Susan, a Senior Advisor and Managing Director at KPMG’s Board Leadership Center, is a leading voice in board governance, and is a frequent writer and speaker on board oversight of topics including strategy, innovation, technology, risk, board composition, climate change, leadership, and culture. Susan has extensive experience enabling sustainable global growth and protecting long-term value of some of the world’s most famous and best-loved brands as a lawyer and former Fortune 500 executive in the branded consumer products industry leading a portfolio including legal matters, ethics and compliance, crisis management, global security, and board governance at Nabisco, Kraft, and Hershey.

She is a member of the New York chapter of WCD and has led WCD Global Thought Leadership Commissions on topics including visionary boards, board diversity, and board decision-making.

Pam is a highly engaged Board Member and Advisor who brings finance and investment expertise, pragmatic decision-making, and a strategic perspective to the boardroom. She serves on the Board of Directors for the City of Hope, a world class independent biomedical research and treatment center for cancer. She also sits on their Investment Committee and Finance Committee. Pam is an Independent Member of CBRE Investment Management’s Americas Investment Committee, and a Senior Strategic Advisor to Ventas Investment Management. Recently retired from Barings as Managing Director and Head of Capital Strategies, she provides a current understanding of market trends along with a collaborative approach, and valued relationships within institutional investment management. Pam is Directorship Certified by National Association of Corporate Directors.

Tanuja Dehne is an independent board director dedicated to the art of good governance. She is the former President and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and a former C-level executive of a Fortune 200 power company. She is a purpose-driven leader, cultivator of talent, and proven strategist.

Tanuja’s decades-long career has been a testament to her expertise and versatility, including service on several corporate and nonprofit boards, as well as her role as a subject matter expert in organizational transformation, human capital strategy, and ESG matters. She has served on four public company boards and chairs Compensation and Corporate Governance Committees. Tanuja is the Chair of the Advisory Board of Drexel University’s Gupta Governance Institute.

John Dick is the Founder and CEO of CivicScience, a consumer analytics and advertising platform serving the largest brands and media companies in the world. He’s the host of the podcast, The Dumbest Guy in the Room and author of What We’re Seeing, the weekly newsletter read by a who’s-who of business and tech leaders. John is a contributor to AdAge and Forbes and has appeared on Good Morning America, Yahoo! Finance, and NewsNation, and as a speaker at numerous business and media conferences.

Alexandra is a senior executive at S&P Global with more than 30 years of experience in finance and a deep understanding of global credit markets across multiple industries and cycles.

As the Global Head of Research and Development at S&P Global Ratings and Co-Chair of the S&P Global Look Forward Council, she leads research to assess the global implications of macro-credit and market trends and emerging risks. She brings together leading experts from across S&P Global to deliver research on long-term trends and transformative market shifts, covering areas from capital markets to geoeconomics, AI & digital transformation, energy, sustainability and climate.
She serves as a board member of Bruegel, a leading Brussels-based economic policy think tank.

Dr. Dorsey is a board member, researcher, and speaker specializing in guiding executives toward corporate board service. His book, The Boardroom Journey, offers actionable strategies for leaders seeking their first or next corporate board seat. Keith’s insights have been featured in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Directors & Boards, and Forbes, where he writes extensively on leadership, governance, and board effectiveness.

Keith was an honoree of the NACD Directorship 100™, an annual recognition of 100 leading corporate directors and governance experts who impact boardroom practices and performance. He serves as a board member at two private SaaS companies: Vimly Benefit Solutions and Continu; Pepperdine University’s business school, City of La Quinta’s Financial Advisory Commission, and Pacific Crest Trail Association.

Christine Edwards is a seasoned corporate director and board leader.  She served for 15 years on the public company of Bank of Montreal and Chaired the Nom/Gov Committee of that board.  Edwards currently serves on the US Board of BMO with Committee membership on the Audit and HR Committees.  She presently is Vice Chair of Rush University System for Health, served for 20 years as the Audit Committee chair and currently chairs the Rush Trustee Group of that organization.

Edwards consults with public company boards and board committees, executive leadership of public companies and director candidates. Prior to her board service,

Edwards spent over 40 years in the financial services industry in Fortune 100 companies.

David is an Associate Director in KPMG Audit Technology and is responsible for several key audit artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. David drives AI product design, development, and implementation, with an emphasis on responsible AI. David also leads AI service offering working groups and frequently educates leadership and client in the AI space.

Prior to his current role, David served as the lead Senior Associate for several large engagement teams and was responsible for audit technology and continuous improvement initiatives in the Washington DC metro area.

Henrietta H. Fore served as global Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) from 2018 to 2022. Prior to UNICEF, she served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company. In 2022, Ms. Fore joined Imperative Care as a Director, Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) as Board Member, EQT Future as Mission Board Member and the Center for Strategic and International Studies ((CSIS) as Board Trustee. In 2023, Ms. Fore joined the Boards of Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution, Concordia Leadership Council, GESDA – Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator. In 2024, Ms. Fore joined the MIT Solve Advisory Board and Direct Relief Board of Directors.

Cathy Gonzales is the Managing Partner for KPMG’s San Diego office and is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of the local market, developing C-suite and Board relationships, leading and inspiring over 375+ professionals, delivering exceptional client care and driving the core values of the firm. She also serves as a global lead partner on two priority accounts focused on understanding the client’s business, building and expanding relationships and bringing solutions to support long-term value for clients.

Cathy also has over 30 years of experience providing Advisory services to companies across multiple industries with recurring exposure to Boards and Audit Committees. She is a market and thought leader in supporting clients with Internal Audit, Risk Management, IPO/SOX assistance services.

John T. Greene is a board member at CRISPR Therapeutics and former EVP & CFO of Discover Financial Services, where he helped lead a transformative merger with Capital One and delivered over 350% TSR in five years. His 30+ year career spans finance leadership roles at Bioverativ, Willis Group, HSBC, GE, and Ernst & Young. He holds board positions with World Business Chicago and the American Cancer Society, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. Greene earned his bachelor’s in accounting from SUNY and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Joey is a Principal in KPMG’s Consulting practice with over 20 years of global experience. Based in Atlanta, he is the US Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) leader and has a deep background in enterprise risk and resilience, governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), internal audit, and internal controls. Joey advises boards and senior leadership in risk strategy, risk governance, and risk management. He supports clients with their opportunities to collaborate effectively with strategy, delivering risk transformation capabilities, data-driven insights and monitoring, and integrated risk management. When not working, Joey enjoys spending time with his family and walking his daughter to elementary school. He is an avid supporter of Atlanta United, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the Atlanta Opera, and the Auburn University School of Nursing.

Alex serves a wide range of global clients across sectors, helping them anticipate, mitigate, and respond to geopolitical risk.

Alex serves a wide range of global clients across sectors, helping them anticipate, mitigate, and respond to geopolitical risk. Alex was Eurasia Group’s Chief Commercial Officer and a member of the management team. Alex worked closely across the firm’s business units and research teams on developing and executing overall commercial strategy.

Alex has worked as a macro strategist at Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Asset Management and Bear Stearns. Earlier in his career, he worked at the G7 Group, an economic and policy research consultancy, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

He holds degrees from the University of California, Davis, and Georgetown University

Jan Koors is a senior managing director with Pearl Meyer and head of consulting services. In this role, Jan is focused on leveraging the firm’s consulting capabilities and enhancing relationships with our national marketing partners. She is a member of the leadership team which guides the firm’s strategy.
Jan has more than 30 years’ experience in executive compensation and governance and has consulted to companies of all sizes and industries. She advises company boards and management teams on all aspects of strategic human capital decision-making. Jan helps companies deconstruct their long-term value creation objectives into tailored HR strategies that go beyond simple competitive parity—designing programs that consider a company’s specific business strategy, management talent, and corporate culture.

Caitlin Lawrence advises publicly and privately held corporate borrowers and issuers, credit funds, private equity funds and commercial banks in commercial financing, direct lending and other complex financial transactions. Her experience includes back-leverage and tax equity financings, reserve-based and asset-based facilities, project financings, acquisition financings, mezzanine facilities, direct lending, restructurings and other structured financings.

Caitlin has significant energy, power and infrastructure financing experience, including matters in the renewable and energy transition space, the oil and natural gas markets, the power sector and infrastructure financings. Caitlin’s experience includes matters involving residential, commercial and industrial and utility-scale solar, utility and transmission infrastructure, manufacturing facilities, oil and gas exploration and production, midstream systems and terminals, oilfield services, distribution, storage, transportation and retail

Sonita Lontoh is an independent board director with deep expertise in AI, technology innovation, and sustainability. She serves on the boards of Sunrun, TrueBlue, and advises Sway Ventures, a Silicon Valley VC firm. Her three-decade career spans leadership roles at Fortune 100 companies like HP, Siemens, PG&E, and Silicon Valley startups. Sonita has led initiatives that delivered positive impact across business, consumers, and society. She has been recognized by the White House, U.S. State Department, Directors & Boards, SF Business Times, and inducted into both the Asian American and Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fames. She also serves on the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on board culture and the WEF/NACD climate council, and holds NACD Directorship, Cyber, and Climate certifications.

Edna Morris has over 40 years of executive and Board leadership experience in food, beverage and retail as well as 6 years in manufacturing (Cummins Engine Company).
Edna was named Chair of Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) in 2023. Since 2004, she has served as a Director of TSCO, where she chaired the Compensation and Human Capital Management Committee (2006-2023) and served as a member of the Governance Committee. She joined the Board of Full Course (privately held) in 2024. Edna is currently an advisor to early-stage Topsail Steamers, Luther’s Lemonade and Byte Kitchens Limited. Edna is a member of NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) and WCD (Women’s Corporate Directors), where she chairs the Steering Committee for Compensation and Human Capital Committee Peer Exchange.

A seasoned executive with more than 30 years’ experience at Coca-Cola, Beatriz (Bea) Perez leads a globally networked organization, which spearheads the company’s sustainability strategies, communications, and public relations, as well as the company’s retail, licensing, and attractions portfolio, including the company’s archives. Perez has held senior-level roles in branding, marketing, and operations.

Perez is chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation and serves on the board of trustees of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the Georgia Historical Society. Bea is a public director for Primerica and W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Sharon Podstupka is a managing director at Pearl Meyer. She is a trusted advisor to boards and executive management teams in the areas of executive and broad-based employee compensation communication and change management. With over 25 years of consulting experience, she is one of the original pioneers of executive compensation disclosure best practices and has proven success in creating effective strategies and delivering content in challenging business environments and under intense scrutiny from investors and proxy advisory firms. Sharon has extensive experience in a broad range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, oil and energy, retail, biopharma/biotech, and healthcare.

Lianne Richardson a principal at Pearl Meyer, joined the firm in 2002. With over 15 years of experience, Lianne specializes in providing compensation consulting services to public and privately held clients, including compensation market benchmarking, proxy analysis, incentive plan design, executive compensation strategy and philosophy development, and non-employee director compensation. She has worked with clients in the manufacturing, energy/utility, aerospace/defense, hospitality, insurance, banking, medical device, and healthcare sectors.
Prior to joining Pearl Meyer, Lianne was a consultant with Arthur Andersen, where she was a member of both the compensation strategy and equity incentives and the retirement, actuarial, and benefits practice groups.
She holds a BA in psychology with a specialization in business administration and a minor in education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Dr. Susan Sandlund is a Managing Director and Practice Leader of the Leadership Advisory group at Pearl Meyer, focused on leadership and organization effectiveness. For over 30 years, Dr. Sandlund has worked with Boards, CEOs, and all other levels of management on CEO Succession, board assessment, senior team effectiveness, coaching and development of leaders and planned organizational changes. Susan has been a director with both Bon Secours Health System, serving as Compensation Chair and with Peckham Industries as Compensation Chair and Lead Director. She currently is a member of the Bon Secours Mercy Health Ministries Board.

As Governance Advisor Susan launched the first private equity firm effort to recruit women for portfolio executive positions, company boards, and customer advisory boards.

Previously, Susan was Chair and Co-Founder of the WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Foundation, the President and CEO of PartnerCom Corporation, Co-Founder Onboard Bootcamp (OBB), and Co-Founder and the CEO of the Belizean Grove.
Susan has served on Presidential Commissions, Boards, and Foundations, including the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties and The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Susan has received numerous awards and honors including an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Wheaton College and WCD’s Visionary Award for Strategic Leadership.

Lisa Shall is a Managing Director with Pearl Meyer, with deep expertise in leadership development, organizational design, CEO succession planning, and change management. Prior to joining Pearl Meyer, Lisa was an Associate Partner with The River Group.

In addition, Lisa has experience transforming talent and implementing organizational effectiveness initiatives across a wide range of companies and industries. Her clients have included both public and privately held companies in the retail, financial services, healthcare, nonprofit, and consumer products sectors.

Lex serves as CEO of Edelman Smithfield, a strategic & financial communications boutique within Edelman, the world’s largest communications firm. Lex brings two decades of experience counseling Boards and C-Suites during high-pressure situations, with a focus on formulating compelling messaging to win support from investors, employees, customers and other key stakeholders.

He has extensive experience with Board-level reputation matters, having helped hundreds of companies with complicated transactions, shareholder activism defense situations, CEO transitions, independent board investigations, and major corporate crises.

Lex is a frequent author and speaker on corporate governance, trust, stakeholder engagement and investor relations.

Timothy J. Walsh is Chair and Chief Executive Officer at KPMG LLP, one of the world’s leading professional services firms, providing innovative business solutions and audit, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s largest and most prestigious organizations. He is also a member of KPMG’s Global Board.

Leading more than 36,000 partners and professionals across the United States, Tim is recognized as a visionary leader with a unique ability to get things done. He believes in setting clear goals and expectations for himself and his teams and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration through his words and actions.
Tim also serves on the board of CaringKind, an organization focused on Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving.

Anne C. Zavarella is the co-leader of the KPMG Board Leadership Center (BLC), which champions outstanding corporate governance to drive long-term corporate value and stakeholder confidence. She has interacted with multiple boards of directors focusing on board governance and audit committee issues—from risk and ESG to financial reporting and data governance.

 Anne is the previous Audit Sector Leader—Industrial Manufacturing and currently the Deputy Professional Practice Partner for the Great Lakes business unit. She has 25 years of experience with KPMG, primarily serving publicly traded manufacturing, technology and retail clients and currently serves as Global Lead Partner for a Fortune 500 consumer brand. She completed a rotation in KPMG’s National Office and is an SEC reviewing partner. She sits on the advisory committee for Miami University’s accounting department and on the executive leadership team for Go-Red for Women of the American Heart Association of Central Ohio