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Speaker Biographies
Nathan Birtle has over 25 years' experience launching and growing technology businesses serving customers in a variety of industries globally. Nathan's experience in governance is from leadership roles at Diligent and CGLytics where he currently serves as Chief Sales Officer. He holds an Honours Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Bristol and a Diploma in Strategic Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Mark Borges is a principal with Compensia, Inc., a management consulting firm providing executive compensation advisory services to compensation committees and senior management of knowledge-based companies. From April 2003 until September 2007, he was a principal for Mercer in the firm’s Washington Resource Group in Washington, DC. Previously, Mr. Borges was a Special Counsel in the Office of Rulemaking, Division of Corporation Finance with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Before that, he was General Counsel for ShareData, Inc. Mr. Borges practiced law with the firms of Ware & Friedenrich (now DLA Piper) from 1987 to 1992 and Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop) from 1982 to 1987. From 1981 to 1982, he served as law clerk to the Honorable Marion T. Bennett of the United States Court of Claims in Washington, DC. Mr. Borges is the author of SEC Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules, first published in June 2008 by the American Bar Association, and a co-author of the Lynn, Borges & Romanek Executive Compensation Disclosure Treatise and Reporting Guide. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, teaching a course of the securities law aspects of executive compensation. A California native, Mr. Borges graduated from Humboldt State University in 1976. He received his J.D. from Santa Clara University in 1979 and an L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1981. He is a member of the American Bar Association.
A partner of Skadden Arps, Brian Breheny concentrates his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general corporate and securities matters. Since joining Skadden, Mr. Breheny has advised numerous clients on a full range of SEC compliance and corporate governance matters, including advising clients on compliance with the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC's tender offer rules and regulations and the federal proxy rules. Prior to joining Skadden in 2010, Mr. Breheny held a number of leadership positions in the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He began as chief of the SEC's Office of Mergers and Acquisitions in July 2003, and in November 2007 he became deputy director, legal and regulatory policy. In his position as chief of the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions, Mr. Breheny oversaw the legal and technical aspects of the administration of the Securities Act of 1933 as it related to tender offers and mergers; the proxy, beneficial ownership reporting, tender offer and going-private provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and the rules, regulations, forms and procedures promulgated to implement these statutory provisions. As deputy director, he was a member of the senior staff of the commission with responsibility for the division's legal and regulatory policy support offices (chief counsel, chief accountant, mergers and acquisitions, international corporate finance, rulemaking, small business policy and enforcement liaison). During his tenure at the SEC, Mr. Breheny assisted the commission with its consideration of significant rule amendments in a number of areas including shareholder director nominations, tender offers, beneficial ownership reporting, electronic delivery of proxy materials, electronic shareholder forums, short sale disclosure, and proxy voting and shareholder communications. Before joining the SEC, Mr. Breheny worked at another international law firm in its New York and London offices. During his previous seven years in private practice, he advised clients engaged in a broad range of merger and acquisition transactions, securities issuances, private equity investments, banking and public financings, fund formations and corporate reorganizations. Mr. Breheny began his career as a certified public accountant with KPMG LLP. Mr. Breheny has lectured extensively on topics such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and the federal proxy rules and shareholder voting. He has served as an adjunct securities law faculty member at the Georgetown University Law Center and Howard University School of Law. Mr. Breheny was recognized by the National Association of Corporate Directors as part of its Directorship 100, an annual list that identifies the most influential people in the boardroom community. He also was selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2013 and The International Who's Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers 2013. 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 on securities compliance, complex corporate governance matters, and public disclosure obligations under the Securities Exchange Act. He also advises clients on mergers and other acquisition transactions, including negotiated acquisition and dispositions, controlled auctions, exchange offers, tender offers, and related financing transactions. Bryan has represented public and start-up companies in various industries, including oil and gas exploration and production, oil field services/drilling, other energy-related industries, biotechnology, health care, healthy living, financial services, telecommunications, information technology, automotive, and the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Bryan's experience prior to joining Jones Day in 2019 includes representing: an international offshore drilling company in a $1.225 billion Rule 144A offering of secured notes; an oil and gas drilling company in a merger transaction with a rival drilling company; a leading oil and gas drilling provider in a cross-border merger transaction with one of Canada's largest drilling rig contractors; and a private seller in the sale of a manufacturer of mechanized poles, towers, and other structures for lighting, traffic, utility, and communications. Bryan is a member of the American Bar Association (former ambassador and committee chair of the Business Law Fellows), the National Association of Corporate Directors, the National Bar Association, and the Society for Corporate Governance.
Ning Chiu is counsel in the Capital Markets Group, with an emphasis on corporate governance and SEC regulations for public companies. She regularly advises major companies on board-related issues, including director independence, securities law compliance, proxy disclosure, shareholder proposals, and the impact of proxy advisory services. Her practice also focuses on new developments and changing best practices in governance matters. She has represented both issuers and underwriters on a number of significant securities transactions, including one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history and advising newly public companies. Her clients have included Aetna, CVS Caremark, General Electric Company, Marsh & McLennan and Morgan Stanley.
Meredith Cross is a partner in the Transactional and Securities Departments and a member of the Corporate Practice. Ms. Cross rejoined the firm in 2013, after having served as Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission since 2009. Representing clients in corporate and securities matters, she has experience with the full range of issues faced by public and private companies in capital raising and public reporting. Ms. Cross's practice is primarily focused on advising public companies and underwriters on corporate finance securities law matters, including disclosure and other requirements under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as the requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. She serves as issuer's counsel and underwriters' counsel in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities. While serving as the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC, Ms. Cross led the Division's efforts to implement both the Dodd-Frank Act and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. Under her leadership, the Division recommended close to 60 rulemaking releases to the Commission, including those relating to say-on-pay, conflict minerals, proxy access, compensation committees and compensation advisers, asset-backed securities, and the new regulatory regime for derivatives. Ms. Cross also guided the Division's pragmatic response to numerous issues relating to the IPO "on-ramp" provisions of the JOBS Act. During her tenure, Ms. Cross testified before Congress numerous times on a broad range of issues including corporate governance, capital formation, risk retention in asset-backed securities offerings, executive compensation oversight, and agency management and budget. Before first joining WilmerHale in 1998, Ms. Cross served as Deputy Director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance. During her prior SEC tenure, she was involved with a number of corporate finance rulemakings, including changes to shelf registration, electronic delivery of prospectuses and other information to investors, the plain English initiatives, limited partnership roll-up rules, and small issue exemptions from registration and reporting. Before becoming Deputy Director, Ms. Cross served as Associate Director of the Division's sections on International Corporate Finance and Small Business. In the international area, she played a key role in the ongoing development of international disclosure and accounting standards for use in cross-border offerings. Ms. Cross also previously served as the Division's Chief Counsel. As Chief Counsel, she was responsible for no-action letters and legal interpretations in the Division on a wide range of matters, including Rule 144, Section 16, registration of employee benefit plans and exemptions from registration and reporting.
Bindu Culas has over 15 years of experience advising clients on the US and international legal, tax and regulatory aspects of designing and structuring equity incentive programs, employment agreement, and severance and change-of control plans. Bindu has worked with both domestic and foreign publicly traded and privately held companies as well as pre-IPO companies. Before joining FW Cook, Bindu was a partner and the Head of Executive Compensation at Linklaters LLP, an international law firm. Prior to that she was an attorney in the corporate and executive compensation departments at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Bindu writes and speaks frequently at regional and national ABA, NASPP and PLI events.
Susan has more than 25 years of experience in the areas of executive compensation, securities and employee benefits. She is president of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals, and chair of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Committee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section. She is also a former co-chair of the BNA Pension & Benefits Advisory Board as well as a former chair of the Federal Securities Law Subcommittee of the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, the Illinois State Bar Association Employee Benefits Section Counsel, the Chicago Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee and the Chicago Bar Association Federal Taxation Committee. Susan is a frequent author and speaker on employee benefits, executive compensation and securities issues. She has been ranked one of America’s Leading Employment Lawyers in Chambers USA since 2011, listed in Best Lawyers in America in Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law since 1995 and listed as one of the "Top 50 Women in Illinois Super Lawyers," as published by Law & Politics, 2006 - 2014 and 2016.
Howard Dicker is a partner in the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and is co-head of the Firm's Public Company Advisory Group. Mr. Dicker advises numerous companies regarding securities law issues, disclosure and compliance matters as well as on executive compensation and corporate governance. He has a diverse corporate practice, including mergers and acquisitions, proxy fights, financings, securities offerings, private equity investments, and restructurings. Mr. Dicker is also active in various bar associations and organizations and speaks and writes on a variety of topics in corporate and securities law. He is the immediate former Chair of the Subcommittee on Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Section 16 of the Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities, Section of Business Law, American Bar Association. He is also the immediate former Chair of the Securities Regulation Committee of the Business Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Dicker is a member of the Advisory Committee to the NY Chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance. Prior to joining Weil, Mr. Dicker was an auditor and tax consultant at Price Waterhouse in New York. There, he focused on broker-dealers in securities and commodities. He is licensed as a certified public accountant. Howard Dicker is recognized as a "Leading Lawyer" for Corporate Governance by Legal 500 US, where he is described as "exceptional" with "extraordinary depth of knowledge and the ability to get to the heart of an issue." He is also recognized by Super Lawyers for Securities & Corporate Finance. Education: Mr. Dicker received his J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School, his M.S. in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany, and his B.S. Economics (in finance and accounting) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Marty Dunn was a Senior Of Counsel in Morrison & Foerster's Washington, DC office and a member of the Capital Markets Practice. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, he spent 20 years in various positions at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), most recently as Deputy Director, and former Acting Director, of the Division of Corporation Finance. As Deputy Director, he supervised that Division's Offices of Chief Counsel, Chief Accountant, Mergers and Acquisitions, International Corporate Finance, Rulemaking, Small Business, and Enforcement Liaison. Marty was one of the writers for The Corporate Counsel and was the recipient of these awards: SEC Capital Markets Award (2001, 2002, 2006); SEC Regulatory Simplification Award (2005); SEC Law and Policy Award (2000, 2004); SEC Chairman's Award for Excellence (2000); Federal Bar Association's Philip A. Loomis, Jr. Award (1998); SEC Chairman's Plain English Award (1998); SEC Supervisory Excellence Award (1995); Chambers USA (2009, 2010, 2011) Leading Individual in Securities Regulation: Advisory; Chambers USA (2009, 2010, 2011) Leading Individual in Securities Regulation While at the SEC, Marty was responsible for a wide range of rulemakings, including:
Read Dave Lynn's tribute to his great friend and colleague.
Liz Dunshee is Senior Editor of TheCorporateCounsel.net, CompensationStandards.com and DealLawyers.com, as well as The Corporate Counsel, The Corporate Executive and Deal Lawyers print newsletters. Prior to joining TheCorporateCounsel.net, Liz was a Partner at Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis, where she counseled public companies on investor communications and engagement, SEC and exchange-based disclosure requirements, listing standards, trading policies and plans, and employee compliance training. Drawing on her background as a law firm partner who was in the trenches with clients from a wide range of sizes, life-cycle stages & industries, Liz translates the latest developments in securities laws, disclosure practices and corporate governance & executive pay trends into straight talk that advisors can use. Liz deeply values connections with our members. She loves providing resources, events and profile-raising opportunities to advance their performance & careers. As a former leader of firm practice groups, talent development and knowledge management initiatives, Liz spends much of her spare time speculating about efficiency and the future of professional services. Liz is also a Chapter Officer for the Twin Cities Chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance and co-chaired the American Bar Association's task force on director misconduct. During law school, she interned for the Honorable Randy Holland of the Delaware Supreme Court. Liz is a frequent author and speaker on securities and corporate law topics, with articles appearing in publications such as Business Law Today, The Corporate Board and The Corporate Governance Advisor.
Alan Dye's practice is focused on advising public companies and their boards of directors regarding compliance with the federal securities laws, particularly SEC reporting requirements, annual meeting and proxy-related issues, executive compensation disclosures, and insider trading restrictions. Alan also counsels public companies on corporate governance practices, compliance with the listing standards of the national stock exchanges, and state fiduciary duty law. He also regularly advises clients regarding beneficial ownership reporting requirements, and he assists clients in developing strategies for defending against claims arising under the insider reporting and short-swing profit provisions of the securities laws. Following law school, Alan was appointed to serve as a law clerk for The Honorable Ellsworth A. Van Graafeiland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Upon completing his clerkship in 1979, he entered private practice in Atlanta, where he was engaged primarily in securities and other commercial litigation. In 1982, Alan joined the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served for two years in the Division of Corporation Finance and then for two years as special counsel to the Chairman of the agency. He left the commission to join Hogan & Hartson in 1986. Alan is a frequent lecturer at professional seminars and is a former adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. Alan is an active member of the American Bar Association and formerly chaired the Administrative Law Section's Committee on Securities Commodities and Exchanges. He also serves on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's National Adjudicatory Council, which is FINRA's appellate adjudicatory body for professional disciplinary matters and other adjudicated matters. He has written extensively on various issues under the federal securities laws, including his co-authorship (with Hogan Lovells partner Peter J. Romeo) of the Section 16 Treatise and Reporting Guide (Executive Press), the Section 16 Deskbook (Executive Press) and the Section 16 Forms and Filings Handbook (Executive Press). Alan also moderates a discussion forum on Section16.net, a Web site devoted to developments under and compliance with Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Alan Dye and Peter Romeo are characterized in Chambers USA 2010 as "world experts on section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act." They are among a group of only 10 securities lawyers in the U.S. highlighted in Chambers USA 2010 for their advisory work.
David Eaton is an Associate Partner with the Aon Governance services team, where he teams with other consultants to provide executive compensation, corporate governance, and shareholder outreach guidance and analysis. Prior to this, Mr. Eaton was Vice President of Research at proxy advisor Glass Lewis. At Glass Lewis, Mr. Eaton held multiple research positions, including serving as AVP of Compensation Research, responsible for the company's compensation analysis globally, with oversight of the firm’s say-on-pay policies. He also was responsible for managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and shareholder proposal analysis, as well as serving as editor and contributor to Glass Lewis white papers and special reports. Mr. Eaton is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, client events, and webcasts. His views on current governance and compensation-related issues have been cited in media throughout the country. Mr. Eaton was named to the 2012 NACD Directorship 100, the prestigious list of the most influential people in corporate governance and the boardroom. Mr. Eaton is also an active member of CII, GEO, NASPP and the Society for Corporate Governance. Mr. Eaton holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from Haverford College and a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the Yale University School of Management. Further, Mr. Eaton has achieved the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation through Santa Clara University.
Renata Ferrari is a partner in the Ropes & Gray tax & benefits department in Boston and the head of the firm's executive compensation practice group. She advises clients on executive compensation, equity-based and other incentives, deferred compensation, severance plans and other compensatory and benefits arrangements. Renata also advises on the application of securities and tax laws to executives and employers and corporate governance matters. Her practice also includes a focus on compensation and benefits-related issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions.
Keir Gumbs is Associate General Counsel, Corporate Transactions & Deputy Corporate Secretary of Uber. Before that he was a partner with Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, DC. He advises public and private companies, non-profit organizations, institutional investors and other clients in corporate, corporate governance, securities regulation, and transactional matters. Mr. Gumbs' clients include small, medium and large cap companies, non-profit organizations, public pension funds, and other institutional investors. He is widely recognized as a "go-to" expert for a variety of securities law matters, including with respect to the Dodd-Frank Act and related rulemakings. Mr. Gumbs' career includes six years of service with the SEC, where, immediately prior to joining Covington & Burling in 2005, he served as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Roel C. Campos. In that position, he advised the Commissioner on a variety of matters arising under federal securities law with an emphasis on corporate finance issues under the Securities Act of 1933, issuer reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, corporate governance developments and SEC enforcement actions. Prior to serving as Counsel to Commissioner Campos, Mr. Gumbs spent five years as a staff attorney and later a Special Counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel in the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance. Honors include:
Mr. Gumbs is a frequent author and speaker on matters affecting public companies and investors. He has authored or co-authored several leading publications about securities law topics, including BNA's Corporate Practice Series Portfolio entitled "Shareholder Proposals," and two chapters, entitled "E-Proxy, Electronic Communications and Voting" and "The Shareholder Proposal Process," respectively, in the treatise entitled "A Practical Guide to SEC Proxy and Compensation Rules." Mr. Gumbs has published articles in a number of leading securities and governance publications, such as Insights, Corporate Governance Advisor, Westlaw Business Currents, and BNA's Corporate Counsel Weekly while he also is frequently called upon by national publications for expert insight into current developments in federal securities law.
Julian Hamud joined Glass Lewis in 2013 and currently manages the specialized research team analyzing North American compensation issues, including proposals relating to Say-on-Pay and equity plans. He previously covered executive compensation for the UK and Israel, and frequently leads engagements with corporate issuers regarding Glass Lewis' practices and marketplace trends. Julian holds a bachelor's degree in international affairs from San Francisco State University, where he focused on movements related to transparency and governance.
Keith Higgins is a member of Ropes & Gray's corporate department and chair of the securities & governance practice. Keith rejoined the firm in 2017, after having served as Director of Corporation Finance at the U. S. Securities & Exchange Commission since 2013. While in that role, Keith led the Division's implementation of significant rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), and Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). He also led the Division's Disclosure Effectiveness project and oversaw the issuance of significant interpretive guidance to companies and investors under the federal securities laws. Prior to serving at the SEC, Keith had for more than 30 years been counseling public companies in securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, compliance and corporate governance. Keith advises companies, their boards, and investors on matters with the SEC, including disclosure and financial statements, no-action letters, as well as SEC enforcement actions and related internal investigations. Keith was recognized by Chambers, Best Lawyers, and other publications as a leading corporate and M&A lawyer in Massachusetts and nationwide.
William H. Hinman was named Director of the Division of Corporation Finance in May 2017. The Division seeks to ensure that investors are provided with material information in order to make informed investment decisions, provides interpretive assistance to companies with respect to SEC rules, and makes recommendations to the Commission regarding new and existing rules. Before serving at the Commission, Mr. Hinman was a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he practiced in the corporate finance group. He has advised issuers and underwriters in capital raising transactions and corporate acquisitions in a wide range of industries, including technology, e-commerce, and the life-sciences. Prior to joining Simpson Thacher in 2000, Mr. Hinman was the managing partner of Shearman & Sterling’s San Francisco and Menlo Park offices. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University with honors in 1977 and his J.D. in 1980 from Cornell University Law School, where he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Cornell Law Review. He is a member of the Bar Association of the State of California and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Mr. Hinman also is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Beth Ising is a partner in Gibson Dunn's Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the firm's Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance practice group. She also is a member of the firm's Hostile M&A and Shareholder Activism team and Financial Institutions practice group. She advises clients, including public companies and their boards of directors, on corporate governance, securities law and regulatory matters and executive compensation best practices and disclosures. Representative matters include advising on Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements, board processes and evaluations, shareholder proposals, proxy disclosures on governance and compensation matters, director independence matters, proxy advisory services, board and committee charters and governance guidelines and disclosure controls and procedures. She also advises non-profit organizations on corporate governance issues. Ms. Ising was recommended by Chambers USA for Securities Regulation/Advisory in 2017. She also was named in 2016 and 2017 to Who's Who Legal: M&A and Governance, which was based on independent client and peer surveys by Who's Who Legal. In addition, BTI Consulting named Ms. Ising to its 2016 BTI Client Service All-Stars list. She is a member of the Advisory Board of Northwestern University's Securities Regulation Institute and previously was named a "Rising Star of Corporate Governance" by Yale School of Management's Center for Corporate Governance and Performance. Ms. Ising previously was Vice Chair of the Proxy Statements and Business Combinations Subcommittee of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the ABA and is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance. She previously served as Chair of the Corporate Finance Committee; Corporation, Finance and Securities Law Section of the District of Columbia Bar as well as a member of the National Advisory Board and co-chair of the Washington, DC chapter of the Women in Law Empowerment Forum. Ms. Ising graduated with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. She also chairs Gibson Dunn's Washington, D.C. Diversity Committee.
Blair has 30 years of experience in executive compensation consulting, primarily advising public company boards but also private and pre-IPO companies. Blair has extensive experience across healthcare, retail, consumer products, automotive, and aerospace industries. She has expertise in advising boards on company transitions, significant investor concerns, and an expanding human capital management mandate. Blair regularly speaks at leading board of directors and executive forums and is a prominent author in the executive compensation space. Her articles have been featured in many publications including NACD Directorship, Directors & Boards, Harvard Business Review, Workspan, Corporate Board Member, and Bloomberg. Blair was a many-year member of the Executive Rewards Advisory Council for WorldatWork and co-founded WorldatWork's Women in Executive Compensation and Regional Executive Compensation Roundtables. Blair participates in broader governance dialogue at the steering committee of the U.S. 30% Club and Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Roundtables. Blair began her career at Bain & Company. Prior to joining Semler Brossy, Blair was Practice Leader in Leadership Performance and Rewards at Sibson Consulting. Blair holds a B.A. from Williams College in chemistry, with highest honors
Mr. Kokell is an Associate Director at ISS and he leads the U.S. compensation research team. In this role, he is responsible for U.S. compensation policy development and analyses relating to say-on-pay, golden parachutes, equity plans, and shareholder compensation proposals. Before joining ISS in 2012, Mr. Kokell practiced law in the Manhattan offices of Shearman & Sterling LLP, where he was a member of the Executive Compensation & Corporate Governance practice group. Mr. Kokell received his law degree from Hofstra Law School (J.D., 2009), where he was a member of the Hofstra Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from American University (B.A., 2005). Bob Lamm chairs the Securities and Corporate Governance Practice Group at Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He rejoined Gunster in 2014, having been a shareholder from 2000 to 2002. In addition, Bob is an Independent Senior Advisor to Deloitte's Center for Board Effectiveness. From 2008 to 2013, Bob was Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Pfizer Inc. His previous experience includes service as Vice President and Secretary of W. R. Grace & Co., Senior Vice President - Corporate Governance and Secretary of CA, Inc., and Managing Director, Secretary and Associate General Counsel of FGIC Corporation/Financial Guaranty Insurance Company. He also has extensive experience with small- and mid-cap companies as well as non-profit entities. Bob is an active, long-term member of the Society for Corporate Governance. He is a past chair of the Society's Securities Law Committee and has served on the Society's Corporate Practices, Finance and National Conference Committees, as a member of its board of directors, and as chair of its 2004 National Conference Committee. He has received the Society's Bracebridge H. Young Distinguished Service Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award in Corporate Governance from Corporate Secretary Magazine. Bob is a member of the Florida and New York Bars, a member of Gunster's Women Leadership Forum committee, a Fellow of the Conference Board ESG Center, and a member of the South Florida Board of Advisors of The Commonwealth Institute. He previously served on the markets advisory council of the Council of Institutional Investors. He frequently speaks and writes on securities law, corporate governance and related topics, including the "Bob's Upticks" column on Gunster's Securities Edge blog, and he serves on the board of editors of The Corporate Counselor. Bob received a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
Ms. Lin is a member of Davis Polk's Corporate Department, practicing in the Executive Compensation Group. She advises boards, companies, compensation committees and individual executives on executive compensation, equity-based incentives, deferred compensation, severance plans and other compensatory arrangements, with particular emphasis on issues arising in mergers and acquisitions transactions, initial public offerings, and new and joint ventures. She also advises on employment and consulting arrangements, the applicability of securities and tax laws to executives and employers, the design and implementation of equity compensation plans and general employment-related matters. Ms. Lin is co-editor of the "Davis Polk Briefing: Governance" blog, which covers current topics in corporate governance, securities law and executive compensation. In her pro bono practice, Ms. Lin has represented individuals seeking asylum in the United States. She has also advised not-for-profit organizations, including Grameen America and International Arts Movement.
Dave Lynn is Partner of Morrison & Foerster. Dave's practice is focused on advising a wide range of clients on SEC matters, securities transactions and corporate governance. Dave is well known in the area of executive compensation disclosure, having co-authored, "The Executive Compensation Disclosure Treatise and Reporting Guide" for CompensationStandards.com. While serving as Chief Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance, Dave led the rulemaking team that drafted sweeping revisions to the SEC's executive compensation and related party disclosure rules. Dave re-joined the SEC as Chief Counsel shortly after adoption of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and served in that position until 2007, providing interpretive advice, formulating policy decisions and publishing the Division's Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations. Dave initially served on the SEC staff from 1995-2000 as an Attorney-Advisor and subsequently a Special Counsel in the Division of Corporation Finance. While in private practice from 2000-2003, he advised clients on SEC investigations, securities transactions, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. Dave serves as Senior Editor of TheCorporateCounsel.net, CompensationStandards.com,The Corporate Counsel and The Corporate Executive. Dave has served as the chair of the ABA Business Law Section's Federal Regulation of Securities Committee, co-chair of the Practising Law Institute's Annual Institute on Securities Regulation and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society. Dave is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches a course about exempt securities offerings.
Bob McCormick is a Managing Director at PJT Camberview, based in New York. Before joining PJT Camberview, Mr. McCormick served as Chief Policy Officer of Glass Lewis where, for over a decade, he oversaw the analysis, voting recommendations and report writing for management and shareholder proposals on over 20,000 shareholder meetings of public companies in more than 100 countries. He also led the firm's engagement efforts and was responsible for developing Glass Lewis's proxy voting guidelines. Prior to that role, Mr. McCormick was Director of Investment Proxy Research at Fidelity Investments where he managed the proxy voting of 700 mutual funds and accounts holding 5,000 securities worth $1 trillion. Mr. McCormick serves on the advisory boards of Columbia Law School's Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and the University of Delaware's Weinberg Center on Corporate Governance. Mr. McCormick was named one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance by NACD and Directorship magazine six times from 2008-2015. He holds a Graduate Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from Harvard University Extension School, a JD from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor's degree in history from Providence College.
Mike Melbinger is a partner of Winston & Strawn's employee benefits and executive compensation practice group. Mr. Melbinger works out of the firm's Chicago office and practices exclusively in the area of executive compensation and employee retirement benefit issues for corporations, boards of directors, partnerships, executives, and fiduciaries. Mr. Melbinger has worked extensively on designing and implementing stock and non-stock based executive compensation and benefit programs for public and private companies (including start-up ventures). He has designed and drafted employment contracts, severance agreements, parachute agreements, and a variety of executive compensation arrangements. He advises boards of directors, compensation committees, and senior executives and legal departments in these matters. Mr. Melbinger also has extensive experience with the design, operation, and auditing of employers' ESOP, pension, and 401(k) plans. He has extensive experience advising fiduciaries in the proper discharge of their duties and establishing structures and strategies to protect fiduciaries and plan sponsors from liability for investment and other benefit plan decisions. Mr. Melbinger also handles the compensation and benefits aspects of change-in-control, corporate lending, initial public offering, and bankruptcy transactions and certain compensation and benefit plan litigation matters. He is the author of the treatise on Executive Compensation, now in its 3rd Edition and maintains "Melbinger's Compensation Blog" on CompensationStandards.com.
Ron Mueller joined the Washington, D.C. Office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 1986 and works in the securities regulation and corporate governance area with an emphasis on proxy and disclosure issues, executive compensation, and corporate transactions. Mr. Mueller is listed in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the categories of corporate governance law, corporate compliance law, and securities regulation. He is the immediate past chair of the Subcommittee on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation of the Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities, Section of Business Law, American Bar Association. Mr. Mueller is a frequent speaker and author on securities and corporate governance matters, including and developments in proxy disclosures and proxy contests, the SEC's disclosure requirements, corporate governance developments, Section 16 rules, and executive compensation issues. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Mueller worked as legal counsel to Commissioner Edward H. Fleischman at the United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). While at the SEC, Mr. Mueller worked on many of the matters before the Commission, including executive compensation rules, enforcement matters and regulatory initiatives. Mr. Mueller received his J.D., from Columbia Law School in 1986, where he was both a Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar and a James Kent Scholar, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University in 1982. Mr. Mueller is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice before the courts of New York and Washington.
Katy Murray has been Vice President, Securities & Corporate Governance of Activision Blizzard, a public developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services, since 2014. In that role, Ms. Murray is responsible for, among other things, providing legal counsel to the company’s equity administration team. Prior to joining Activision Blizzard in 2006, Ms. Murray served as senior counsel at Aames Investment Corporation, a public mortgage lender, in connection with its corporate and transactional matters. Prior to joining Aames Investment Corporation, Ms. Murray worked as an associate at Jones Day, a global law firm. Ms. Murray holds a B.A. in public policy with a minor in mathematics from The College of William & Mary and a J.D. degree from Georgetown University.
Rob Neis advises clients on executive compensation and employee benefits. His practice centers largely on the design, implementation and operation of various types of executive compensation arrangements, including nonqualified deferred compensation plans, incentive plans, employment agreements and equity compensation arrangements. His experience includes working with clients on issues involving their in-house executive compensation arrangements and nonqualified plan products offered to third parties. Rob also has extensive experience working with clients on retirement plans, including qualified retirement plans, section 403(b) plans and 457(b) plans, and on health and welfare plans. Before joining Eversheds Sutherland, Rob spent six years with the US Treasury Department as the Benefits Tax Counsel and Deputy Benefits Tax Counsel. As the Benefits Tax Counsel, Rob managed the Office of the Benefits Tax Counsel and was the principal legal advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy on employee benefits matters. During his time at the Treasury Department, Rob was a key player in many of the most important and cutting-edge benefits developments over the last six years, including the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the publication of extensive regulations on deferred compensation, and the development of the Treasury Department's position on various health care issues, such as health reimbursement arrangements and health savings accounts. He also regularly advised Treasury Department officials on the formulation of employee benefits tax policy and coordinated with leadership and staff of the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Department of Health and Human Services, National Economic Council, Domestic Policy Counsel and other federal agencies on guidance related to employee benefit plans and the ACA. Rob also represented the United States at the Working Party on Private Pensions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris and has been deeply involved in many of the cross-border issues facing globally mobile employees and their employers. Rob has represented a wide range of clients, including publicly traded Fortune 100 multinational corporations, major tax-exempt organizations, start-up companies, and individual executives. Before concentrating his practice on the tax and labor law aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation, Rob was a litigator focusing primarily on insurance and ERISA matters. He continues to provide advice in litigation involving employee benefits issues.
Reid Pearson is Executive Vice President at Alliance Advisors and leads its Corporate Governance Group. Reid works with clients and partners on a number of proxy issues including solicitation, Say-on-Pay, equity compensation plans, and general corporate governance matters. A respected figure in the field, Reid is a frequent speaker on corporate governance and equity compensation issues at The National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), and The Society for Corporate Governance. Reid has been in the corporate governance and proxy industry since 1995. Prior to joining Alliance Advisors, Reid was Managing Director and Corporate Governance Advisory Practice Co-Leader at The Altman Group, a proxy solicitation and corporate governance firm. Reid also worked for ten years at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). His positions at ISS included Director of Custom Research, Senior Analyst, Director of Client Relations, and Manager of Strategic Partnerships. Reid was also a member of the proxy policy committee and oversaw the development and execution of the proxy voting guidelines of multiple institutional investors. He has worked with countless corporations and their advisors to help develop shareholder-friendly compensation plans. Reid is a graduate of the University of Georgia and resides in Atlanta.
Scott Spector co-chairs the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Group of Fenwick & West. His practice emphasizes the compensation issues that arise in connection with mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and corporate governance matters. He also specializes in serving high technology and software clients in designing and implementing executive compensation, equity compensation and other executive compensation arrangements. He is an expert on Section 409A and golden parachute matters. Mr. Spector represents numerous executive officers of technology companies in contract negotiations. He is the former Chair of the Subcommittee on Executive Compensation of the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the ABA Business Law Section and the Subcommittee on the Federal Securities Regulation of the Committee on Employee Benefits of the ABA. Scott co-chairs the ALI/ABA annual Executive Compensation program. He is and has been a frequent speaker at the directors' colleges, NASPP national conferences and other national compensation, governance, and securities law programs. Scott has also written extensively on executive compensation, corporate governance and stock compensation matters, including the Compensation Committee Best Practices. He was named to The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Employee Benefits Law and recognized by Chambers USA as one of the top Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation lawyers in the US and California.
Ellen brings more than 20 years of experience to her clients, advising on executive and equity compensation matters, including corporate governance, and tax and securities law compliance. Ellen's practice focuses on executive compensation matters as they arise in the context of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions, as well as ongoing advisory work. She represents public and private companies on their non-qualified deferred compensation plans, equity incentive plans, including stock option plans, employee stock purchase plans, restricted stock plans, change-in-control plans and executive employment, and retention and severance agreements. She frequently publishes, lectures and presents on subjects related to executive and equity compensation. She is an appointed member of the ALI-CLE Employee Benefits Advisory Panel.
Tara is a managing director in Deloitte Consulting LLP's National Compensation Strategies Practice. She has over 20 years of compensation consulting experience advising management and board of directors on a wide range of compensation matters, including the design and implementation of annual incentive and long-term incentive plans, review and development of internal compensation policies and procedures, assessment of risk incentive programs, design of employment agreements and change-in-control/severance arrangements, and extensive knowledge of shareholders and proxy advisory firms' concerns with compensation programs. She is the lead consultant over the Domestic Stock Plan Design and Domestic Stock Plan Administration surveys (co-sponsored by Deloitte Consulting LLP and the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals), and has authored articles published in Deloitte's On the Board Agenda, the National Association of Corporate Directors' ("NACD") Directorship magazine, and Practical Law.
A partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Maj advises a wide variety of clients on corporate governance, executive compensation, employee benefits matters and securities laws reporting and compliance. Her experience includes corporate transactions, including M&A deals and IPOs where she advises clients on employee benefit and executive compensation aspects, and representation on ongoing executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including advising compensation committees and executives on employment arrangements, cash and equity-based incentive plans and deferred compensation plans. Ms. Vaseghi advises dozens of public companies on an ongoing basis on securities compliance, corporate governance and compensation and benefits matters. She has extensive experience in Proxy Statement preparation, executive compensation disclosure, and related compliance with stockholder advisory group recommendations such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. She regularly advises US and non-US entities on their disclosure obligations under, and compliance with, Sections 13 and 16 of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the US stock exchange corporate governance requirements, and Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933. Ms. Vaseghi previously served as in-house securities and corporate governance counsel at VMWare, and brings a keen understanding of the business issues large public companies face. She frequently writes and speaks on corporate governance, executive compensation and employee benefits related issues. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School.
Lisa Beth Lentini Walker is the CEO and Founder of Lumen Worldwide Endeavors, a firm specializing in compliance, governance and ethics consulting as well as executive coaching to improve performance and well-being. She is an adjunct professor of law at Mitchell Hamline Law School. Lisa Beth is a skilled global business partner that has led award winning legal and compliance departments within large public corporations and privately held enterprises. She does this by strategically aligning resources to create efficiencies and advising the board of directors to further strategic initiatives while mitigating risks in all aspects of the domestic and global operations. She has held corporate secretarial, legal, compliance, ethics, governance and risk positions as an attorney at a Fortune 50 corporation, as the compliance leader of a global travel company operating in 150 countries and as the corporate secretary, chief compliance officer and co-chair of the risk council at a NYSE-listed corporation. Lisa Beth also served with US Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, in the Divisions of Corporation Finance and Enforcement. Lisa Beth is a member of the Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and District of Columbia bars. She previously served as a board member of the Society for Corporate Governance and the SEC Historical Society. She delights in the art of possibility. In her free time, she is an advisory board member to a women's fashion startup, Alice Riot, she is part of the organizing committee for the Team Women (MN) annual leadership conference and she also serves on the board of Stages Theatre (a children's theatre) in Hopkins, MN.
Laura is a Senior Client Partner and the Global Governance Practice Leader at Aon plc, providing strategic consulting on a broad range of matters, including (but not limited to):
Frequent industry speaker and writer on corporate governance topics. Laura is also the Vice President of the Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP). Laura received a J.D. from the Lewis and Clark Law School and a B.S. in economics from the University of Utah. Amy Wood is a partner in the Compensation & Benefits practice group and a member of the Cooley Business department. She joined the Firm in 2003 and is resident in the San Diego office. Ms. Wood specializes in the areas of executive compensation, equity compensation and employee benefits. Her experience includes designing and implementing equity incentive plans and employment, severance and other compensation-related arrangements, as well as advising clients on any tax, accounting, securities, or other federal and state law issues with respect to such plans and arrangements. Her experience also includes assisting with the parachute payment analysis and other compensation and benefits issues arising in mergers and acquisitions as well as designing and implementing stock option exchange programs. Ms. Wood also assists public companies with their compensation-related disclosure in SEC filings and advises on the shareholder relations issues that arise in connection with compensation matters. She counsels public companies on a wide range of corporate governance issue and she has extensive experience counseling public companies on the proxy voting guidelines of specific institutional investors and the vote recommendation policies of proxy advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. In 2003, Ms. Wood received a JD, cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the San Diego Law Review. In 2000, she received a BA, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles. |
Nathan Birtle
Mark Borges
Brian Breheny
Bryan Brown
Ning Chiu
Meredith Cross
Bindu Culas
Susan Daley
Howard Dicker
Marty Dunn
Liz Dunshee
Alan Dye
Dave Eaton
Renata Ferrari
Keir Gumbs
Julian Hamud
Keith Higgins
Bill Hinman
Beth Ising 
Blair Jones
David Kokell
Bob Lamm
Kyoko Takahashi Lin
Dave Lynn
Bob McCormick
Mike Melbinger
Ron Mueller
Katy Murray
Rob Neis
Reid Pearson
Scott Spector
Ellen Sueda
Tara Tays
Maj Vaseghi
Lisa Beth Lentini Walker
Laura Wanlass
Amy Wood