Directors Forum Conference Speakers

Paula Boggs

Paula Boggs served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Starbucks Corporation from 2002 to Paula Boggs is the founder of Boggs Media, LLC, a business that manages her music, speaking, and other creative business activities. She is a Tedx©Speaker, Writer, Lawyer, Army Veteran, and Musician. She is also a Board Member of numerous organizations.

Paula Boggs served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Starbucks Corporation from 2002 to 2012. In 2009, NASDAQ© named her its top general counsel. Her prior professional experience includes serving as Vice President Legal at Dell Computer Corporation, and as a partner at the law firm of Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP. She also had a 14-year career in public service, including as an Assistant

U.S. Attorney, and in various capacities as an attorney for the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense and the White House Office of Legal Counsel. She served eight years as a Regular Officer in the United States Army, earned Army Airborne wings and a Congressional appointment to the US Naval Academy – among America’s first women to do so.

Paula Boggs is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law.

Since leaving Starbucks, Paula Boggs gives speeches across the United States and beyond, writes essays and music, co-produces albums for, and tours extensively with, Paula Boggs Band. In 2013, President Obama appointed her to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in 2018 she received the Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award and in 2021 Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX) conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws.

Paula Boggs owns several U.S. Copyrights and is a Voting Member and Board Governor of The Recording Academy, Pacific Northwest Chapter.

Her current civic and professional activities include:

Current Boards: Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ, 2015-Present); Seattle Symphony (2017-Present); American Bar Foundation; member, Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University National Advisory Board; YMCA of Greater Seattle, Life Board; Recording Academy, Governor to the Pacific Northwest Chapter Board; Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.

Past Boards:

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (2021); Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (2014-2017); KEXP (Public Radio Station affiliated with University of Washington): Advisory Council & Board (2007-2017), Board Secretary, Co-

Chair Capital Campaign; Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees (1998-2016): Past Chair, Audit & Insurance Committee, Chair, Student Life Committee, member of Executive and Academic Affairs Committees; Co-Chair, JHU Legacy Society; Member, JHU Capital Campaign Executive Committee; Santa Fe University of Art and Design, Business Programs Advisory Board (2016-2017); American Bar Association Board of Governors; American Bar Association House of Delegates; American Red Cross National Board of Governors; Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ); White House Council for Community Solutions; School of Rock LLC; Premera Blue Cross: Chaired, Investment and Compensation Committees; Pinnacle Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ); Seattle Art Museum; Association of Corporate Counsel; Georgetown (TX) Economic Development Commission: Chair, 2001-2002; Georgetown (TX) Public Library Foundation; Vice-Chair 1998-2000, Greater Seattle YMCA; Vice-Chair, Washington State Equal Justice Coalition; Legal Aid for Washington (LAWFUND) Board President 2006-2008.

Other:

Class of 2021 Commencement Speaker, Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX); Class of 2017 Commencement Speaker, St. Philips College (San Antonio, TX); Johns Hopkins University Emerita Trustee (2016-Present); Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute and Carey Business School Dean Search Committee Member; NAACP Life Member; Donor and Creator, The Boggs Fellowship, 1998-Present (given to HBCU graduates or underrepresented persons of color who pursue graduate studies in the physical, biological or engineering sciences at Johns Hopkins University); Loren Miller Bar Association Member; Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Docket Editorial Advisory Board; Lincoln Center Institute 2010 Imagination Award Advisory Panel; Co-Chair, Washington State Campaign for Equal Justice; Mentor, Guiding Lights Weekend; Presidential Classroom for Young Americans, Volunteer Instructor; Chair, Law & Government Cluster, Greater Seattle YMCA Black Achievers Program.

Paula Boggs’ professional honors include:

U.S. Army Infantry Parachute Badge (Airborne, 1980); Defense Meritorious Service Award (1987); Presidential Service Badge (President Ronald Reagan, 1988); U.S. Department of Justice Special Achievement Award (“for sustained superior performance of duty” 1990, 1991); Who’s Who Among Rising Young Americans (1992); Secretary of Defense Award For Excellence (Secretary William Perry, 1994); Selectee, Puget Sound Business Journal‘s “40 Under 40” (1995); Recipient, 1998 Boalt Hall Alumni Association Recent Alumnus Award; 2003 King County Bar Association Pro Bono Firm of the Year, Starbucks Legal Department; ABA 2006 Spirit of Excellence Award; 2006 Sargent Shriver Award for Equal Justice; Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle 2006 “Spirit” Award; 2007 Corporate Counsel Women of Color Diamond Award Honoree; 2008 Asian Bar Association of Washington President’s Award; Honoree, 2008 National Bar Association Wiley A. Branton Award; 2008 Honoree, Council on Legal Education Opportunity 40th Anniversary West/Northwestern Region, Individual Leadership Award; named

NASDAQ’s 2009 Top General Counsel; 2009 Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumnus(a) Award; Honoree, Puget Sound Business Journal 2010 Women of Influence; 2011 Loren Miller Bar Association President’s Award; Designee, 2012 WNBA Seattle Storm Woman of Distinction; Designee, 2013 American Bar Association “Notable Member;” 2013 Song of the Year© Suggested Artist Award, “The Decision” aka “Carnival of Miracles;” Seattle Girls School 2014 Grace Hopper Award for Lifetime Achievement Honoree; Semi-Finalist, 2014 Song of the Year© Award, “Look Straight Ahead;” 2015 The Mission Continues Compass Award; 2015 Lawdragon Hall of Fame; 2016 Upstanding and Financial Times US/UK Executive Power List for Diversity Leadership; 2016 Johns Hopkins University ROTC Hall of Fame Inductee; 2016 Direct Women Sandra Day O’Connor Award; 2016 Semi-Finalist Song of the Year© Award, “Gigging for the Angels;” 2017 Legal Foundation of Washington Goldmark Award; 2018 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Awards Honoree; 2019 Loren Miller Bar Association “Trailblazer” Award; 2020 Minority Corporate Counsel Association Charlotte E. Ray Award; Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Southwestern University (2021); Puget Sound Business Journal 2021 Board Director of the Year; Savoy Magazine 2021 List of Most Influential Black Corporate Board Directors.

Adam Bryant

Adam Bryant joined The ExCo Group, a senior leadership development and executive mentoring firm, as managing director in 2017 after a 30-year career in journalism, including 18 years at The New York Times. In addition to his many roles there as a reporter and editor, he created the weekly “Corner Office” column in 2009, and interviewed 525 CEOs and other leaders over a decade. He has written three books based on the themes that emerged from those interviews, including his latest: “THE CEO TEST: Master the Challenges that Make or Break All Leaders,” published by Harvard Business Review Press. Since joining The ExCo Group, he has started popular interview series on LinkedIn with board directors, CEOs, CHROs and prominent Black leaders, and he writes a monthly column on leadership for Strategy+Business magazine.  Adam also is the senior adviser to the Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership at Columbia University.

Aron Cramer

Aron is recognized globally as a preeminent authority on just and sustainable business. In addition to leading BSR, which has grown substantially throughout his tenure as President and CEO, Aron advises senior executives at BSR’s 300+ member companies and other global businesses and partners on the full spectrum of environmental, social, and governance issues.

Aron joined BSR in 1995 as the founding director of its Business and Human Rights Program. He later opened BSR’s Paris office in 2002, where he worked until becoming President and CEO in 2004. Aron has served on advisory boards to CEOs at AXA, Barrick Gold, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Recruit Holdings, SAP and Shell. He is also a director of the Mean Business Coalition.

Aron speaks frequently at leading business and public forums and is widely quoted in top-tier media, such as the Financial Times, Le Figaro (France), The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Axios, and Politico. He is co-author of the book Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World, which spotlights innovative sustainability strategies that enable business success.

Prior to joining BSR, Aron practiced law in San Francisco and worked as a journalist at ABC News in New York. He holds a BA from Tufts University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Holly J. Gregory

HOLLY J. GREGORY, co-chair of Sidley’s global Corporate Governance practice, and also co-leads its Chambers-recognized ESG team and Crisis Management teams, counsels publicly held, private and not-for-profit corporations on the full range of governance issues, including governance structure and culture, fiduciary duties, risk oversight, conflicts of interest, board and committee structure, board leadership, special committee investigations, CEO transitions, board self-evaluation processes, shareholder activism and initiatives, proxy contests, relationships with shareholders and proxy advisory firms, compliance with legislative, regulatory and listing rule requirements and governance “best practices.” She is frequently called on to advise boards regarding sensitive and unusual matters. While most of the matters she works on are highly confidential, high-profile matters that are in the public record include advising on governance and accountability mechanisms of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to replace U.S. government oversight, and advising the Board of The Pennsylvania State University on governance reforms.

Holly played a key role in drafting the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and has advised the Internal Market Directorate of the European Commission on corporate governance regulation, and the joint OECD/World Bank Global Corporate Governance Forum on governance policy for developing and emerging markets. She also drafted the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Key Agreed Principles of Corporate Governance.

In addition to her legal practice and policy efforts, Holly has lectured extensively on governance topics, including at events in Europe and Asia sponsored by the U.S. State Department, International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), The Conference Board, the NACD, Association of Corporate Counsel, Society for Corporate Governance and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). The author of numerous articles on governance topics, she writes the governance column for Practical Law: The Journal.

Holly is a founding trustee and the current president of The American College of Governance Counsel and is an elected member of The American Law Institute. She served as chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Corporate Governance Committee and currently serves on the ABA Business Law Section Council, and the Section’s governing body. She is also a former co-chair of the ABA’s Delaware Law and Business Forum, and a former appointed member of the Corporate Laws Committee where she served as co-editor of the Corporate Director’s Guidebook (Sixth Edition). She chaired the ABA task force that delivered the Report on the Delineation of Governance Roles & Responsibilities to Congress and the SEC in 2009. She has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and as a member of multiple NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions.

Holly lectures extensively internationally and in the U.S. on governance topics, and she writes the governance column for Practical Law: The Journal. Holly clerked for the Honorable Roger J. Miner, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. A summa cum laude graduate of New York Law School and Executive Editor of its Law Review, Holly served on the Board of Trustees of New York Law School from 2009 through 2011.

Holly is widely recognized for her work, including as: one of the NACD Directorship 100, Directorship Magazine, 2022 and all prior years (16 years total); one of “the best and brightest minds in the legal profession” in Ethisphere’s 2017 and 2015 Attorneys Who Matter; the “Best in Corporate Governance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards 2016 and at the inaugural 2012 Awards; the leading practitioner in corporate governance law in IFLR’s Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law (July 2010); a “Leading Practitioner in Corporate Governance” in the International Who’s Who Legal: M&A and Governance, 2022 and prior years; and a “leading lawyer” in Corporate Governance in The Legal 500 US 2020 and prior years; and a “Thought Leader” in the Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Corporate Governance, 2022 and prior years. She was named in 2018 to The National Law Journal’s list of “White Collar, Regulatory & Compliance Trailblazers” for, among other things, leading the team that counseled the global internet community on a new governance and accountability structure for ICANN for the period to follow U.S. government oversight. Holly received Corporate Secretary’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff

Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff joined JUST Capital on May 31, 2022 as its new Managing Director and Head of Investor Strategies, to oversee the nonprofit’s work in the pensions, investments, and finance industry. In her new role, Cambria will be responsible for advancing JUST’s mission of building a more inclusive form of capitalism by developing and leading JUST’s investor stakeholder and financial markets strategy. She is also responsible for cultivating industry partnerships and initiatives with key market actors, with a focus on the asset owner, asset manager, sustainable and impact investing, and stakeholder communities.

Prior to joining JUST, Cambria was the Corporate Governance Director of the $63 billion UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, the largest non-governmental purchaser of retiree health care benefits in the United States, where she led and executed the Trust’s global liquid markets portfolio corporate governance program and oversaw the Trust’s global proxy voting program. Prior to joining the Trust in 2011, she served as Senior Corporate Governance Analyst for the Office of Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier and an Analyst for the Council of Institutional Investors.

Since 2013, Cambria has also led the Human Capital Management Coalition, a cooperative effort among a group of 36 institutional investors representing over $8 trillion in assets to elevate effective human capital management as a critical driver of long-term shareholder value. She is a recognized leader in corporate governance and sustainable investment, specifically board structure and accountability, executive compensation incentives and alignment, governance risk management and mitigation, shareholder rights, the role of transparency and accountability in ensuring efficacy and efficiency in the capital markets, and the relationship between public policy and value creation.

Cambria was appointed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Advisory Committee in 2019, and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. In 2016, Cambria was named a Rising Star of Corporate Governance by the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. Cambria previously served as an Officer on the Council of Institutional Investors board of directors. She received her A.B. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and her M.A. in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Richard Bennett

Richard A. Bennett is President and CEO of ValueEdge Advisors, a firm he founded in summer 2014 to help institutional investors engage with their portfolio companies. From 2006 he was CEO and then Chairman of GMI Ratings and its predecessor, The Corporate Library, a globally recognized investment research firm specializing in corporate governance and ESG with offices in London, New York, San Diego and Portland, Maine. In August 2014 GMI Ratings was sold to MSCI.

He worked as Director of Corporate Governance for LENS, an institutional activist fund, from 1997 to 2002. He served from 2004 to 2016 as a non-executive director of Trucost, Plc, a U.K.-based firm offering products and services that allow companies, governments and fund managers to better understand their environmental performance. From 2009 to 2014, he served on the Board of Governors of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), and currently serves on the ICGN Nominating Committee. He is an independent director of Biddeford Internet Corporation d/b/a GWI (an ISP and telecom business), Atlantic Trust (Maine) (a fiduciary trust company), and Quoddy Inc. (a footwear brand enterprise).

Mr. Bennett has an extensive background in politics and government service as well as a wide range of private sector experience. A former president of the Maine State Senate, Mr. Bennett served four terms in the Maine Senate and two terms in the state’s House of Representatives. From 2013 to 2017, he was Chairman of the Maine Republican Party and a member of the Republican National Committee. In 2014 he volunteered as a member of the MainePERS ESG Integration Task Force.

Directorship magazine has recognized Mr. Bennett six times in its annual list of the 100 “most influential people in corporate governance and the boardroom.” In December 2010, he was named by Global Proxy Watch as one of the “10 people around the world who had the most impact on corporate governance in the previous year.”

Mr. Bennett was a member of the board of trustees of Hebron Academy from 2010 to 2019. He was a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships from 2005 to 2009. He graduated with honors from Harvard College in 1986 and received his M.B.A. from the University of Southern Maine in 2000.
Mr. Bennett enjoys distance running and has completed 15 marathons and ultramarathons. He and his wife Karen have two adult children and live in Oxford, Maine.

Stephen L. Brown

The National Association of Corporate Directors has named Stephen L. Brown as one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance and the boardroom. He is a globally recognized governance expert, thought leader and trusted advisor to corporate boards and C-suites.  Currently, he is a Senior Advisor at KPMG Board Leadership Center where he advises business leaders on key governance challenges, including shareholder activism and engagement, board composition, ESG risks and strategy.

Formerly, Mr. Brown led TIAA’s (Nuveen) Corporate Governance Group which managed the corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives related to the firm’s over $1 trillion investment portfolio.   Prior to TIAA, Mr. Brown practiced securities law at WilmerHale and Skadden.  At both firms, Mr. Brown represented industrial companies, investment advisers, hedge funds, private equity funds, and mutual fund complexes.  Additionally, he represented Fortune 500 corporations, boards of directors and senior executives in a variety of securities enforcement matters and corporate internal investigations.  Mr. Brown was also the CEO & President of the Society of Corporate Governance and, prior to practicing law, was an associate with Goldman Sachs.

For fifteen years, Mr. Brown has taught corporate governance at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, McDonough School of Business at Georgetown, Yale, and in the Skadden, Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies, Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College of New York.

Mr. Brown’s board service includes serving on the boards of CFES Brilliant Pathways, Association of ESG Professionals, Inc., Englewood, N.J. public schools (elected official), Queens Economic Development Corporation, Minority In-House Counsel Association, and the advisory boards of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at University of Delaware, Bipartisan Policy Center Corporate Governance Advisory Council, Rutgers Law School Center for Corporate Law & Corporate Governance, CEOs for Corporate Purpose, Founding Member, CEO Investor Network, and the Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership at Columbia University.  He is also an NACD Board Leadership Fellow.

Mr. Brown received his B.A. with honors from Yale University and his J.D. from Columbia University Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Olin Law & Economics Junior Fellow.

Ning Chiu

Ning Chiu is a Partner at Davis Polk. She advises companies and their boards of directors on corporate governance, securities regulation and emerging trends. For over 20 years, she has advised companies of all stages and sizes on a range of matters involving their boards, including on matters of director independence, board and committee composition and structure, board policies and practices, board evaluations and succession planning, securities regulation, proxy disclosure, listing standards, stakeholder relations, shareholder proposals, shareholder engagement, shareholder activism in all forms, proxy advisory services and ESG matters.

She counsels clients on emerging trends and developments and responding to evolving best practices. Ning is a frequent speaker and author on governance issues and is active in the corporate governance community.

Her clients include AIG, Charles River Laboratories, Comcast, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Marsh McLennan, Mastercard, McDonald’s, McKesson, S&P Global and Stanley Black & Decker.

Randall L. Clark

Randall L. Clark is senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Sempra Infrastructure.

Most recently, Clark was chief administrative officer and chief human resources officer for Sempra LNG, where he led Sempra LNG’s business services function that includes human resources and organizational development,

technology and cybersecurity, external affairs and communications, supply management, and business transformation.

Clark has served in various leadership and legal capacities at the Sempra family of companies over the last 20 years. Prior to joining Sempra LNG, he was senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Sempra. In that position he was also the company’s chief ethics and compliance officer. Previous to that role, he was chief human resources officer and deputy general counsel for Sempra.

Clark has served as chief administrative officer and chief human resources officer at San Diego Gas & Electric Company and as Sempra’s vice president – human resources services, vice president – compliance and governance, vice president – corporate responsibility, vice president – corporate relations and corporate secretary.

Before joining Sempra, Clark practiced law at Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles and at Cooley Godward in San Diego.

Clark is a member of several bar associations, the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Society for Corporate Governance, the Society for Human Resource Management and World at Work. He also serves as a trustee on the board and as chairman of the La Jolla Playhouse, where he sits on the audit and finance committees, as a trustee on the board of Francis Parker School, where he sits on the board governance and audit committees, and as a board member of The San Diego LGBT Community Center, where he sits on the executive committee and serves as secretary.

Clark graduated summa cum laude and holds a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University, and graduated with honors from Duke University’s School of Law.

Robert J. Jackson Jr.

Robert J. Jackson, Jr. is the Pierrepont Family Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance, and Director of the Program on Corporate Law and Policy at the New York University School of Law. Among other premier publications, his work has been featured in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Law and Economics, and the Harvard Law Review.

He was nominated and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2017 and served in that role until February 2020. Commissioner Jackson was an outspoken advocate for protecting investors, consistently calling for more transparency in capital markets and championing evidence-driven policymaking. Jackson challenged Silicon Valley insiders on dual-class stock that enables intergenerational transfers of control of America’s largest public companies and called competition economics the “forgotten fourth pillar” of the SEC’s mission. Jackson’s Office helped lead the SEC’s unanimous adoption of a pilot to study effects of stock-exchange payments on market dynamics.

Jackson’s research has consistently produced bipartisan legislation to address the gaps created by application of securities law to modern markets. His paper identifying significant insider trading before the announcement of significant corporate developments led to legislation to outlaw that trading. Another study identifying how SEC systems gave high-speed traders an advantage over ordinary investors led to bipartisan demands for a level playing field. And Jackson’s calls for an insider-trading law for the 21st century produced a bipartisan bill to close gaps in existing law.

Prior to his nomination to the Commission, Professor Jackson taught at Columbia Law School, where students honored him with the Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Before that, he served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Treasury Department during the financial crisis and as deputy to Kenneth Feinberg, Treasury’s Special Master on Executive Compensation. Earlier in his career, Professor Jackson practiced law at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and was an investment banker at Bear, Stearns. Jackson holds two undergraduate degrees (one in finance, another in philosophy) from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business, a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and a law degree from the Harvard Law School. He was born in the Bronx, is a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees, and lives in New York with his wife, Bryana.

Gloria Lin

Gloria Lin is a Managing Director in Evercore’s Strategic, Defense and Shareholder Advisory Team.

For over 15 years, she has advised companies and their board of directors on activism defense, hostile takeovers, strategic alternatives, corporate governance and shareholder engagement. Ms. Lin leads the team’s technology and biotech client coverage.

She counsels clients on implementing best-in-class shareholder engagement and defense practices as part of Board and company’s proactive risk management – often times taking an offensive approach to avoiding hostile escalation.

Prior to joining Evercore, Ms. Lin was at Citi in the Mergers and Acquisitions group.  She has successfully defended clients in private and public situations against Ancora, Elliott, JANA, Legion, Sachem Head, Scopia, Starboard, Standard General, ValueAct and Third Point, among others.

Ms. Lin holds a B.S. degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and frequents as a guest lecturer on various finance and M&A related topics.

Katy Motiey

Katy Motiey serves as the Chief Administrative and Sustainability Officer at Extreme. She has over 25 years of global legal and employment law experience encompassing corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, debt restructuring, commercial contract negotiation and licensing, patent and trademark portfolio management, IP litigation, IPO process management, corporate sustainability, as well as real estate, facilities and employment matters.

Motiey has developed a deep understanding of HR matters as a result of her previous in-house positions. She has been a driving force in building Extreme’s Women’s Leadership Council, started in 2018. She is also the corporate sponsor for Extreme’s partnership with the American India Foundation, a non-profit organization that is devoted to accelerating social and economic change in India. Additionally, Motiey spearheaded our deployment of Bloom Energy, which has created significant cost savings and reduced our carbon emissions in California and was at the forefront of adding Social Responsibility to our Corporate Governance charter in fiscal 2020.

Prior to Extreme, Motiey was Corporate Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at Spansion. Prior to that, she was General Counsel & Secretary as well as VP of HR at InvenSense, and General Counsel & Secretary Magellan Navigation & Ashtech, and Maple Optical Systems, as well as being Senior Corporate Counsel at Alta Vista. She began her career as a law clerk to Judge Manuel Real, who was then the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, followed by time as an associate at Skadden, Arps, a New York-based law firm.

Motiey holds a Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.

Craig Mullaney

Craig Mullaney is a Partner at Brunswick Group, an international advisory firm. Craig advises corporate clients on a broad range of critical issues and stakeholder engagement, with a specialist focus on leadership communications and Japan. He is a New York Times bestselling author, Rhodes scholar, decorated Army combat veteran, and trustee of the US-Japan Foundation.

During the Obama Administration, Craig served as a senior advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and at the Pentagon. Previously, Mullaney was on President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign national security team.

Mullaney graduated second in his class from the United States Military Academy.  After completing Army Ranger School, he attended the University of Oxford and earned two master’s degrees, in diplomatic and in economic history.  As an Army infantry officer in the 10th Mountain Division, Mullaney led a platoon in combat along the hostile border between Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Mullaney’s military decorations include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal with “V” device, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, and Parachutist Badge.

Mullaney is the author of the 2009 New York Times bestseller The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education.  He has appeared on CBS, CNBC, BBC World News America, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, and The Daily Show. His writing has been featured in The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and Forbes and his column on leadership communications can be found on LinkedIn.

Craig is a founding advisory board member of With Honor, an adjunct fellow of the Pell Center of International Relations, a member of All Saints Church, and a Scott M. Johnson fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program.  As a public speaker he has addressed audiences and clients ranging from Harvard Business School to J.P. Morgan.

Susan Sandlund

Dr. Susan Sandlund is a managing director and practice leader of Veritas Partners, a Pearl Meyer consulting practice focused on leadership and organization effectiveness. Veritas Partners was acquired by Pearl Meyer in 2020 to expand the firm’s ability to provide human capital management consulting expertise to boards and management teams. 

For more than 30 years, Susan has worked with boards, CEOs, and multiple levels of management on planned organizational changes at public and private companies and not-for-profit entities across numerous industries. As an organization psychologist, her work includes initiating and leading large-scale change to drive new business strategies, culture change, clarifying governance and decision-making, board and executive team effectiveness and coaching, organization design, executive assessment and development, and CEO succession planning processes.

Prior to joining Pearl Meyer, Susan was co-founder and partner of Veritas Partners, a leadership development and organization change consulting firm. Prior to launching Veritas, Susan was a partner with Oliver Wyman, formerly known as Mercer Delta Consulting (MDC) Group, working with CEOs and c-suite leaders on business transformation. She also served on the MDC board of directors. Prior to Mercer-Delta, Susan was a Senior Consultant with the Hay Group where she led leadership development initiatives for a wide array of clients. She served five years as an adjunct full professor at Columbia University and served on the board of trustees of Bon Secours Health System, Inc. (BSHSI) for 10 years, chairing the compensation and human resources committees. She is currently a director and the compensation committee chair for Peckham Industries.

Susan is a frequent speaker at board and industry conferences on the topics of CEO succession, board development and organization change.

Susan is a member of the American Psychological Association and is certified in Hogan Assessments. She received her BA from Marquette University and her PhD from George Washington University.

Duane A. Nelles III

Duane A. Nelles III is Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy at Qualcomm.  In this role Mr. Nelles and his team are responsible for Qualcomm’s mergers and acquisitions, key joint ventures, and divestitures.  Working closely with the business units his team leads the strategic evaluation of potential transactions, negotiations and diligence efforts, and post-merger integration.  Additionally, his team coordinates corporate strategy and market intelligence.

Mr. Nelles joined Qualcomm in 1991 and has held numerous financial and strategy roles at both the business unit and corporate level.

Mr. Nelles is active in the community including serving as a board member for the Qualcomm Foundation.  He earned his bachelor’s and master’s in business administration from Vanderbilt University.

Zach Oleksiuk

Zach Oleksiuk is a managing director in Evercore’s corporate advisory business, specializing in shareholder engagement, corporate governance, environmental, social & governance (ESG) and investor relations.

Mr. Oleksiuk was most recently head of the Americas for BlackRock Investment Stewardship.

Mr. Oleksiuk has over 15 years of experience in corporate governance, including with BlackRock in various roles. He is an active thought leader in the corporate governance community and frequently speaks to audiences of corporate directors and executives, investors, regulators, students and other market participants.

At BlackRock, Mr. Oleksiuk led a team responsible for engagement with companies on corporate governance, activist situations and environmental and social matters, as well as developing and executing proxy voting policies. He also led BlackRock’s participation as a founding signatory to the Investor Stewardship Group and the Framework for U.S. Stewardship and Governance. Prior to BlackRock, Mr. Oleksiuk spent five years with Institutional Shareholder Services in various roles.

He served on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Standing Advisory Group and chaired the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) Corporate Governance Advisory Council. He is a chartered financial analyst and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, where he previously chaired the corporate governance committee.

Mr. Oleksiuk earned an MBA from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s from the Pennsylvania State University.

Frank Partnoy

Before joining Berkeley Law in 2018, Frank Partnoy taught for twenty-one years at the University of San Diego, where he was the George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance and received the Thorsnes Prize for Excellence in Teaching three times. Partnoy has been an international research fellow at Oxford University since 2010, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Sydney and the Rady School of Management. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Financial Economists Roundtable.

Partnoy has written several dozen scholarly publications on topics in business law and financial markets, including in peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Journal of Finance, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Accounting Review, Socio-Economic Review), in chapters of academic press books (e.g.,Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago, Brookings), and in law reviews (e.g., Chicago, Pennsylvania, Georgetown). Partnoy also is co-author of several academic books, including a leading casebook that he assigns for Business Associations.

Partnoy is the author of four trade press books: WAIT, The Match King, Infectious Greed, and F.I.A.S.C.O. He writes regularly for The Atlantic, and has written multiple articles each for The New York Review of Books, Harvard Business Review, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as more than fifty opinion pieces for the print editions of The New York Times and the Financial Times. Partnoy has appeared on numerous media programs, including 60 Minutes and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and has testified as an expert before both houses of Congress. He also has testified as an expert in a range of civil and criminal litigation, including on behalf of the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Before becoming a professor, Partnoy worked as a lawyer at Covington & Burling and as a fixed income derivatives specialist at Morgan Stanley and CS First Boston. He clerked for the Honorable Michael B. Mukasey in the Southern District of New York.

Education

J.D., Yale University (1992)
B.A./B.S., University of Kansas (1989)

David Rosewater

David Rosewater has headed Morgan Stanley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense Group since July 2015. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, David was a Partner in the M&A Group at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and the Co-Head of Schulte Roth’s Global Shareholder Activism Practice. Prior to joining Schulte Roth, David was an Associate at the law firms of Cravath Swaine & Moore and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. David specialized primarily in M&A and shareholder activism during his 20 year career as a lawyer. David was recognized as a leading mergers & acquisitions attorney by The Legal 500 United States and in 2014 as “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer for his work on some of the fiercest shareholder activism campaigns and proxy contests in the market. David received a B.A. from the University of Michigan (with distinction) in 1992 and a J.D. from New York University School of Law (cum laude) in 1995.

David has significant experience in public proxy contests, including Box, Procter & Gamble, ADP, General Motors, QTS Realty, Allergan, The New York Times, Cliffs Natural Resources and CSX Corp. He also has significant experience in takeover defense, including Ryder / HG Vora, Duke Realty / Prologis, Axiall / Westlake, Norfolk Southern / Canadian Pacific and Depomed / Horizon Pharma.

Notable Defense Engagements:

• ADP’s proxy contest vs. Pershing Square
• P&G’s proxy contest vs. Trian
• Box’s proxy contest vs. Starboard
• e.l.f. Beauty’s proxy contest vs. Marathon Partners
• Cincinnati Bell’s and E.W. Scripps proxy contests vs. GAMCO
• Brookdale Senior Living’s proxy contest vs. Land & Buildings
• General Motors’ proxy contest vs. Greenlight
• Other defenses include defenses against Elliott (including Crown Castle, Travelport, and Evergy), Starboard Value (including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Perrigo, Depomed, and Infoblox), Jana Partners (including CyrusOne, Jack In The Box, and Time Inc.), Icahn (including Bausch Health, Cloudera, Cigna, and AIG), Third Point (including United Technologies, and Dow / DuPont), Engaged Capital (including Outerwall and Apogee), Engine Capital (including Adtalem and Care.com) and Ancora (including C.H. Robinson and Forward Air)
• Defenses against numerous occasional activists including HG Vora, Capital Returns, Pentwater Capital, Bluescape Energy Partners, HoldCo Asset Management, Glenview Capital, Appaloosa and Dalton Investments
• Significant experience in high profile hostile defense including Ryder / HG Vora, Duke Realty / Prologis, Sky / Comcast, Unilever / Kraft Heinz, and Axiall / Westlake Chemical

Michael J. Rubio

In March 2022, Michael Rubio became Chevron’s Director of Sustainability.  Michael works closely with Chevron’s senior leadership to develop the company’s strategy on sustainability issues, and his team leads Chevron’s outreach to shareholders and key stakeholders on ESG matters, enterprise climate policy and the company’s decarbonization portfolio. Michael joined Chevron in 2013 as the Manager for State Government Affairs in California, Oregon and Washington.

Prior to joining Chevron, Michael served in the California State Senate and emerged as a leader on issues related to the California Environmental Quality Act.  Previously, Michael served as an elected county supervisor in Kern County (CA), where he spearheaded the Kern County Renewable Energy Initiative and worked to facilitate the development of large solar and wind projects in California.

Michael attended the University of New Haven in Connecticut, graduating with honors in Criminology. Michael also completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was awarded the John F. Kennedy Jr. Leadership Award from the California Democratic Party and a German Marshall Memorial Fellowship from the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Adam Sterling

Adam Sterling is the Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation and the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business at Berkeley Law. In addition to his administrative duties, Adam teaches courses and oversees research on topics including venture finance, corporate governance, and ESG.

Previously he was a startup and venture capital attorney at Gunderson Dettmer and the co-founder and director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force and Conflict Risk Network. Adam’s writings and work have appeared extensively in the press; including contributions to The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and The New York Times. He has appeared on a number of broadcast news programs, including CNN’s Situation Room and CNBC’s Street Signs.

John Tishler

John Tishler is a partner at the global law firm Sheppard Mullin. Mr. Tishler’s practice includes corporate governance, capital markets, corporate finance, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions and technology. Mr. Tishler frequently serves as special counsel for companies experiencing complex corporate governance issues, including NYSE and NASDAQ listed issuers. Boards regularly report the value Mr. Tishler brings via clarity, practicality and ability to navigate uncertainties. Mr. Tishler is a frequent writer and speaker on corporate governance, having addressed the Society of Corporate Governance Professionals, the Association of Corporate Counsel and Accounting Day. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Yale Law School.

Vivien M. Yeung

Ms. Yeung has been a director of Jack in the Box Inc. since April 2017. Ms. Yeung is currently serving as the Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer of Kohl’s Corporation. From January 2018 until November 29, 2019 Ms. Yeung served as General Manager, Venture at Lululemon Athletica Inc, a healthy lifestyle inspired athletic apparel company. She previously served as that company’s Chief Strategy Officer from May 2015, to January 2018, and as Vice President, Strategy from November 2011 to May 2015. From 2008 until 2011, Ms. Yeung was an independent consultant working with philanthropies, non-profit organizations and small to medium-sized enterprises on strategy development. From 2002 to 2008, she held positions with increasing responsibilities at Starbucks Coffee Company, a global premium food and beverage retailer, leading strategy development and process improvement for its North America, International, and Global Product organizations. Ms. Yeung started her career with Bain & Company, a global strategy consulting firm, advising clients on growth, operational and investment strategies across Greater China, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Cali Williams Yost

Cali Williams Yost is one of the world’s most-trusted and experienced authorities on high performance flexibility. A visionary workplace futurist, strategist, author, and speaker, Yost is the Founder and CEO of the Flex+Strategy Group, a solutions company helping organizations unlock performance and well-being by reimagining how, when, and where work is done.

Called “one of the most sophisticated thinkers” on the transformation of work by The New York Times, her commentary frequently appears in the media, including in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USA TODAY, NPR, NBC Nightly News, and the TODAY Show.

For over two decades, Yost has led the exploration of the future of work and flexibility, predicting multiple workplace trends and designing the High Performance FlexibilityÔ execution roadmap that drives operational change for impact.

She helps leaders build dynamic, flexible organizations that attract and retain an engaged, diverse workforce; increase productivity and innovation; enhance employee well-being and respond rapidly to operating disruptions.

Clients include: Columbia University, Stanford University, BDO USA, Sanofi, HSBC, the IMF, National Restaurant Association, Con Edison, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Quest Diagnostics, UBS Americas, National Institutes of Health, Freddie Mac, the Singapore Government, the United Nations, and NYU.

A former commercial banker, who approaches flexible work transformation as a strategic business imperative, Yost graduated with honors from Columbia Business School, where she’s noted as an alumnus “Changing the World.” In 2018, Yost was named one of the global management thinkers “On the Radar” by Thinkers50, and she has been cited as one of Forbes’s 40 Women to Watch Over 40.

Yost’s work meets at the intersection of strategy, infrastructure, and a culture of shared leadership. It is rooted in original research on the skills individuals need to leverage flexibility and take control of their work+life “fit” in order to thrive on and off the job.

She coined and codified her concepts on the flexible future of work in the empowering book, Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day (Hachette, 2013) and the critically-acclaimed, Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2004).

Yost is one of Mashable’s top career experts on Twitter and awarded “Best of the Web” distinctions by Forbes.com. Yost lives in the NYC metro area with her husband, two daughters and sits on the Board of a local YMCA. Contact: cali@flexstrategygroup.com

Derek Zaba

Derek Zaba is a partner in the Palo Alto and New York offices and co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism practice. He counsels companies on a variety of matters, including activism defense/proxy contests, activism preparedness, takeover defenses, shareholder engagement and corporate governance. Over the past two decades, he has been involved in dozens of activist campaigns and proxy contests in various advisory and principal capacities. Prior to Sidley, Derek was the head of the activism defense practice at a leading shareholder engagement and corporate governance advisory firm. He also served as a Partner and investment professional at activist and event driven hedge funds. Derek began his career as a corporate associate at a New York-based law firm.

Derek has been recognized in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense with clients noting, “He speaks to the board in a way that makes sense. He’s really good.”

Derek is a highly sought after speaker for panels on the topics of shareholder activism and related matters, is frequently quoted and regularly speaks on the topic of shareholder activism, including at Stanford University Law School and on public radio. 

He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he graduated Order of the Coif; an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, concentrating in Finance; and a bachelor’s degree in Systems Science and Mathematics, cum laude, from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis. While at Washington University, he led university teams that won the highest award at the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) international Mathematical Contest in Modelling in consecutive years.

Derek is a member of the State Bars of California and New York.