and Disclosure at Small & Mid Cap Companies (Moderator)

SEC Rulemaking and Enforcement: What Companies and Boards Should Expect (Moderator)

Sophie Haywood

Analyst, Sustainability and Stewardship, Parnassus Investments

Sophie Haywood is an analyst, responsible for sustainability research and stewardship. Prior to joining Parnassus in 2024, she was a consultant on the corporate sustainability and climate change team at Environmental Resources Management (ERM). Sophie received her bachelor’s degree in economics and environmental studies from the College of the Holy Cross.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Stacey Geer

Stacey K. Geer

Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Governance and Risk Officer and Corporate Secretary, Primerica, Inc.

Ms. Geer is the Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Governance and Risk Officer and Corporate Secretary of Primerica, Inc., where she has worked since February 2010. In 2024, she was promoted to the Leadership Team of the company. In her role, she is responsible for all corporate governance matters at the company, including matters relating to the board of directors, SEC disclosure, financings, company equity, and mergers & acquisitions. She also oversees the Company’s enterprise risk management program, leads an internal working group responsible for sustainability matters, oversees lawyers who work with over 150,000 independent contractor sales representatives and serves as the administrator of the legal department. Ms. Geer previously served as Deputy General Counsel of Mueller Water Products, Inc., as the Chief Securities Counsel of BellSouth Corporation and as a partner at King & Spalding in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ms. Geer, a certified corporate governance professional, has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Corporate Governance, as a member of the Policy Advisory Committee, as Chair of the Small and Mid-Cap Companies Committee and as Co-Chair of the creation of the Society’s new corporate secretary certification program. She currently serves as a member of the Certified Corporate Governance Professional Commission. She was a finalist for Corporate Secretary Magazine’s 2011 Governance Professional of the Year award and has twice been named by Inside Counsel to their annual R-3 100 list. She has served as a member of Broadridge’s Independent Steering Committee since February 2012. Ms. Geer is a frequent speaker on corporate governance matters. She obtained her J.D. degree from the UCLA School of Law and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1992. She received a B.S.E. from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988.

Ms. Geer can be reached by email at stacey.geer@primerica.com or by phone at 770-367-1425.

Workshop: Using AI in the Boardroom (Respondent)

Tana Murphy

Tana E. Murphy, CCGP

Senior Paralegal, Securities & Governance, Becton, Dickinson and Company

Tana is a seasoned corporate governance and securities law professional. Since May 2025, she has worked at BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, where she supports the day-to-day operations and functions of the Corporate Secretary’s office and provides guidance on securities reporting and corporate governance compliance.

She previously worked at the former Benson Hill, Inc. (Nasdaq: BHIL), a seed innovation company, and Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN), a leading vertically integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition. Prior to that, she was the office administrator for Husch Blackwell’s Nashville, Tennessee law office and worked in the litigation practice groups of Husch Blackwell and Thompson Coburn.

Tana has been an active member of the Society for Corporate Governance since June 2005 and currently serves as President of the St. Louis Chapter and Co-Chair of the Non-JD In-House Members Community.

Tana obtained a BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix-St. Louis and is a Certified Corporate Governance Professional designee.

Workshop: Professional & Personal Resilience (Respondent)

Trish Moscato-Bell

Compliance and Assistant Secretary (Governance), Workiva, Inc.

Trish Moscato-Bell serves as the Director of Legal Operations and Compliance and Assistant Secretary (Governance) for Workiva Inc., a Iowa-based publicly traded SaaS company, where she has been a key architect of the Legal department’s operational strategy, helping drive efficiency and departmental growth. Trish works closely with Workiva’s executive leadership and the Board of Directors, where she supports the preparation of board and committee materials, agendas, and resolutions, while leading key initiatives such as director onboarding and continuing board education. She also has extensive experience preparing SEC filings, and plays an important role in ensuring compliance with continuously evolving securities regulations.

Trish is recognized at Workiva for her strategic problem-solving abilities and a reputation for delivering impactful results across a broad spectrum of responsibilities. She supports an array of diverse matters around operations, compliance and governance, and engages in thought leadership around the use of AI and other technologies solutions to streamline legal workflows.
Trish lives in New Jersey with her husband, cat, and dog, and holds a degree from Rutgers University.

Workshop: Using AI as a Governance Professional (Respondent)

Yafit Cohn

Chief Sustainability Officer and Group General Counsel, Travelers Companies Inc.

Yafit Cohn is Chief Sustainability Officer and Group General Counsel at The Travelers Companies, Inc., where she is focused on developing the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) engagement and communications strategies, as well as executing on broader, strategic company initiatives. Since joining Travelers in September 2017, Yafit has helped guide the company through the evolving ESG landscape and has led the company’s effort to produce its first (and subsequent) comprehensive and integrated sustainability reports, including reports aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards for the insurance industry and the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Yafit chairs Travelers’ Sustainability Committee and serves on the company’s Disclosure Committee.

She also served a three-year term as the first Chair of the Society for Corporate Governance’s Sustainability Practices Committee and recently rolled off the board of the Society for Corporate Governance. Yafit has provided testimony on ESG to the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee and to the SEC’s Asset Management Advisory Committee. In 2019, Yafit was named on the list of 2020 Insurance Executives to Watch by Risk & Insurance, and in 2021, she was included in Insurance Business America’s “Hot 100” list. Additionally, in 2022, Yafit received Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence and Power in Law award in the Collaborative Leadership category, and in 2023, she was included on the Insurance Business Global 100 list. Most recently, in both 2025 and 2026, Yafit was named one of the Top 250 Women in Sustainability by Sustainability Magazine.

Before joining Travelers, Yafit was Counsel in Simpson Thacher’s New York office and a member of the Public Company Advisory Practice, where she advised public companies, corporate management and boards of directors on a broad array of issues pertaining to securities law and corporate governance, including SEC reporting and disclosure requirements, shareholder proposals, the impact of proxy advisory firms, and responses to formal and informal SEC inquiries. Prior to that, Yafit spent nine years as a litigator at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, focusing primarily on securities litigation and government investigations. Yafit has been a prolific writer and speaker on disclosure and corporate governance matters, as well as a frequent commenter in the press.

Yafit has a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, and a Bachelor of Art degree in Political Science, summa cum laude, from Columbia College.

Beyond the SEC: Navigating Fragmented US and International Regulation (Panelist)

Yumi Narita

Executive Director of Corporate Governance, Office of the Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management (BAM)

Yumi Narita joined the Office of the Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management (BAM) as the Executive Director of Corporate Governance in the Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment Unit in December 2019. The Comptroller serves as investment advisor, custodian, and a trustee to the New York City Pension Funds, which hold approximately $320 billion in assets (as of Feb 2026). In her role as Executive Director, Ms. Narita is responsible for developing and implementing active ownership programs for public equities, including overseeing proxy voting, engaging portfolio companies on their ESG policies and practices, and advocating for regulatory reforms to protect investors and strengthen investor rights.

Ms. Narita has over 22 years of experience in the ESG industry. Prior to BAM, Ms. Narita was the Global Head of Corporate Governance at Alliance Bernstein, and Vice President on the BlackRock Investment Stewardship team. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Council of Institutional Investors. Additionally, she is part of the Independent Steering Committee of Broadridge and she co-chairs the Human Capital Management Coalition.

Investor Forums (Investor)

Workshop: Shareholder Engagement in Today's Environment (Respondent)

Zach Levine

First Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel, Metropolitan Commercial Bank

Zachary Levine is First Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel at Metropolitan Commercial Bank, a New York City based full-service commercial bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE: MCB).

Mr. Levine advises MCB’s board of directors and senior management on corporate governance, securities, public company compliance, and bank regulatory matters. In addition to managing MCB’s corporate governance program and ’34 Act compliance, Zachary leads MCB’s shareholder outreach efforts and has a broad range of expertise in the areas of executive compensation and benefits, capital markets transactions and other capital actions, M&A, insider trading, bank regulation and risk management, and investor relations. He also leads MCB’s corporate insurance program, including strategy, renewals, policy placement, and coverage analysis. Prior to joining MCB, Zachary served as Director and Managing Counsel- Governance at BNY Mellon.

Zachary started his legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP out of the firm’s New York office, focusing primarily on Capital Markets. Zachary serves on the Society for Corporate Governance board of directors and is an officer of the Society’s New York Chapter. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Zachary has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) and a JD from York University's Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto, Canada).

Board Oversight of Management Succession (Moderator)