Speakers

Meet the Speakers

Welcome to the 2026 Essentials speaker page. Essentials 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.

Joan Amble

JCA Consulting, LLC

Ms. Amble joined Booz Allen’s board in 2012. Joan is the president of JCA Consulting, LLC. Previously, Joan was the executive vice president, finance for the American Express Company from May to December 2011, and served as its executive vice president and corporate comptroller from December 2003 until May 2011. Prior to joining American Express, Joan served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of GE Capital Markets, a service business within GE Capital Services, Inc., overseeing securitizations, debt placement, and syndication, as well as structured equity transactions. From 1994 to March 2003, Joan served as vice president and controller for GE Capital and GE Financial Services.

Ms. Amble serves on the boards of directors of Zurich Insurance Group, BuzzFeed, Inc., and Spire Global, Inc. Joan previously served as a member of the Standing Advisory Group for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and on the board of directors at Broadcom Corp., Brown-Forman Corporation, XM Radio, and Sirius XM Holdings Inc. She also served as an independent advisor to the Control and Risk Committee of the Executive Committee of the U.S. affiliate of Société Générale S.A.

Troy A. Paredes

Troy Paredes

Founder of Paredes Strategies LLC

From 2008-2013, Paredes was a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, having been appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Paredes served as an SEC Commissioner during an especially historic time at the SEC and for our economy – namely, throughout the financial crisis and its aftermath, including the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. He played a key role in rulemakings and other regulatory matters concerning all aspects of the SEC’s mission and securities regulation, including, among other things, antifraud and anticorruption, public company disclosures, capital formation, corporate governance, executive compensation, investment management, investment advisors, broker-dealers, exchanges, credit rating agencies, equity market structure, fixed income markets, derivatives, auditing and accounting, and cybersecurity. At the SEC, Paredes was a strong advocate for small business and the JOBS Act, for solving the information overload problem of securities law disclosure, and for rigorous cost-benefit analysis. He also consistently expressed concerns about the overregulation and overreach of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Since leaving government, Paredes has had a wide-ranging consulting practice. Paredes advises on financial regulation, compliance, risk management, corporate governance, and regulatory strategy and change management. He also serves as an expert and advisor in regulatory enforcement investigations and in private litigation involving securities law and corporate law.

Given Paredes’ extensive government, private sector, and academic experience, Paredes Strategies LLC also serves as an independent compliance consultant/corporate monitor.

Before becoming an SEC Commissioner, Paredes was a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and a professor of business (by courtesy) at Washington University’s Olin Business School, joining the faculty after having worked as a corporate lawyer. Currently, he is a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU School of Law and a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. He also was the Distinguished Policy Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has been a visiting professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and UCLA School of Law. Paredes is the author of numerous academic articles on financial regulation, corporate governance, innovation, behavioral economics, and administrative agencies. And he is a co-author (beginning with the 4th edition) of a multi-volume securities regulation treatise with Louis Loss and Joel Seligman entitled Securities Regulation.

In addition to his writing, Paredes co-hosts a podcast on fintech called “Appetite for Disruption.” Paredes is a senior advisor at PJT Camberview, a member of the board of advisors at StreetShares, a member of the board of advisors at Templum, an advisor at Strike Protocols, a member of the advisory board at Beam Solutions, a member of the advisory board at AdvisorAssist, and a member of the compliance advisory council at Balyasny Asset Management. He served on the board of directors at Electronifie from 2015-2017 and at NAVEX Global from 2017-2018.

Paredes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Spencer G. Smul

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Spencer G. Smul is the former Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (ELC). For over thirty years, he led corporate governance and M&A matters in ELC’s Legal Department. These included matters related to the Board and its Committees, securities compliance and over 30 acquisitions and investments, including TOM FORD, Deciem, Dr.Jart+, Le Labo, Jo Malone London, Aveda and MּּAּC. He was a member of Legal Executive Team, as well as numerous other management level committees overseeing disclosure, pension plans and social impact and sustainability matters.

Spencer has been a long-time member of the Society for Corporate Governance. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the New York Chapter. He was formerly President of the New York Chapter and a member of the Board of the Society. He was also a long-time member of the Stockholder Relations Society of New York and a founding member of the Publicly-Listed, Family Controlled Company Group.

Prior to joining ELC, he was an Associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York. He is a graduate of Vassar College (Math and Computer Science) and Stanford Law School.

Betty M. Huber

Latham & Watkins LLP

Betty Moy Huber advises leading companies, funds, and their boards on advancing corporate strategy through cutting-edge finance products, M&A transactions, and capital markets offerings.

Betty leverages more than 25 years’ experience and trusted C-suite relationships to identify key business risks to companies in today’s rapidly evolving regulatory climate.

She delivers pragmatic, commercial guidance across a broad spectrum of industries and market caps on:

Corporate governance policies and disclosure
Sustainable finance
SEC and other mandatory and voluntary reporting and disclosure requirements
Board oversight, risk management, composition, and refreshment
Fiduciary duties
Board assessments
Stakeholder engagement
Shareholder proposals

Betty serves on the Board of Advisors for NYU’s School of Law Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance and as Co-Chair of the Society for Corporate Governance’s Sustainability Practices Committee.

A recognized thought leader, Betty has served as a congressional expert on regulatory matters. She frequently speaks and writes for leading industry organizations and is quoted by various media outlets, including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and American Banker. She lectures on corporate matters at law schools, including Harvard Law School, New York University School of Law, and Stanford Law School’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance.

Brian W. Bolash

Erie Indemnity Company

Mr. Bolash is Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ: ERIE), a Fortune 500 company that serves as the management arm of the property-casualty and life insurance companies of the Erie Insurance Group. Prior to joining Erie Insurance in 2000, Mr. Bolash was engaged in private practice for 10 years and lectured at Mercyhurst University as a member of their adjunct faculty. During that time, he also served as president and general counsel of a Pennsylvania-licensed financial institution.

Mr. Bolash currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania and as a Director of Independent Statistical Service (a subsidiary of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association). He has held other professional leadership roles, including Chair of the In-House Counsel Division of the Erie County Bar Association and Program Chair for the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance.

Mr. Bolash received his undergraduate degree from Gannon University and his law degree from The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University. He also holds the Certified Corporate Governance Professional (CCGP) designation.

Fundamentals of Corporate Governance - External Sources of Authority (Moderator)
Managing Effective Board and Committee Meetings (Moderator)

Kristi Demidio Chase is a senior legal executive with extensive experience advising public and private companies on corporate governance, securities transactions, mergers and acquisitions and enterprise risk management.

Kristi currently serves as Senior Counsel, Corporate Legal at Bechtel Global Corporation, where she provides strategic legal guidance across a complex global enterprise with hundreds of entities operating in more than 60 jurisdictions.

In addition, Kristi provides lead legal support for Bechtel’s sustainability function, including sustainability governance, climate- and ESG- related disclosures, and cross-functional risk alignment.

Prior to joining Bechtel, Kristi served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for both public and private life sciences and healthcare technology companies, advising boards and executive leadership teams on securities compliance, M&A, financings, and strategic transactions. She began her legal career at a national law firm, representing public and private companies in capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance matters.

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.

Mr. Brown serves as vice president, assistant general counsel and corporate secretary of The New York Times Company. Mike joined The Times Company as vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary in May 2022 and was named corporate secretary in March 2023.

In addition to his role as corporate secretary, Mike leads the company’s corporate and securities practice. He oversees its core responsibilities of securities law compliance, corporate governance, executive compensation and transactional matters.

Prior to joining The Times Company, Mike was deputy general counsel and corporate secretary at Cipher Mining, an emerging technology company specializing in Bitcoin. Before that, he was deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary at Clearway Energy, Inc., one of the largest renewable energy owners in the United States. In both roles, he led governance- and board-related activities, coordinated S.E.C. reporting and advised on significant financial transactions. He also played a key role in the development of E.S.G. strategic initiatives.

Mike was honored as a Rising Star by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association in 2023 and was a finalist for Governance Professional of the Year at the 2020 Corporate Governance Awards hosted by Corporate Secretary magazine.

Mike began his in-house career at NRG Energy, Inc., serving as senior counsel, securities and finance, and he also worked at the law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. He received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and his law degree from Boston College Law School.

Director Orientation, Onboarding & Education (Moderator)

Roles of Governance Professional in Supporting Directors (Moderator)

Michael A. Brown

New York Times

Kristi Demidio Chase

Bechtel Global Corporation

Aaron Briggs

Gibson Dunn

Mr. Heistein is Senior Vice President & Corporate Compliance Officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Mike leads the legal team responsible for global M&A transactions, corporate governance, SEC reporting, investor relations, treasury, executive compensation, compliance, privacy, subsidiary management and legal operations. In such capacity, Mike plays a critical role in the execution of the company’s global strategy.

Mike has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in the Wyndham legal department, including overseeing the commercial contracts and sourcing team and serving as the leader of the hotel management legal team where he gained significant operations experience. Prior to joining Wyndham, Mike was an associate with Goodwin Procter where he focused on private equity and M&A.

Mike is active in the hospitality industry, serving as an advisory board member for the Georgetown Hotel Lodging and Legal Summit. Mike earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Brooklyn Law School.

Delivering Effective Board Briefing Materials (Moderator)

Regulation and Disclosure: Part II (Moderator)

June Hu

Sullivan & Cromwell

Mike Heistein

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Ms. Ingram is Chair of the Board, Society for Corporate Governance, Former SVP, GC and Corporate Secretary of Floor & Decor. At Floor & Décor, a multi-channel specialty retailer and commercial flooring distributor operating across 36 states, as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, in July 2024. She previously served as Associate General Counsel and Deputy Corporate Secretary for The Home Depot, which she joined in April 2009, where she was responsible for a broad range of securities, compliance, corporate governance, and corporate finance matters.

Prior to joining The Home Depot, Ms. Ingram was a partner in the Atlanta office of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, where she represented clients in a full array of securities, corporate governance, and corporate finance matters. Ms. Ingram served on the board of The Home Depot Foundation and of The Homer Fund, The Home Depot’s nonprofit charity that provides assistance to associates of the company in times of need, until June 2024. She previously served as a member of the board of directors of the Society for Corporate Governance and is member of the Society’s Policy Advisory Committee.

Managing Make-or-Break Moments for Boards (Moderator)
Annual Meetings (Moderator)

Mr. Evans is a Director in the legal department of Global Payments Inc. He reports to the Company's lead securities attorney and their team is responsible for the entity's global subsidiary management and board governance. Tyler also works with the Company's finance and tax teams on global restructuring and repatriation projects. He earned his B.A. at Auburn University and his J.D. at Faulkner University's Thomas Goode Jones School of Law.

Corporate Entity Management (Moderator)

Stacy S. Ingram

Society for Corporate Governance

Tyler Evans

Global Payments, Inc.

Ms. Hu is Special Counsel in the Firm’s General Practice Group. She coordinates the Firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice, and advises on a range of ESG, corporate governance, activism and takeover defense matters.

In addition, June frequently speaks and publishes on ESG and corporate governance matters. As an author of the Firm’s annual proxy season review and monthly ESG newsletter, she actively monitors evolving trends and developments in the ESG landscape in order to help clients navigate these evolving areas.

June represents clients across the industry spectrum on ESG and corporate governance matters, including in the consumer & retail, insurance, healthcare, technology and financial services sectors. Representative ESG and corporate governance clients include AB InBev, AIG, Ally Financial, AT&T, BlackRock, Bank of New York Mellon, Butterfield, Canadian Pacific, JPMorgan, Regions, Royal Bank of Canada, Ryder, Takeda, Upbound and U.S. Bancorp.

Current State of ESG (Moderator)

Melissa L. Mong

Sensata Technologies Holdings

Jeff J. Zanotti

Travel + Leisure, Co.

Mr. Zanotti, has served as Senior Vice President, Corporate & Securities and Asst. Corporate Secretary of Travel + Leisure Co., the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, since April 2022, and served as Vice President, Corporate & Securities and Asst. Corporate Secretary from January 2021 to April 2022. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Zanotti served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of White Star Petroleum, LLC, an energy private equity portfolio company, from May 2016 to June 2020. Previously, Mr. Zanotti served in senior legal roles with Chesapeake Energy Corporation and, following its spin-off, Seventy Seven Energy Inc. from 2010 to 2016, where he focused on securities law compliance, corporate governance, and strategic transactions. He began his legal career in 2006 as an Associate with Jones Day.

Fundamentals of Corporate Governance – Internal Sources of Authority (Moderator)

James Barnett

Cardinal Health, Inc.

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.

Richard Fields

Russell Reynolds

Ms. Mong currently serves as the Assistant General Counsel, Corporate and Securities for Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW), the owner and operator of the world’s largest fleet of offshore support vessels in the energy industry, with 65 years of experience supporting offshore energy exploration, production and offshore wind activities worldwide. Her responsibilities at Tidewater include leading and supporting all matters related to corporate governance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, ESG, enterprise risk management, along with executive compensation and HR related matters.

Prior to joining Tidewater, Ms. Mong’s in-house legal experience included serving as Sr. Assistant General Counsel for The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) from October 2020 to November 2021; Vice President, General Counsel (Interim) and Corporate Secretary for Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE: ST) from September 2017 to October 2020; General Counsel of Camino Information Services, a privately-held software development company, from February 2016 to September 2017; and Sr. Counsel, Director of Records Information Management & Assistant Corporate Secretary of Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE: NFX) from August 2010 until December 2015.

Prior to joining Newfield, Ms. Mong was a Partner with the international law firm of Patton Boggs LLP (now Squire Patton Boggs LLP), from August 2006 until August 2010. She began her legal career in March 1997 with the international law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue LLP. Ms. Mong received her B.A. in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame, summa cum laude, in May 1993. She spent a year as an auditor with Arthur Andersen LLP from August 1993 until August 1994, before attending law school at The Ohio State College of Law, receiving her J.D. and graduating with honors in December 1996.

Regulation and Disclosure: Part I (Moderator)
Taking Minutes (Moderator)

Mr. Barnett is Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Cardinal Health, Inc., where he currently works on securities and corporate governance matters, including board governance, the proxy statement, shareholder engagement and proposals, executive and equity compensation, insider trading compliance, and ESG legal oversight. Prior to going in-house, he was an associate at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, where his practice focused on securities matters, corporate governance, and capital markets. Prior to going to law school, Jim was a commercial lending relationship manager at Bank One Corporation.

Committee Responsibilities, Composition, and Structure (Moderator)

Paula Tuffin

Better Home & Finance Holding Company

Paula Tuffin serves as Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel at Better. She oversees the Company’s legal, compliance, and governance programs, ensuring Better operates responsibly in a highly regulated industry.

Before joining Better in 2016, Paula was Senior Litigation Counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFB) and a partner in litigation at Mayer Brown LLP. She earned her B.A. from Williams College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Governance of AI (Moderator)

Margaret (Molly) Treese

Bonbright Distributors

Molly Treese is a member of the Board of Directors of Bonbright Distributors, Inc., a private beer distribution company with operations in 30 counties in the Midwest. Since joining the Board in 2019, she has led the company through multiple acquisitions, double digit growth, and a board restructuring.

She has served as a board member and trusted board advisor throughout her distinguished career guiding multi-billion-dollar public companies through business transformations, spinoffs, organizational restructurings, M&A deals, and major strategic transactions. Her deep expertise in governance best practices, executive compensation, crisis management, activism, privacy, compliance, and succession planning has steered directors through challenges and gained investor and stakeholder confidence.

As Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Molly has also worked closely with the board of Teradata Corporation (NYSE:TDC), a $1.7B global software data and analytics platform company, on Teradata’s transformation from an on premises enterprise software business to a cloud-first SaaS company and other mission-critical strategic and corporate governance initiatives.

Under her leadership as head of Teradata’s Ethics and Compliance, Data Privacy, and ESG programs, the company has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere for 15 consecutive years and received many industry accolades and awards.

Fundamentals of Corporate Governance - External Sources of Authority
Delivering Effective Board Briefing Materials

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.

Shannon Sydlowski

Prudential Financial, Inc

Lori Zyskowski

Gibson Dunn

Ms. Sydlowski is vice president of corporate governance at Prudential Financial, Inc. She manages the Board Governance Team and specializes in conflict of interest and related party transaction issues for the company’s Board of Directors and Executive Officers, as well as other regulatory and disclosure items related to the Board. Prior to joining Prudential in 2011, Ms. Sydlowski was a litigation attorney in private practice.

Ms. Sydlowski received her J.D. from William & Mary Law School and her B.A. in Government and English from the University of Notre Dame.

She is a member of the Women in Insurance Peer Exchange and the Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.

Use of Generative AI by Governance Professionals (NEW!) (Moderator)

Myra Coleman Bierria

Southern Company Gas (a subsidiary of Southern Company

Lisa H. Kwon

OneTrust

Kevin Coleman serves as Associate General Counsel – Corporate Governance 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, 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.

Ms. Kwon joined OneTrust in September 2022 as Deputy General Counsel, Corporate, M&A and Governance, and is responsible for strategic partnerships, corporate governance, securities, finance and M&A matters. Prior to joining OneTrust, Lisa was SVP, Associate Corporate Secretary, Securities and Finance at Herbalife Nutrition, where she led a global team managing corporate governance, securities law compliance, ESG, finance, commercial and strategic transactions, executive compensation, and equity administration.

Before Herbalife, Lisa served in various corporate counsel roles at DaVita Inc., advising on securities, corporate governance and finance matters, and was the Acting General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary at eHarmony Inc., where she oversaw the company’s legal affairs. Lisa is based in Los Angeles, California.

Board Responsibilities, Composition, and Structure

Oderah C. Nwaeze

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Myra Coleman Bierria is Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer at Southern Company Gas (a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), where she serves as chief of staff to the CEO and leads the corporate communications and corporate responsibility organizations. Southern is a state and federally regulated leading energy company with electric and natural gas operating subsidiaries. She also serves as President and CEO of the Southern Company Charitable Foundation. Previously, she served as vice president and corporate secretary at Southern, where she collaborated directly with the executive team and board of directors to ensure best in class corporate governance practices and managed shareholder services. Prior to that, she served as vice president and corporate secretary for AGL Resources Inc. (“AGL”) until its acquisition by the Southern Company. At AGL, she established the company’s Sarbanes-Oxley-compliant governance and disclosure programs and counseled senior management and the board of directors on securities law and other corporate and transactional matters. Prior to joining Southern, Bierria was an associate attorney at a major New York law firm, where she specialized in securities offerings, venture capital transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.

Bierria is an independent board member, where she chairs the Sustainability committee and serves on the Audit and Governance committees of Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: EPM), an independent energy company that owns and invests in oil and natural gas properties.

She received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She is admitted to the New York Bar.

Fundamentals of Corporate Governance – Internal Sources of Authority
Board, Committee, and Director Evaluations

Leveraging almost 15 years of litigation, trial and counseling experience, Oderah C. Nwaeze helps clients navigate and resolve complex corporate and commercial disputes. He regularly represents public and private entities, stockholders, officers and directors in matters concerning stockholder rights; actions arising under Delaware General Corporation Law and Delaware common law; lawsuits stemming from mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions; business divorces; and breach-of-contract matters. Oderah has experience with “books-and-records” demands and litigation, actions to compel an annual meeting, stockholder appraisal litigation, derivative lawsuits, disputes regarding board composition and judicial dissolution.

Oderah also handles corporate governance and M&A disputes in other jurisdictions — many of which look to Delaware law as a guide — and he represents trustees of Delaware trusts in litigation before various state and federal courts. Oderah regularly counsels financial institutions in consumer-related litigation, a part of his practice that was influenced and informed by his time seconded with TD Bank, N.A.

Oderah frequently writes and speaks on various topics related to Delaware law, corporate governance, stockholder rights and trial advocacy. He maintains a series called the Corporate Guide, which is meant to offer general guidance to companies, directors and their boards on matters of corporate governance and Delaware law. Oderah’s written work also has been published by, among others, LexisNexis, Thompson Reuters, the American Bar Association, and Directors & Boards magazine. And Oderah has spoken on panels hosted by, among others, ACC - Greater Philadelphia, the ABA, the NBA - Commercial Law Section, the New York State Bar Association, the Society for Corporate Governance, the Rodney Inn of Court (Delaware), The Character of the Corporation Conference, and the George Washington School of Law. He also has served as a guest speaker or lecturer at Wake Forest University School of Law, Emory University School of Law, St. Thomas University School of Law and Rutgers University School of Law.

Board Responsibilities, Composition, and Structure

Kevin M. Coleman

Ally Financial Inc.

Kaitlin Descovich

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Kaitlin Descovich is a partner in Weil's Governance, Securities & Reporting Group and is based in Washington, D.C. Kaitlin advises public and private companies, as well as nonprofit organizations, on corporate governance, disclosure, compliance, executive compensation and securities law matters, including in connection with M&A, capital markets, private equity investment and corporate restructuring transactions. Among the topics Kaitlin regularly addresses include fiduciary duties, risk oversight, director independence, governance structures, compliance policies, executive and director compensation, SEC reporting and other public disclosure matters, stock exchange requirements, conflicts of interest and related party transactions, and cybersecurity and AI governance and disclosures.

In her practice, Kaitlin routinely counsels companies and their boards of directors on critical governance matters, including board leadership and committee structures, internal investigations, self-evaluations, and board and executive succession planning, as well as on sensitive matters, including crisis management, internal controls, and shareholder activism related matters such as proxy contests and shareholder proposals and engagement. Kaitlin also regularly guides newly or soon-to-be public companies and their sponsors as they navigate SEC and stock exchange regulations and implement public company processes and procedures.

Kaitlin frequently writes on legal developments affecting public companies and is a regular contributor to Weil’s Governance & Securities Watch (blog). She is also active in various bar associations and organizations and speaks and writes on a variety of governance and securities law topics. Kaitlin is recommended for M&A/Corporate & Commercial: Corporate Governance by Legal 500 US and recognized for Corporate Governance and Compliance Law by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2025. Kaitlin has also been recognized for her work in not-for-profit corporate governance. She was a recipient of the Lawyers Alliance for New York’s 2021 Individual Cornerstone Award in recognition of her exceptional pro bono legal services to the nonprofit sector.

At Weil, Kaitlin serves as a Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee and is the head of Washington DC’s Women@Weil affinity group. Kaitlin was previously a member of the Weil’s Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions practice in New York and worked on a variety of public and private company transactions, as well as with private equity funds, in connection with acquisitions and divestitures. Prior to joining Weil, Kaitlin was a corporate public and media relations manager at Weber Shandwick where she managed media relations strategies for a broad range of companies and special situations, including leadership transitions and general media visibility for CEOs and other senior leaders.

Brian M. Myers

Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

Catalina Santos Parkinson advises clients on a variety of corporate and securities matters, including securities offerings, securities law compliance, and public company advisory and corporate governance.

Catalina leverages her extensive experience on a broad range of securities transactions to help clients navigate the critical business and drafting issues that arise in the course of an offering.

As part of her public company advisory practice, Catalina helps clients work through the various challenges presented by rapidly evolving SEC reporting obligations and corporate governance practices.

Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, Catalina worked as an associate at another leading national firm where she worked on banking, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. While in law school, Catalina worked in the University of Chicago's Corporate Lab. Before law school, Catalina earned a B.A. in Government from Harvard University, where she remains actively involved as a volunteer interviewer for college applicants.

Catalina Santos Parkinson

Hogan Lovells US LLP

Brian M. Myers leads the Governance Team in North America and is a Director in WTW’s Executive Compensation & Board Advisory practice. Brian joined the firm in February of 2011, and is based in Arlington, VA.

In his role, Brian specializes in Governance areas such as proxy/CD&A disclosure, proxy advisory firm policies (focusing on equity incentive plan modeling and say-on-pay proposals), and shareholder engagement. He also works with clients on executive compensation programs in areas including competitive pay analyses, competitive peer group review, base pay design, annual and long-term incentive design, and pay-for-performance analyses.

Brian joined Willis Towers Watson directly from his role as a Senior Advisor in the ISS Corporate Services group. There, Brian provided consultancy services to corporate clients seeking to structure new or existing equity incentive plans, and to realize best practices in corporate governance through benchmarking and analytical tools. Brian joined ISS in 2006 as a Research Analyst in the US Research Group, where he built and maintained an advanced understanding of ISS policy guidelines and corresponding corporate governance issues.

Brian holds a BS/BA in Business Pre-Law and Political Science from Bowling Green State University, and completed a Congressional Internship under Congressman Michael G. Oxley, 4th - OH District.

Mr. Reich is Senior Vice President and General Counsel of New Jersey Resources (NJR), a diversified energy services company, whose principal businesses are the distribution of natural gas through a regulated utility and investing in and operating clean energy projects and natural gas storage and transportation assets.

He is responsible for developing and directing the corporate legal function and overseeing corporate compliance. From January 2016 to June 2022, Rich served as Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel of NJR, with responsibilities that included overseeing corporate governance, securities law matters, executive compensation and other transactional matters.

Mr. Reich serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Legal Committee of the American Gas Association, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Corporate Governance.

Prior to joining NJR, Rich worked as an associate at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP and, before then, as an associate at Troutman Sanders LLP, where he practiced in the areas of finance, securities and general corporate law. He is a graduate of New York University and the New York University School of Law.

Richard Reich

New Jersey Resources

Jessica P. Lange

Bodman PLC

Anthony Robinson

Brown & Brown, Inc.

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.

Mac Ryerse is Senior Director, ESG and Compliance, and Assistant Corporate Secretary at NOG, Inc. (NYSE: NOG), where he leads and coordinates NOG’s ESG, compliance, philanthropic, and corporate governance activities. NOG is the largest, publicly traded, non-operated, upstream energy asset owner in the U.S.

Prior to joining NOG in 2024, Mr. Ryerse was Global Head of Stewardship and Senior Portfolio Manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments (Ameriprise Financial, NYSE: AMP) over a 12-year span where he built the US-based ESG research, engagement and proxy voting teams. Previously, Mr. Ryerse was Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer at Potlatch Corporation (NYSE: PCH) for seven years, with additional responsibility for corporate strategic planning and investor relations.

He holds an MBA from Bethel University, a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Gustavus Adolphus College. Mr. Ryerse has also served on the graduate school faulty at Bethel University where he taught corporate finance.

Anthony Robinson serves as Corporate Secretary of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO), a global insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he has responsibility for corporate governance, securities and other corporate law matters. He joined Brown & Brown in 2011 and was previously an associate attorney with Holland & Knight LLP in Tampa, Florida, where he was a member of the Public Companies and Securities practice group. Mr. Robinson earned a JD from Stetson University College of Law, an MBA from Stetson University, and a BSBA from the University of Richmond.

Mac Ryerse

Northern Oil and Gas

Jason Alvarado serves as Senior Counsel for bp’s US Company Secretary’s Office. He advises the boards of bp’s key U.S. subsidiaries on corporate governance, fiduciary duties, and regulatory compliance. He also supports governance of bp’s M&A, real estate, and treasury activities, and maintains the company’s templates and knowledge governance resources. In his spare time, Jason enjoys farmers markets, discovering new coffee spots, traveling, and spending time with his family—especially his three nieces and nephew.

Jason Alvarado

Company Secretary’s Office

Mike Ben is the leader of Honigman’s Public Company, Securities and Governance Practice Group. He primarily partners with in-house legal, C-suite executives and Board of Directors of numerous publicly traded companies headquartered across the U.S. In his issuer-only practice, Mike serves as a strategic advisor and problem solver that provides practical and tailored advice on a wide spectrum of matters. He serves clients across a wide range of market capitalizations and has a broad range of industry experience, including manufacturing, retail/consumer products, automotive, technology, retail REITs, media and entertainment, and healthcare.

Mike has an integral role in SEC reporting, Board and Board committees, governance, proxy reporting and strategy, executive and director compensation, ESG / sustainability, capital markets and securities. He has a deep knowledge of best and reasonable practices regarding Exchange Act reporting, corporate governance and compensation matters, investor engagement as well as securities laws generally. In four of the last six years, he was the lead drafter of proxy statements selected as a finalist for Governance Intelligence’s national award for Best Proxy Statement (Winner: 2020 – small cap; Finalist: 2022 – mid-cap, 2024 – small-cap, 2025 – small-cap). Mike further counsels private companies in preparation for initial public offerings, and implementing certain governance, compensation and general compliance practices of publicly traded companies. He also regularly advises public and private clients on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, financing, commercial contracts, compliance and general strategic and operational matters.

Mike serves as an informal mentor to numerous in-house attorneys, financial reporting accountants and Board directors, including through basic and advanced training.

Michael S. Ben

Honigman LLP

Stephanie Bignon is Associate General Counsel and Deputy Corporate Secretary at The Home Depot. Stephanie’s practice has focused on advising companies and their board of directors on securities, finance, corporate governance, sustainability and executive compensation matters, as well as oversight and execution of complex M&A and investment transactions. Prior to joining The Home Depot in October 2024, Stephanie was Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at WestRock Company. Stephanie previously was an assistant general counsel at Delta Air Lines, a partner in the corporate practice at Covington & Burling LLP, and a law clerk for The Honorable Deborah J. Chasanow, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland. Stephanie is a certified public accountant and worked as a public company auditor at Grant Thornton LLP and a financial analyst at Delta Air Lines prior to law school.

She current serves as the President of the Southeastern Chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance, the Secretary of the Policy Advisory Committee of the Society for Corporate Governance, and the Development Committee Chair for Odyssey Atlanta, a non-profit organization offering a transformational academic experience designed to prepare, inspire, and support metro Atlanta students to succeed through college.

Ms. Holmes is co-chair of the firm’s Capital Markets practice group and a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation & Corporate Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions, ESG, and Energy & Infrastructure practice groups. Hillary serves as co-partner-in-charge of the Houston office and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Ms. Holmes advises corporations, investment banks and institutional investors on long-term and strategic capital raising. She counsels boards of directors, special committees and financial advisors in M&A transactions, take privates and complex situations. She also regularly advises companies on securities laws, corporate governance and ESG issues. Hillary brings a deep expertise in the energy industry.

Clients turn to Hillary to find solutions to get deals done or manage risk, and she is recognized for her innovation, collaboration and technical skill. Chambers Global repeatedly ranks Hillary in the top tier for both energy capital markets and energy transactions, and as a premier lawyer for corporate counseling. Law360 has twice selected her as an Energy MVP nationwide; Hart Energy named her one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Energy; The National Law Journal recognized her as a Capital Markets Trailblazer; LawDragon 500 identifies her as a Leading Dealmaker in the US; Texas Lawyer named her a Most Effective Dealmaker and the Leading Woman in Energy; the Houston Business Journal named her a leading businesswoman; and her peers selected her as Houston Corporate Lawyer of the Year through Best Lawyers.

Clients note Hillary is “extremely talented and has excellent judgment,” “highly effective in negotiating for her clients,” and is a “phenomenal lawyer who is very engaged.” Clients and peers note she impresses by being “the best capital markets lawyer I have ever worked with,” “an extremely hard worker,” an “incredibly strong and practical lawyer who offers great client service,” “remarkably dedicated” and “incredibly knowledgeable.” They also attest that “she really listens to her clients and brings her vast experience to the table,” “her analytical skills are of the highest quality” and “very thoughtful and very thorough practitioner.” Ms. Holmes is co-chair of the firm’s Capital Markets practice group and a member of the firm’s Securities Regulation & Corporate Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions, ESG, and Energy & Infrastructure practice groups. Hillary serves as co-partner-in-charge of the Houston office and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Stephanie W. Bignon

The Home Depot

Charles Neidenbach

Nasdaq

Hillary H. Holmes

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Charles Neidenbach is a Director of Board Advisory at Nasdaq. In this role, Charles advises boards and management teams on emerging governance themes and conducts annual board evaluations. Charles brings a holistic approach to corporate governance through deep expertise in sustainability and ESG strategy.

Prior to joining the Board Advisory team, Charles was a Lead ESG Advisor, also at Nasdaq, where he advised boards and management teams on ESG strategy, program implementation, and reporting. Charles has held several in-house sustainability roles, including at Office Depot and UPS, and has advised both private and public organizations globally.

Paul Sharobeem is Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Century Aluminum Company, a role he has held since 2022. In his current role, Paul oversees all of Century’s transactional and corporate governance related legal support including advising the company’s senior management and Board of Directors on legal and governance related matters, as well as direct support of Century’s securities, capital markets, corporate finance, executive compensation, M&A, commercial and sustainability functions. Paul also leads Century’s annual shareholder outreach and engagement program. Over his nearly two-decade long career, Paul has developed a successful record of leading cross-border teams and has held roles of increasing responsibility to include oversight of additional responsibilities including compliance, commercial litigation, and legal operations.

Prior to his current role, Paul was Senior Governance Counsel at Aramco, one of the largest energy companies in the world, helping to prepare its Board policies, processes and procedures leading up to Aramco’s IPO, and then manage the Governance function immediately post IPO, which remains the largest ever. Prior to that, Paul served as Senior Corporate Counsel at Caterpillar, Inc., a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, and prior to that, represented several multi-national corporations as outside counsel at a global law firm. Paul holds an undergraduate degree from New York University and two graduate degrees, including a juris doctor, from the University of Florida.

J.T. Ho

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Paul Sharobeem

Century Aluminum

Justin “J.T.” Ho is a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. His practice is focused on helping public companies and their boards navigate complex and challenging corporate governance, securities reporting, shareholder activism, crisis communication, and executive compensation issues through collaborating on practical, innovative, business-oriented solutions. J.T. is the host of two podcasts, J.T.’s Fast Five, which focuses on the five things public companies need to know each month, and Understanding Activism, where he interviews both issuer and activist advisors. J.T. is recognized nationally for his work in corporate governance by Chambers and Partners.

Eric T. Juergens

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Eric T. Juergens is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Capital Markets, Public Company Advisory, Insurance and Private Equity Groups. His practice focuses on securities laws, representations of issuers and financial intermediaries in capital markets transactions, and providing public companies with advice on corporate governance matters and compliance with SEC and stock exchange rules and regulations.

Mr. Juergens is ranked a leading lawyer by Chambers USA (2025), where clients describe him as “highly skilled attorney who instills confidence in his clients and delivers work product to the highest standards” who “provides excellent service.” He is also ranked as a Rising Star Partner by IFLR1000 (2025) and recommended by The Legal 500 US (2025). Mr. Juergens is currently the Vice-Chair of the Securities Law Opinions subcommittee of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the American Bar Association and was a member of the Law360 Capital Markets Editorial Advisory Board. Mr. Juergens was selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow for the Class of 2025 by the Partnership for New York City.

Mr. Juergens is a frequent author and speaker on legal developments affecting public companies, the capital markets and insurance industries. His recent publications include “Early Trends In Proxy Exclusion After SEC Relaxes Guidance,” Law360 (June, 2025); “AI Can Draft Board Minutes—But Should It? Considerations for Public Companies,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (June, 2025); “Choppy Waters: Navigating Board Diversity amid Changing DEI Sentiment,” Agenda (March, 2025); “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC Accommodations for Draft Registration Statements,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (March, 2025); “Proxy Advisors and Institutional Shareholders Revise Voting Guidelines on Board Diversity,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (March, 2025); “Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025,” Law360 (January, 2025); “Activists Target Insurance Industry?,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (January, 2025); “Key Considerations for the 2025 Proxy Season,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (January, 2025); “5th Circ.'s Nasdaq Ruling Another Piece In DEI Policy Puzzle,” Law360 (January, 2025); “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Key Considerations for the 2024 Annual Reporting Season,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (November, 2024); “Debevoise & Plimpton Reviews 2024 Proxy Season,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (October, 2024); “2024 Proxy Roundup: ESG Metrics in Incentive Compensation Plans,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (August, 2024); “SEC Charges Now Suspended Auditor BF Borgers with Massive Fraud Affecting More Than 1,500 SEC Filings,” Insights - The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor (July, 2024); “SEC Issues Long-Awaited Climate-Related Disclosure Rule,” NYU PCCE (March, 2024); “How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers,” Law360 (November, 2023); “Debevoise Discusses Fifth Circuit Decision on Fixing Share Repurchase Rules,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (November, 2023); “SEC Adopts Share Repurchase Disclosure Rules,” Compliance & Enforcement (May, 2023); “Debevoise Discusses Super Voting Preferred Stock,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (April, 2023); “Thoughts on financing and capital solutions for insurance companies,” Westlaw (October, 2022); “Debevoise Discusses Shareholder Climate Activism and 401(k) Plans,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (June, 2022); “The Financing Flexibility of P-Caps” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (Spring, 2022); “Insurance Investments: Key Considerations for Investors in the United States, Europe and Asia,” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (Spring, 2021); and “Debt Tender and Exchange Offers: The Basics,” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (Fall, 2019).

Mr. Juergens joined Debevoise in 2011. Mr. Juergens received a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law summa cum laude in 2011, where he served as a senior articles editor of the St. John’s Law Review and received the Dean Mary C. Daly Memorial Prize and the Joseph Kerzner Prize (Valedictorian). He received an Honors Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude from the University of Delaware in 2008.

Dana Pierre-Louis is Managing Counsel, Securities, Governance and Acquisitions at Oracle Corporation, where she serves in the Office of the Corporate Secretary and is responsible for all legal affairs related to the Board of Directors, corporate governance, SEC disclosures, executive compensation, shareholder engagement, and corporate finance. Most recently, Dana served as Deputy General Counsel - Corporate at Norfolk Southern Corporation, where she oversaw SEC disclosures on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, and Form 8-K, the executive compensation program, the annual proxy statement, and all aspects of corporate governance. Prior to Norfolk Southern Corporation, Dana served as Assistant General Counsel at TriMas Corporation, where she reported directly to the CEO, General Counsel, and Chairman of the Board in her oversight of the Office of the Corporate Secretary and all governance, executive compensation, and securities matters. Dana was responsible for presenting to the Board of Directors, Audit Committee, and Governance Committee. In addition, Dana served as head of the company’s global privacy program as well as the global ethics and compliance program. Prior to TriMas Corporation, Dana served as Expert Attorney – Securities, Governance, and Finance at DTE Energy Company and advised the Board and C-level executives on matters related to corporate governance, SEC disclosure, annual proxy statements, capital markets, and syndicated bank financings. She also provided direct support to the Corporate Secretary, taking minutes, drafting Board presentations, Board and subsidiary resolutions and consents, and all corporate governance policies.

Dana Pierre-Louis

Oracle

Dane Allen

Lee Health System, Inc.

Bryan K. Brown

Jones Day

Ken Bertsch is Corporate Governance Specialist with Broadridge Financial, which he joined early in 2025 after a period of consulting for Broadridge and others. He served as executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors from 2016 to 2020 and as President and CEO of the Society for Corporate Governance from 2010 to 2014. He currently chairs the Hawlemont (Massachusetts) Regional School District School Committee; is President of Mohawk Trail Concerts; and is Treasurer of the Charlemont Federated Church. From 2020 to 2024, he was a senior advisor to Legion Partners Asset Management. He has been a partner at CamberView Partners; head of corporate governance at Morgan Stanley Investment Management; managing director for corporate governance analysis at Moody's Investors Service; director of governance engagement at TIAA-CREF; and in various roles at the Investor Responsibility Research Center. He holds a JD from Fordham University School of Law (2004) and an undergraduate degree from Williams College (1978).

Zally Ahmadi

DF King

Mr. Dane Allen currently serves as Vice Chair of the Governance Committee for the Board of Directors of Lee Health System, Inc., a private non-profit healthcare system serving Southwest Florida with over $4 billion in annual revenue. Mr. Allen was publicly elected as a director in November 2022 prior to the completion of a conversion from a public district entity to a private non-profit in November 2024. He has 30+ years of legal experience, primarily in an in-house role, with an increasing focus on corporate governance matters including corporate secretary leadership roles at The Hertz Corporation, QEP Resources and Integrys Energy Group. Mr. Allen served as a member of the Board for the Society of Corporate Governance from 2019 to 2023, where he also served as Chair of the Educational Programming Committee from 2020 to 2023. Mr. Allen is a member of the bar in the state of Wisconsin. Mr. Allen received both his B.B.A. degree with majors in Accounting and Finance and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to earning his law degree, Mr. Allen was a certified public accountant with Ernst and Young.

Bryan Brown represents issuers, underwriters, and investors in connection with U.S. and global capital markets transactions. He has experience in public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities, including initial public offerings, follow-on secondary public offerings, investment-grade and Rule 144A debt offerings, and venture capital financings. He also counsels clients and their board of directors on securities compliance and public disclosure obligations under the Securities Exchange Act, exchange listing requirements, stockholder activism, proxy fights and preparedness, and other corporate governance matters. He is a frequent speaker and author on governance issues and is active in the corporate governance community. In addition, Bryan advises clients on mergers and other acquisition transactions, including negotiated acquisition and dispositions, controlled auctions, exchange offers, tender offers, and related financing transactions.

Ken Bertsch

Broadridge Financial

Zally Ahmadi serves as Managing Director, Corporate Governance, ESG & Executive Compensation for D.F. King. In her role, Zally oversees the strategic advisory team; she advises clients on topics such as institutional investor/proxy advisory firm voting policies and investor outreach strategy, best practice and trends regarding corporate governance, environmental & social program structure and disclosure, and both quantitative and qualitative aspects of executive compensation programs. Zally also oversees D.F. King's thought leadership program, which covers evolving trends and best practices in proxy and corporate governance.

Prior to joining D.F. King, Zally managed the North American Research department at Glass Lewis & Co., where she led research teams responsible for analyzing and engaging with over 6,500 North American companies, played a key role in the development of voting policy guidelines and led hundreds of engagement sessions with companies and institutional investors.

Avi Gesser

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Avi Gesser is Co-Chair of Debevoise & Plimpton’s Data Strategy & Security Group and leads the firm’s Artificial Intelligence practice. His practice focuses on advising major companies on a wide range of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and privacy matters. Mr. Gesser currently serves as AI counsel for approximately 150 clients, including many of the world’s leading asset managers and broker-dealers, several major insurers, global consulting firms, and other market leaders. He regularly advises boards and senior executives on AI governance, oversight, and risk mitigation.

Under his leadership, Debevoise has become recognized as one of the market’s leading AI legal teams. Chambers USA ranks him Band 1 for Artificial Intelligence and notes that he and the firm are “unmatched in their knowledge of AI, both technically and as a matter of risk evaluation and governance.” Chambers also reported that “[the Group’s] approach is practical and actionable… There is no matter too complex or too sophisticated for this team.”

Mr. Gesser is the creator of the firm’s pioneering Suite of Tools for Assessing AI Risk (“STAAR”), a subscription-based framework that helps clients evaluate and manage the evolving legal and regulatory risks associated with the development and deployment of AI. STAAR brings together a comprehensive collection of practical tools—including a vetted use-case library, policy templates, and regulatory trackers—and has been profiled by Law.com (“Debevoise & Plimpton Is Building a New Model for Delivering AI Adoption Advice”) and Law360 (“Debevoise Builds Tool to Help In-House Attys Assess AI Risk”). In October 2025, STAAR was shortlisted for the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers North America Awards in the “Innovation in New Legal Products” category.

Danielle Herrick is counsel in White & Case’s US Public Company Advisory Group. Ms. Herrick focuses on legal and regulatory developments, trending governance topics, disclosure-related issues and AI and ESG-related developments that impact public companies. She presents to various groups and authors thought leadership and client alerts on these topics. She also maintains and develops the practice's knowledge resources, internal and external training materials, benchmarking surveys and other resources. [Prior to her current position, Ms. Herrick was an attorney at Dewey Ballantine LLP and Hunton & Williams LLP, where her practice focused on securities and capital markets transactions and company-side representations in the energy space, including SEC filings, debt and equity issuances, tax-exempt financings, unregistered offerings and corporate governance matters.

Danielle Herrick

White & Case LLP

JoAnn Stonier

Cantellus Group

Amelia Zhang

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

JoAnn C. Stonier serves as President at Cantellus Group, a technology-forward consulting organization, where she focuses on Data, AI and Privacy, having previously served as Mastercard’s Chief Data Officer and Chief Privacy Officer and as a Fellow of Data & AI. She is a recognized global data strategist with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, data governance, data science, and privacy as well as in the development of data services and platforms, all created with an emphasis on responsible data design. A lawyer and privacy professional, she also keeps pace with the changing data and AI regulatory landscape with an eye toward practical implementation solutions. She has advised industry executives, governments and NGOs on both commercial and non-profit solutions.

As a recognized expert, JoAnn has also led global efforts on data and AI including co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future’s Councils on Data Policy and on Data Equity; chair of the USCIB Data policy group, and member of the United Nations Expert Group on Governance and Artificial Intelligence. Ms. Stonier is a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University where she teaches in several of their Data and AI professional programs, and is an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute, where she teaches in their Design Management Master’s program. She also acts as a board and strategic advisor to several institutions including: Omnicom Group, MoBagel, Keebo, Lytical Ventures, EqualAI, Elementum and the Institute for Advertising Ethics.

Amelia X. Zhang is a corporate and securities law partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, an international law firm. Her practice focuses on securities offerings, securities reporting, public and private M&A, international transactions and corporate governance including board advisory. Amelia also has an area of focus on corporate law, risk governance and disclosures related to AI, cybersecurity and transformative technology.

Clients value Amelia's technical expertise and practical advice with commercial sense. Having previously served as the managing counsel for M&A & Securities and Assistant Corporate Secretary for a NYSE-listed company, Amelia understands clients' business needs and shapes her services to achieve the business goal. Amelia has been recognized by Legal 500 as Recommended Lawyer for M&A, and by Best Lawyers in America for her exceptional work in Corporate Governance, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Securities /Capital Markets.

Amelia serves on the board of Houston Ballet, Asia Society Texas Center, Society of Corporate Governance and PDAP (Palmer Drug Abuse Program). She is a member of the State Bars of Texas and New York.

Nicolas Leroux

Odyssey by Kalexius

Edward Greene

Georgeson LLC

Nicolas Leroux is the CEO of Odyssey by Kalexius, part of the Kalexius Group, a leading provider of alternative legal services based in Switzerland and the United States. Prior to founding the Kalexius Group in 2012, Nicolas worked in private practice in the field of public international law and arbitration. He is a member of the Geneva Bar and holds a PhD in international law.

Nikki Holmes

PWC

Nikki Holmes is a Senior Manager in PwC’s U.S. Entity Governance & Compliance practice, based in New York City, where she contributes to shaping the firm’s strategy for legal entity governance. A UK-qualified governance professional with over a decade of international experience, she has advised multinational clients across the U.S., Europe, and APAC on entity lifecycle management, board support, cross-border compliance, corporate changes, and global governance programmes. She brings deep cross-border insight and expertise in modernising governance processes, enhancing oversight, and navigating diverse jurisdictional requirements. She has also worked extensively with legal entity management databases to strengthen data integrity, reporting, and compliance across complex multinational structures.

Carlos Ramos

Athennian

Edward Greene is a proxy solicitation and corporate governance expert with over a decade of experience guiding issuers through complex solicitation campaigns and supporting clients with the shareholder data, trends and analytics that allow them to deploy smarter, more informed, and more effective proxy strategies.

He has been in over five hundred proxy solicitation campaigns and has led clients to successful involvedoutcomes on agenda items ranging from executive compensation and corporate governance to M&A and shareholder activism. He provides year-round corporate governance advisory and shareholder engagement services to companies across the Russell 3000.

Edward is also a member of Georgeson’s Activism and M&A teams. He has been a featured speaker for IR Magazine and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) webinars and published content or provided commentary for publications including IR Magazine, The Deal, Agenda, Deal Lawyers, and Corporate Secretary, among others. For the past three years, he has been a guest speaker at the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Shareholder Activism course and for the Practicing Law Institute’s Understanding the Securities Laws program.

Prior to joining Georgeson, Edward oversaw the Kingsdale U.S. research team as Vice President, Research. He also previously served as VP, Governance at AST Phoenix Advisors and VP, Proxy Services at Laurel Hill Advisory Group.

Edward holds the IFRS/SASB FSA Credential and the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing and is an active member of the Society for Corporate Governance, NIRI, and the Council of Institutional Investors (CII).

As Vice President of Revenue at Athennian, Carlos Ramos leads strategic initiatives to drive new business and optimize customer growth, satisfaction and operational efficiency. With extensive experience scaling high-growth SaaS companies, he has led customer success, onboarding and support teams at GoodTime.io, Nowsta and Rock Content through periods of significant expansion. Carlos works closely with executive teams to align operations, product development and revenue strategies, with expertise spanning scalable processes for product adoption, retention, and expansion. Carlos is based in Fort Lauderdale.

Melisa Brower

A&O Sherman

Melisa advises clients on a wide variety of executive compensation and human capital matters in the context of complex corporate transactions, individual representations, securities law compliance and corporate governance.

She advises global employers and individual executives on all aspects of U.S. employment, compensation and benefits, including on the design and implementation of employment arrangements, equity and cash-based incentive compensation plans and retention. She has a particular emphasis on advising domestic and non-U.S. issuers on initial public offerings and ongoing regulatory and listing requirements relating to compensation and human capital management disclosure and Section 13 and Section 16 compliance. She also advises boards and board committees on corporate governance matters.

Melisa is actively engaged in a variety of pro bono representations, including providing advice to various not-for-profit arts and education organizations.

Jacob Bernstein

Booz Allen

Jacob Bernstein is Booz Allen’s secretary and a deputy general counsel leading the corporate team within the legal department. He supports the Board of Directors and advises the firm’s senior leadership on matters related to Booz Allen’s status as a public company. As a strategic counselor to senior leadership and the Board, Jacob works to enable positive business outcomes across disciplines.

Jacob and his multidisciplinary team of experts are key liaisons to the Board of Directors as its members discharge their fiduciary duties. They also serve as trusted firm advisors on corporate finance and capital allocation, SEC disclosure, enterprise responsibility & sustainability strategy and reporting, stockholder engagement, intellectual property, real estate, management of global entities, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. Jacob and his team also provide broad support for our commercial business.

Before joining Booz Allen, Jacob practiced corporate law with law firms Latham & Watkins LLP and Morrison & Foerster LLP. He serves on the Board of the Society for Corporate Governance and as Treasurer of the Society’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter, and is a frequent speaker on corporate law topics. Jacob received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He has a B.A. in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Accomplished 30+ year corporate executive, Board Director, published author, presenter, angel investor and successful CEO entrepreneur. Built and led global investor relations (IR), governance engagement and corporate responsibility (ESG) programs for Fortune 500 public companies such as Cardinal Health, as well as numerous smaller public and private companies. Extensive expertise in risk assessment and governance as well as capital market strategy and execution for complex IPOs, spin-offs, divestitures and acquisitions. As a confidante to Directors and C-suite, partnered to facilitate leadership transition and manage crises, including shareholder activism. Experience living and working abroad.

Deep corporate healthcare experience; consulting experience in aerospace, automotive, building materials, digital commerce and banking, industrial components and real estate. Highly successful at talent identification and leadership development. Reputation for strategic thinking, collaboration and building foundational relationships. Adept at detecting operational gaps and foreseeing business trends, while leading team resolution and goal execution. Extensive network that brings significant value to Boards, executive teams, colleagues and clients.

Sally Curley

Curley Global IR, LLC

Tiffany D. Wooley is a special counsel in Sullivan & Cromwell’s General Practice Group and a member of the Firm’s Executive Compensation Group in New York. She has broad experience advising on a range of corporate governance, securities, executive compensation and employee benefits matters. Tiffany’s practice involves executive compensation and corporate governance aspects of public company disclosure, executive compensation aspects of corporate transactions, and general executive compensation advice to corporate clients as well as senior executives.

Tiffany worked for Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) from 2004 to 2021, most recently serving as Chief Counsel for Executive Compensation & Governance and Assistant Corporate Secretary, where she worked with the Board of Directors and served as the secretary to the Compensation Committee and the Directors & Governance Committee. Prior to joining Marsh McLennan, Tiffany was an associate at S&C in the Executive Compensation and M&A Groups.

Tiffany was inducted into the Corporate Governance Awards Hall of Fame in 2023, named 2017 Governance Professional of the Year and her team was recognized as the 2020 Best Global Entity Management by Governance Intelligence (formerly Corporate Secretary). She regularly participates in conferences and contributes to thought leadership in the executive compensation and governance space, including serving as a panelist for the Society for Corporate Governance’s Essentials conference in 2020, 2021 and 2025.

Tiffany D. Wooley

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Paul Washington

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.

Jennifer Woods

Frontdoor, Inc.

Ms. Woods is Vice President, Associate General Counsel-Corporate & Securities and Assistant Secretary at Frontdoor, Inc., a tech-enabled and people driven platform for home services, and the largest provider of home service plans in the U.S. Her responsibilities include a broad range of corporate governance, securities and finance, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, real estate and commercial law matters, as well as the company's ESG initiatives. Ms. Woods was previously Senior Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Governance & Commercial and Assistant Secretary at Monsanto Company and Bayer US.

Karen is a globally recognized expert in practical governance strategies for AI and frontier technologies. As CEO and Founder of Cantellus Group, she advises Fortune 50 companies, startups, consortia, and public agencies on AI strategy, risk management and readiness for successful adoption. Her expertise is informed by more than 20 years of practice and leadership at Latham & Watkins, LLP where she advised global businesses in complex antitrust matters, M&A, governance, and crisis management - bringing deep expertise at the intersection of policy, technology and business.

Karen serves on the ABA Task Force on the Law and Artificial Intelligence and serves on the boards of AIEDU and Not For Sale. She was formerly a World Economic Forum Global Innovator, member of their Experts Network and an SME to the Business Roundtable. Karen is a frequent speaker and author, shaping the discourse on AI, technology and corporate governance. 

Hasib Nasirullah

Sodali & Co.

Hasib Nasirullah is a managing director at Sodali & Co, where he leads in the Global Sustainability Practice in conjunction with Emily Wei.

In his role, Hasib jointly oversees a team of nearly 40 colleagues across the globe to deliver timely insights and key support to clients through a full suite of sustainability products and services covering three main client needs:

Regulatory resilience: Balancing evolving regulatory requirements on sustainability with reputational risks to meet compliance needs while keeping key market (i.e., investor and customer) expectations front and center
Digital transformation: Meeting complex sustainability reporting and data demands through efficiently architected data process and controls that foster the data confidence needed to enable real-time insights and decision making.
Climate transition planning: Building credible, data-driven, and pragmatic decarbonization roadmaps that help companies maintain resilience in a shifting economy and secure long-term value.

Hasib has worked with both private and public companies across a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, technology, automotive, logistics, and financial services. He advises on a wide variety of sustainability and strategic issues, from getting buy-in from Board members and C-suite officers to restructuring sustainability strategy and disclosure in the context of mergers & acquisitions and transforming sustainability programs in the face of ESG regulation, such as the EU’s CSRD, ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2, and California’s SB-253 and SB-261. He approaches this work by bringing the right stakeholders to the table to help clients integrate sustainability from the top down into their business strategies to drive long-term value creation.

Hasib graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science and from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business with an M.B.A., specializing in Corporate Social Responsibility & Global Business. He is based out of New York City.

Karen Silverman

Cantellus Group

Kerry T. Wenzel

Alston & Bird

Kerry’s practice focuses on executive compensation and corporate governance aspects of public company disclosure and general executive compensation advice for both public and private companies. Her client base is comprised of companies of private and public companies of varying sizes, market capitalizations and industries, giving her a wide breadth of expertise.

Melinda Anderson

White & Case

Melinda is Counsel in White & Case's Capital Markets Group in New York and a member of the Firm's Public Company Advisory Group. Melinda's practice focuses on ongoing compliance obligations under the US securities laws, the requirements of the major US stock exchanges, and corporate governance matters, including environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Prior to joining White & Case, Melinda served as Senior Corporate Counsel at a leading technology company for over five years, where she was responsible for a broad range of securities law compliance and public reporting matters, including current and periodic reports, proxy statements, annual meetings, board and committee matters, corporate governance matters, public offerings, Section 13 and Section 16 reporting, insider trading policy matters, and equity compensation disclosure and compliance. Prior to going in-house, Melinda practiced in the Palo Alto and New York offices of a leading global law firm, where she advised clients on corporate governance, securities, public and private offerings, and M&A transactions, for over a decade.

Mary Brodd

Public and Tax Exempt Entities

Bio is pending 

Paul Jindra

Ascot Group

Bio is pending.

Natalia Weaver

Joele Frank

Natalia Weaver leads Governance and Corporate Stewardship Practice at Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, bringing over 20 years of experience in corporate governance, reputation management, corporate responsibility and stewardship. She advises boards and senior executives on high-stakes shareholder engagement, governance and sustainability reporting, board composition and executive compensation.

Prior to joining Joele Frank, Natalia held corporate roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she oversaw sustainability reporting, executive compensation, talent programs and related M&A due diligence. She also managed executive and equity compensation programs at SAIC and led advisory teams at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), guiding public companies on proxy advisory firm policies, institutional voting trends and strategies for addressing complex governance and executive compensation proposals.

Natalia began her career at a strategic communications advisory group that partnered with international law firms on matters including international litigation and market-entry strategies, cross-border financing and commercial dispute resolution.

Natalia holds an MA in International Communications, an MS in Forestry and a BA in Economics.

Julia Lapitskaya

Gibson Dunn

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 and shareholder activism matters, 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 ESG 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.

Geoffrey E. Walter

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.