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.

Cris Azevedo is a Deal Advisory Partner at KPMG Brazil and Co-Chair of WCD Brazil Chapter. With over two decades of experience in financial advisory and corporate governance, she has led complex cross-border M&A transactions across Latin America, particularly in infrastructure, energy, and renewables. Her portfolio includes strategic advisory for global investors such as Brookfield, Mitsui, Mubadala, Engie, CGN, and Sinopec. Cris is deeply committed to advancing equity in leadership — both gender and racial — and plays an active role in WCD’s global mission to increase the representation of women in corporate governance through education, networking, and thought leadership.

Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a 4-time New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and book coach, thriving at the intersection of culture, business, and leadership. As the CEO and Chief Visionary Officer of Awe Luv Media and founder of The Book Academy, she guides aspiring authors to publishing success. Luvvie has written five bestselling books, including Professional Troublemaker and the Little Troublemaker series, and contributed to five anthologies. Her clients have achieved national and NYT bestseller status. An internationally recognized speaker, her TED Talk “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable” has 10M+ views and ranks in the Top 1% of all time. Featured in Fortune, Forbes, and Variety, the University of Illinois alum is a trusted voice on culture, authenticity, and disruption.

Dr. Myma Belo-Osagie is an experienced non-executive Director, Chairperson and Board Adviser who co-founded and, for over 30 years, managed Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO) a top tier law firm in Nigeria. Her current non-executive Board roles include: Chair, Africa Opportunity Fund (closed end investment fund traded on the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange); Director, Pensions Alliance Ltd. (Nigerian pension fund administrator | Chair Governance & Nominations Committee); Member, Advisory Board of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art | Chair Governance and Nominations Committee; Co-Chair Women Corporate Directors (Nigeria chapter). Her professional focus on business and corporate matters has enabled her to advise boards on a wide range of matters, including M&A, corporate governance, risk, and sustainability issues.

Betsy Bennett is an experienced corporate board, audit committee and nominating/ governance committee member. She has served as an audit committee chair since 2018. As a multi-dimensional executive with a strategic and financial foundation, Betsy is highly successful in entrepreneurial environments with the need to develop stronger corporate practices.

Betsy currently serves on the board of Flanigan’s Enterprises and chairs the Audit Committee. She has served on the board of Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay (JA) in multiple capacities for more than twenty-five years. As the Co-founder and President of the Florida CFO Group, Betsy has guided its growth from the original three co-founders in 2010 into a group of over thirty fractional CFOs concentrated in four markets throughout Florida.

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.

Cynthia Brinkley is an experienced C-suite senior executive and board director recognized at the state and national level for her accomplishments in the corporate, public, educational and nonprofit sectors.

She has over 30 years of executive leadership experience at large, global blue-chip companies. At Centene Corporation, she served in several roles including President and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Administrative and Markets officer, where she oversaw the markets (P&L for the company), international operations, business integration activities, government relations and was responsible for the transformation efforts for Centene. Prior to Centene, she served as Chief Human Resources Officer(CHRO) for General Motors, where she led the GM post-bankruptcy team in transforming the corporation’s human capital model, developing its talent strategy, and in recruiting critical new talent to lead GM into the future. She began her career at AT&T(SBC) where she held various senior roles, including Senior Vice President of Talent Development and Chief Diversity Officer. In that role, she led the creation of AT&T University and as its first CDO, rapidly advanced AT&T’s recognition as a leader in diversity. She also served as President of AT&T/SBC for Missouri and Arkansas, and Area Vice President for the Los Angeles region.

Katy Brown is Corporate Vice President for Microsoft’s Americas Markets and Industries, a $23B+ business spanning the US, Canada, and LATAM.

A 28-year Microsoft veteran, she has held multiple executive leadership roles, driving growth and innovation across enterprise sales, services, and partnerships. Katy has led major business units, from software and digital platforms to regional markets, and built a reputation for customer focus, operational excellence, and inspiring leadership.

Before Microsoft, she spent more than a decade at IBM and Lotus. Passionate about advancing women in leadership, Katy serves on the board of the Professional Businesswomen of California (PBWC). She also serves on the board of WinWire Technologies.

Marina Brogi is Full Professor of International Banking and Capital Markets at Sapienza University in Rome, where she also served as Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics (2011-2017).

From 2008 she serves on the boards of listed and privately held companies, including 6 of the 40 companies of the FTSE-MIB 40 index (comprising the largest cap companies listed in Italy). She currently serves on the boards of Assicurazioni Generali and Nexi (both in the FTSE MIB 40) and of MFE listed in the Netherlands.

From 2014 to 2016 she was one of the 5 top-ranking independent academics appointed among the 30 members which make up the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

As a Senior Partner with Spencer Stuart’s Board & CEO Practice, Suzanne M. Burns is a trusted advisor to numerous public and private company CEOs and Board Nominating & Governance Committees, where she shares her knowledge of Board best practices, CEO succession planning, insights on deliberate organizational and cultural alignment, and a perspective on how to successfully attract and develop diverse talent to drive shareholder value.
Ms. Burns is also a member of the firm’s global Industrial and Private Equity practices and leads the firm’s Distribution and Building Products practices. She devotes her time to advising clients on Board and C-suite talent selection, cultural transformation, and board effectiveness to increase diversity of thought and competitiveness. Ms. Burns serves manufacturing and distribution clients around the world, bringing more than 25 years of industrial experience in the areas of P&L and strategic growth leadership with best-in-class companies including W. W. Grainger, Eaton Corporation, and Idex Corporation. At Eaton she led the expansion of the primary U.S.-based company into the developing markets of Asia and Latin America through 15 greenfield and joint venture investments. At Idex, she was responsible for integrating 11 previously acquired businesses into Grainger’s operating systems and footprint.
Ms. Burns serves on two private company boards, Benco Dental and Palmer-Donavin. She also leads the Private Directors Association’s (PDA) Chicago Chapter as President and sits on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Botanic Garden Board where she chairs the CEO Succession Search Committee and Human Capital & Compensation Committee. As Co-Chair of Women Corporate Directors – Chicago and prior Vice Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Foundation Board, she is committed to improving equity for women and children.

Debra A. Cafaro is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ventas, Inc., an S&P 500 company and leading real estate investment trust operating at the intersection of healthcare and real estate. Ventas owns approximately 1,400 properties, serving a large and growing aging population.

A recognized industry leader, Cafaro set and oversaw the execution of a long-term strategy that drove Ventas’s market capitalization to $29 billion, from $200 million since her leadership began in 1999. The Company’s compound annual total shareholder return (TSR) has exceeded 18 percent since the beginning of 2000.

Cafaro has been twice named one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women (Forbes Magazine); a Top 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World for six consecutive years (Harvard Business Review); and the top female executive in the commercial real estate industry (National Real Estate Investor).

Anna C. Catalano has over two decades of service on public, private, and not-for-profit boards. She currently serves as a director for HF Sinclair Corporation (NYSE: DINO), Frontdoor (NASDAQ: FTDR), Ecovyst (NYSE: ECVT), Hexion, Inc., (private), and Clareo (private).

Her extensive career spanned three continents in marketing, retail operations, and international business development.

Ms. Catalano has been recognized on Fortune’s ranking of “The Most Powerful Women in International Business”, Directors and Boards “Directors to Watch”, Women Inc “Most Influential Board Directors”, and BoardProspects “Top 30 AAPI Directors in the US”.  She advises numerous organizations on leadership, strategy, and board governance. Additional information about Ms. Catalano can be found on her website, www.annaccatalano.com.

Tina Chang is the Founder and CEO of Pioneering Collective, a thought leadership accelerator dedicated to amplifying the impact of senior leaders shaping the future. With more than 20 years of experience in strategy, marketing, healthcare communications, CEO development, and speaker bureau management, Tina has partnered with executives, top speakers, and world leaders across 100+ leading organizations. Her clients, including Johnson & Johnson, TD Bank, Google, Novo Nordisk, and high-growth companies, rely on her to craft narratives that build trust, inspire audiences, and elevate visibility through media, speaking engagements, and board opportunities. Previously, Tina was Head of GLG Institute, a CEO community for knowledge-sharing, and held leadership roles in healthcare organizations, driving commercial and brand strategy.

Ximena Corbo is Director of Empresas CMPC since 2022, also serving on the boards of FGE, ENAP, and Conecta Logística, and as an elected council member of SOFOFA. Holds a degree in Business and Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, with executive education at IMD (Switzerland) and IE Madrid, and certification from the Institute of Directors (London). Brings 26 years of executive leadership, including a distinguished career at Nestlé with local and Southern Cone regional responsibilities, culminating in C-Suite roles. Actively engaged in governance and diversity, she is a member of ICARE’s Marketing Circle, IPSA Women Directors Circle, Chapter Zero, WCD, and Comunidad Mujer. Recognized among Chile’s “100 Women Leaders” in 2007 and 2021.

Paramita Das serves as the Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Advisor to the CEO at Stardust Power, lithium producer in North America. Ms. Das also serves on the Board of Directors of Coeur Mining in US; Genco Shipping and Trading in US and Toromont Industries in Canada.

She had served as the Global Head of Marketing, Development and ESG (Chief Marketing Officer), Head of the Chicago Commercial Office, Chief of Staff/Group Business Executive at Rio Tinto. Ms. Das has also worked as an executive with companies like BP and consortium of Japanese companies [Sumitomo Corporation, Itochu Corporation and UACJ].

She is an active speaker on topics of AI and Minerals Economy.

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.

Ms. Greenstein has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Axel Johnson Inc. (“Axel Johnson”), a privately held investment company that invests in global manufacturing and service businesses, since June 2022. Prior to Axel Johnson, she was the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Member of Lydall, Inc. (NYSE: LDL), a leading global manufacturer of value-added engineered materials and specialty filtration solutions serving the industrial, automotive, agribusiness, and medical markets, from November 2019 to October 2021. Prior to joining Lydall, Inc., Ms. Greenstein served as Senior Vice President of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), an integrated steel producer, where she managed the company’s $4 billion Consumer Solutions business unit from 2014 to November 2019. Prior to United States Steel Corporation, Ms. Greenstein served as President, Supply Chain and Sustainability of UL, LLC (formerly Underwriters Laboratories) from 2012 to 2014 and various other executive roles at UL since 2001.

Ms. Greenstein currently serves on the board of Copeland, a global climate technologies company, where she also serves on the Compensation Committee. Previously, Ms. Greenstein served on the board of directors of Briggs & Stratton Corporation from August 2018 to January 2021, where she served on its Finance and Nominating and Governance Committees.

Since 2013 she has been a chairwoman or member of various supervisory boards, such as Magyar Telekom AG (Hungary), Euronext N.V. (Netherlands), Deutsche Wohnen AG (Germany) and since 2023 at Huber & Suhner AG. She has 30 years of international management experience in ICT and in research centers with a focus on digitization and transformation. After studying electrical engineering at the Technical University of Wroclaw/Poland and international management at the Case Western Reserve University, she worked from 1991 to 2017 in various management positions for the Deutsche Telekom Group, most recently as SVP Technology Europe.
From 2019 to 2023, Kerstin was managing director (CFO; CTIO) for Helmholtz Center, one of the leading health research centers of the Federal Republic of Germany.

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.

Christie Hefner is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of leadership experience in public and private companies. She served as Chairman & CEO of Playboy Enterprises for 20 years, transforming it into a global multi-media lifestyle brand. Christie currently is a strategic advisor and serves on the boards of the Offutt Companies, Scent Beauty, Metro Edge, and several non profit organizations, including the think tank the Center for American Progress Action and Press Forward Chicago. A champion of innovation, gender equity, and brand-building, she has been recognized by FORTUNE as one of the “100 Most Powerful Women in the World” and was a co-founder of The Chicago Network, the Committee of 200, and the Chicago Chapter of Women Corporate Directors.

Amy Hellen has been serving as a Senior Advisor in Risk Management at Capital One since May 2025, following the acquisition of Discover Financial Services, where she previously held the positions of Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. With over 15 years of experience at TD Bank and prior roles at Fifth Third Bank, Chase, and PNC, she possesses extensive expertise in risk management, compliance, and consumer banking. Amy holds degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Syracuse University and serves on multiple boards, emphasizing the integration of risk management into business strategy to drive sustainable value.

Sophia Hudson is a corporate partner in the New York office of Kirkland and Ellis, LLP and leads the firm’s global Capital Markets practice. Most recently recognized as a 2023 Law360 MVP, one of the legal industry’s rarest and most prestigious awards, Sophia’s experience spans numerous industries, public clients and private equity sponsors.

The Honorable Valerie Jarrett is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of The Obama Foundation. Ms. Jarrett is the author of the NYT bestselling book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward. Jarrett is Board Chairman of Civic Nation and serves on the boards of Walgreens Boot Alliance, Inc., Ralph Lauren Corporation, Ariel Investments, The University of Chicago, and the Sesame Street Workshop. Jarrett serves on the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Advisory Board, Bank of America Enterprise Executive Development Council, and Microsoft Advisory Council.
Ms. Jarrett was the Senior Advisor to President Obama from 2009-2017, making her the longest serving senior advisor to a president in history.

Sharon Price John has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) since 2013. Since then, she has led the company through a financial turnaround while refreshing and expanding the beloved brand in addition to repositioning and evolving the company for future success via a multi-dimensional diversification strategy and a systematic digital transformation designed to drive profitable growth.

Samantha Kappagoda serves as an Independent Director, Nominating Chair and Audit Committee Member for Credit Suisse Funds, now under UBS (NYSE: UBS).

Samantha contributes to boardroom discourse by leveraging her operating experience harnessing data and analytics to drive ROI and mitigate risk as a data scientist/entrepreneur, and economist/capital markets professional. She is a seasoned leader with over twenty-five years of global experience across data analytics, digital transformation, financial management, risk governance, and strategy.

Recognized as a Director to Watch, Samantha is a frequent speaker on AI and data governance, cybersecurity, global macroeconomic trends and financial market volatility. Samantha’s contribution to governance discussions includes her article Board Governance of AI and Emerging Technologies in Directors & Boards magazine.

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

Geraldine is Head of Investment Banking for the Midwest Region and Head of Investment Banking Client Services for the Industrials Group.

Geraldine serves on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on the Posse Foundation Chicago Advisory Board and is the chair of the US Foundation for the University of Bristol. She is also a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Geraldine earned a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Bristol University in 2000 and an MBA, with high distinction, from Harvard Business School in 2008.

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.

Lanesha is executive vice president and global chief legal officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), a Fortune 50 integrated healthcare, pharmacy, and retail leader with over 330,000 employees headquartered in the Chicago metro area. Lanesha oversees the company’s global legal, compliance, corporate governance, and corporate security function for WBA, reporting to the CEO. Lanesha previously served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Ecolab Inc. and as the General Counsel for Flowserve and BMC Stock Holdings. She is a member of The Chicago Network and the Executive Leadership Council.

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.

Richelle Parham possesses 25+ years of global strategy and marketing experience. In 2021, Parham joined Universal Music Group, as President Global eCommerce, and Business Development, overseeing the eCommerce strategy across the iconic labels, publishing, and territories. In 2019, she joined WestRiver Group as Managing Director for the experiential sector. Previously, she was General Partner of Camden Partners focused on investing in growth stage consumer companies. Prior, Parham was CMO of eBay, responsible for the eBay brand strategy and brand marketing, performance marketing and CRM. Prior to eBay, Parham served as head of Global Marketing Innovation and Initiatives, and head of Global Marketing Services at Visa. She served on the boards of LabCorp, Best Buy, e.l.f., and Scripps Network Interactive.

Debra Panzarella is a Partner in KPMG’s asset management tax practice, with nearly 20 years of experience. She has deep expertise in federal, state, and international tax compliance and consulting, excelling at structuring complex tax solutions tailored to clients’ needs. Debra leads global tax projects and teams, delivering efficient, innovative strategies that drive operational savings and enhance client experiences. She is committed to advancing women leaders, co-chairing the Chicago chapter of Women Corporate Directors to foster collaboration and expand board networks. Within KPMG, Debra also holds a leadership role in the KPMG Network of Women, supporting inclusion, engagement, and career development for women across the firm.

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.

Andrea Rattner is a partner at Proskauer. For more than 30 years, her legal practice has focused on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, advising clients an ongoing basis as well as in the context of corporate transactions and other transformative and unique situations. Her clients include public and private companies, boards of directors, compensation committees and senior executives in a wide range of industries.

A noted author and speaker, Andrea is co-editor and a chapter author of Law Journal Press’ Executive Compensation treatise. A recipient of many accolades, Andrea has been recognized as one of the top executive compensation lawyers by several leading publications such as Chambers USA, Legal 500 and Best Lawyers.

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)

Laura Ricketts is the Executive Chairperson and controlling owner of the Chicago Stars FC National Women’s Soccer League franchise. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball Club and as Chair of the Board of Chicago Cubs
Charities, where she leads the organization’s philanthropy, sports-based youth development, and academic programming. She is the first openly LGBTQ woman to co-own an MLB franchise and is also an investor in the Chicago Sky Women’s National Basketball Association franchise. Outside of professional sports, Ms. Ricketts co-founded Beyond Barriers, an innovative professional development platform that helps people-powered businesses develop highly engaged, future-ready talent. Actively engaged with several nonprofit organizations, Ms. Ricketts has served on numerous boards and leadership councils and was appointed by President Obama to the Board of Trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and by President Biden to serve on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.

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.

With over two decades of experience in consulting, Olivia serves as Partner in Human Capital Advisory and Talent Management at KPMG Mexico, collaborating with global companies across diverse sectors. She is an active member of the firm’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee, as well as the Global FS Inclusion Advancement Council, and leads the Stronger Together KPMG Network of Women (KNOW) in Mexico and Central America. Additionally, she is part of the Talent Linkage Committee at AMITI and co-Chair at Women Corporate Directors Mexico. Olivia is seasoned writer, she regularly contributes to leading media outlets including Forbes, and other specialized magazines in Mexico, and pens a monthly column for El Economista.

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.

Jenny Speck advises clients on the qualification for and the monetization of energy transition tax incentives. She has worked on a range of energy transition projects, including onshore and offshore wind, solar, combined heat and power, biogas property, carbon capture, hydrogen and clean fuel credit projects. Jenny also provides tax advice on traditional purchase agreements, including the sale and purchase of tax credits, joint ventures, financings and other general transactional work.

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.

Diane Swonk began her career with money-center bank First Chicago. She climbed from entry-level to Director of Research and Chief Economist at Bank One, the merged bank. She spent more than a decade as Senior Managing Director and Chief Economist at the financial services firm, Mesirow Financial. Before joining KPMG, Diane had her own economics consulting firm and worked at Grant Thornton. Diane now heads up the growing economics team at KPMG to serve partners and clients, and to engage with the media to help showcase the firm’s achievements.
She has served as an advisor to the National Economic Council (NEC) on a nonpartisan basis. She regularly briefs the regional Federal Reserve banks and the Board of Governors in Washington, DC.

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 Sempowski Ward is a corporate board director, investor, former CEO, and philanthropist. She has led some of the world’s most beloved brands such as Coca-Cola, Ebony, and Clairol. She is currently Chairwoman of CURiO Brands, a private equity backed portfolio of beauty, wellness and home fragrance brands where the company has quadrupled in size under her leadership. Anne is also an Independent Director on the boards of SPS Commerce, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, The Lip Bar and serves on the Duke University Fuqua School of Business Board of Visitors and the University of St. Thomas Board of Trustees. And as a strong advocate for women in sports, Anne is an owner of the WNBA Chicago Sky and two USL franchises.

Adriana Wirtz is a tax partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP. She is resident in the firm’s New York office. She focuses her practice on tax controversy, representing clients at all phases of a tax controversy from audit through litigation. Adriana represents large corporate taxpayers and partnerships and has represented clients in the energy, real estate, life sciences, mining, and software industries.

Adriana previously served as an attorney advisor to Judge Carolyn P. Chiechi of the U.S. Tax Court. She is recognized in Tax: Controversy (Nationwide) by Chambers USA 2025 and as a “Leading Partner” by Legal 500 U.S.

She received her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and her LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Janet S. Wong is a business executive with leadership experience in professional services and as a public company board director.  She serves as a board director as well as Audit Committee Chair of Lucid Group (LCID), a sustainable mobility company producing luxury electric vehicles and electric powertrain systems and TWFG, a national insurance company.

In 2022, NACD named her to its 2022 Directorship 100™.  In 2023, Board Prospects recognized her as one of the Top 30 Asian American Board Directors in the U.S. In 2024, Directors & Boards magazine named her to its annual Women Public Company Directors to Watch.

Janet served as a senior partner with KPMG, a global professional services organization.
She is a CPA and NACD Certified® Director.

Anne 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 interacts with boards of directors focusing on governance and board issues—from risk and ESG to financial reporting and data governance.

She is the previous Audit Sector Leader—Industrial Manufacturing and currently the Professional Practice Partner for the Great Lakes business unit. She has 25 years of experience with KPMG, primarily serving publicly traded clients. She completed a rotation in KPMG’s National Office and a 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.