Virtual event: Live and available on replay
Interactive discussions on the big questions facing GRC professionals
The forum will take place as a virtual event designed for GRC professionals. It is a best practice event enabling participants to network, discuss, debate and dissect best practices and topical issues in the corporate governance world.
WHY ATTEND OUR VIRTUAL FORUMS?
Timely event: Covid-19 has further demonstrated the importance of identifying emerging risks and prioritizing investment in governance, risk and controls. This event is perfectly positioned to help you take stock of the year-to-date, refocus and plan for 2021-2022
Benchmarking: it is a great opportunity to evaluate where you stand in comparison to your peers, how other companies have managed and overcome similar challenges
Unique format: far from a traditional webinar format, our virtual event platform enables attendees to have intimate discussions and participate in virtual roundtable debates with fellow GRC professionals
Discover something new: learn about new technologies, innovations, and services that are available to help to transform your governance strategy, increase productivity and make better decisions
Network with the community: meet with general counsels, corporate secretaries and experts in the governance, risk and compliance community
Due to current restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic, the event will take place as a virtual experience.
Using the latest cutting edge technology available, our virtual event platform closely replicates being there in person with the chance to interact with speakers and have one-to-one networking in-between panel talks.
Going virtual connects our attendees to even more attendees, from the comfort of their desk.
The 2021 agenda will be announced shortly.
In the meantime, you can view what was discussed in 2020 below or by clicking here.
08:30 AM
Welcome to the forum: Meet the attendees
To kick the day off, please take some time to connect with another attendee via the ‘networking feature’. Like chat roulette, you will be matched at random with a fellow attendee where you can chat and swap contact details.
08:35 AM
Opening remarks from the chair and Shearman & Sterling
Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary
George Casey, global managing partner, Shearman & Sterling
08:45 AM
Presentation: Investor Trust Survey 2020 - what instills investor trust in companies?
Heidi DuBois, executive vice president and head of ESG, financial communications and capital markets, Edelman
09:00 AM
Harnessing lessons learned from the pandemic to strengthen governance
Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor, Corporate Secretary
Rani Doyle, managing director of the EY center for board matters, Ernst & Young LLP
Robyn Koyner, assistant general counsel, Coeur
Marjorie Pierre-Merritt, managing director, senior corporate counsel and assistant corporate secretary of oversight and advocacy, TIAA
Lopa Zielinski, executive vice president, corporate secretary and head of governance, HSBC US
10:00 AM
Improving risk-management practices in a 'new normal'
Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor, Corporate Secretary
Matt Geekie, senior vice president, secretary and general counsel, Graybar
Caroline Koster, corporate secretary and chief counsel at BGC Partners and corporate secretary at Newmark Group
Byron Loflin, global head of board engagement, Nasdaq
11:00 AM
The evolution of ESG post-Covid-19
Moderator: Steven Wade, head of event content, Corporate Secretary & IR Magazine
Ray Cameron, managing director, head of investment stewardship – The Americas, Blackrock
Ben Kruse, director of global CSR reporting and insights, AT&T
Gillian Emmett Moldowan, partner, compensation, governance & ERISA practice, Shearman & Sterling
Tom Riesenberg, director of legal and regulatory policy, SASB
12:00 PM
Interactive, virtual roundtable discussion
Join our live, interactive roundtable discussion to share ideas and best practice on the biggest future trends for governance professionals. This session really benefits from participation so don’t be afraid to switch your audio and video on or comment in the chat box. Enjoy!
Moderator: Tim Human, senior reporter, Corporate Secretary
Brian Tomlinson, director of research for the CEO investor forum, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose
Michael Rosen, head of capital markets engagement for CECP’s CEO investor forum, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose
12:45 PM
What next for the AGM?
Moderator: Steven Wade, head of event content, Corporate Secretary & IR Magazine
Courtney Kamlet, vice president, associate general counsel & corporate secretary, Vontier
Rose Marie Glazer, senior vice president, corporate secretary and deputy general counsel, AIG
Edythe Nipper, corporate secretary, South Jersey Industries
13:45 PM
A new start for boards?
Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor, Corporate Secretary
Eileen Kamerick, non-executive director, Legg Mason Closed End Funds, AIG Funds, Associated Banc-corp
Liz Riotte, vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary, Avangrid
Dottie Schindlinger, executive director of the diligent institute, Diligent
Jean Weng, senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary, Voya
14:45 PM
Final thoughts and 1:1 networking
To end the day, please take some time to connect with another attendee via the ‘networking feature’. Like chat roulette, you will be matched at random with a fellow attendee where you can chat and swap contact details. Enjoy!
15:30 PM
Close of conference
To inquire about speaking at the forum, please contact [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 4818
George Casey
Global managing partner
Shearman & Sterling
George Casey is Global Managing Partner of the firm and also serves as Global Head of Corporate and M&A, while continuing his full-time practice.
He regularly advises Boards of Directors and management on corporate governance and shareholder relations issues and has written and spoken extensively on current trends in corporate governance, ESG and shareholder activism. He has extensive experience in U.S. domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, ranging from public company acquisitions to complex carve-out sales, strategic investments and joint venture transactions, representing many of the largest U.S. and non-U.S. corporate and investment banking clients. He combines a very diverse transactional and governance experience with a deep understanding of clients’ businesses across the chemicals, healthcare, mining and metals, media, cable, technology and telecommunications industries.
George regularly represents multinational corporate clients, including Anglo American, Celanese, Dow Chemical, GlaxoSmithKline, LANXESS, Liberty Global, Lyondell Basell, Nokia, Novartis and Thomson Reuters as well as sovereign wealth funds.
In 2016, The American Lawyer named George a “Dealmaker of the Year” and “Transatlantic Corporate Dealmaker.”
In addition to his work with clients, George is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he teaches a course on mergers and acquisitions. He is also a regular lecturer on U.S. M&A at L’école De Droit De La Sorbonne – Université Paris I.
Ray Cameron
Managing director, head of investment stewardship - The Americas
Blackrock
Ray A. Cameron, Managing Director, is the Head of BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship team for the Americas region based in New York. In this role, Ray leads a team of specialists responsible for engagement and proxy voting activities in relation to the companies in which BlackRock invests on behalf of clients. Through direct engagement with companies, the team encourages corporate governance practices that support sustainable financial performance over the long-term.
Prior to joining BlackRock, Ray most recently managed the corporate access engagement practice at several investment banking firms, including Stifel and Cowen. In these capacities, he oversaw teams that established and enhanced constructive dialogue with hundreds of portfolio companies’ boards and management teams.
Ray started his Wall Street career at Morgan Stanley on the institutional equity sales desk. After spending several years as a generalist, he became a technology specialist. It was in that capacity, he recognized the potential of corporate access as a stand-alone business opportunity. Ray is credited for creating and managing the first fully integrated corporate access team on Wall Street. His team included a diverse group of sector specialists who were responsible for driving engagements in their respective industries and enhancing relationships with corporate boards and management and with internal investment professionals within the firm.
He was subsequently recruited to re-engineer the corporate access engagement practice at Lehman Brothers. There he successfully maintained the entire team through the Lehman bankruptcy filing and the eventual acquisition of equity assets by Barclays.
Ray earned his Masters of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas and his Bachelors of Business Administration degree from The University of Texas at Austin.
Rani Doyle
Managing director, EY center for board matters
Ernst & Young LLP
Rani is a Managing Director in the EY Center for Board Matters. She has extensive
experience working with executive management and boards at public and private
companies on a wide range of corporate governance and business matters.
For more than 15 years, Rani has focused on helping companies and their boards
to develop, maintain, and implement governance and compliance standards. She
assists with matters relating to:
• Board and committee governance, organization, operations and documentation
• Corporate governance philosophy, frameworks and practices
• Director onboarding, orientation and training
• Development, implementation and reporting of board evaluation processes and
results
• Company and stakeholder engagement and communications
Rani has more than two decades of experience in advising on a wide range of
public company business matters, including corporate strategic and risk matters,
public offerings, private and offshore offerings, other capital markets
transactions, and SEC disclosures and investor-focused communications.
As part of her role at EY, Rani was a member of the EY team contributing to the
Embankment Project for Inclusive Capital (EPIC), focusing on the corporate
governance aspect of long-term value creation. Rani also leads a growing network
of F100 Corporate Secretaries.
Prior to joining EY, Rani was a partner with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in
Washington, DC. Before that, she was Managing Director, Co-General Counsel and
Assistant Corporate Secretary at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, where she
helped lead the company’s 2007 IPO.
Rani began her career with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in the
Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of Telecommunications and
Computers and later served as special counsel in the Office of International
Corporate Finance. While at the SEC, Rani worked on several major rulemaking initiatives that continue in some force today. She is a recipient of the SEC’s Capital Markets Award.
Heidi DuBois
Executive vice president and head of ESG, financial communications and capital markets
Edelman
Heidi DuBois is an environmental, social and governance (ESG) expert with two decades of experience in the legal, corporate governance and sustainability areas. Heidi has advised numerous companies on ESG strategy, execution and reporting; engagement with investors and other stakeholders; and partnerships with NGOs and civil society organizations
to advance ESG objectives.
Heidi is passionate about defining the evolving role of business in society, grounded in the proposition that companies with a clear sense of purpose are better positioned for long-term success. As Head of ESG Heidi works with boards and senior executives on the design, execution and communication of their ESG strategies to multiple stakeholders. Prior to joining
Edelman, Heidi was ESG Director for the Society for Corporate Governance, where she developed new programs and managed thought leadership and engagement on emerging ESG trends for boards of directors, business leaders, and corporate governance professionals. Previously, she oversaw the corporate social responsibility and philanthropic functions for BNY Mellon and was instrumental in redesigning the firm’s approach to ESG reporting and communications, as well as
executing partnerships with external stakeholders, including the United Nations Foundation. She also co-authored reports on the opportunities inherent in gender-lens investing, one of which launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Earlier in her career, Heidi practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton before serving in positions of increasing responsibility in governance and sustainability at Assurant and PepsiCo. She helped establish the Berkeley Sustainable Business and Investment Forum, focusing on evolving concepts of risk management, capital allocation, and sustainable business practices as contributors to long-term value creation.
Heidi holds an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the Business in Society Institute at Berkeley Law School and the GreenBiz GreenFin Summit. She is a past member of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Leaders Forum, a past president of the New York chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance, and serves as a Trustee for the Unitarian Church of All Souls. Heidi resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Matt Geekie
Senior vice president, secretary and general counsel
Graybar
Matt Geekie is senior vice president, secretary and general counsel for Graybar, a leading
distributor of electrical and communications products and related supply chain management and
logistics services. A member of Graybar’s board of directors, Geekie is responsible for corporate
governance and the legal and risk management functions of the company. He also serves as
Chairman of Graybar’s Canadian subsidiary.
Geekie started his career as a trial lawyer at St. Louis firm Moser & Marsalek, next moving inhouse to Siegel-Robert Inc. and later Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin (now Husch Blackwell).
From there, he was appointed to assistant general counsel at Emerson, and then served as
general counsel and secretary at XTRA Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. He
joined Graybar in 2008 as Deputy General Counsel and was elected to his current position later
that year.
Geekie’s broad-based legal experience includes corporate law, corporate governance,
cybersecurity, commercial and securities law, ethics, intellectual property, product liability,
export/import law and risk management. Under his leadership, Graybar achieved national
recognition for excellence in corporate governance in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Geekie is a native of St. Louis, and received both his law degree and undergraduate degree
from Saint Louis University. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the St. Louis
Community Foundation, as Chair of its Executive and Gift Acceptance Committee, and as a
Member of its Finance and Audit Committees; as a Member of the Saint Louis Zoo Association
Board and its Government Relations, Investment, Finance and Major Gifts Committees; as
Chair of the Saint Louis Zoo’s Marlin Perkins Society; and as a Member of the Board of
The Oasis Institute and on its Executive and Finance Committees.
He is also a Member of the Board of CK Power, a Member of the St. Louis/Chicago Regional FM Global Advisory Board and a Member of Board of the Missouri Law Institute. He is a member of Vistage Worldwide, Inc. and a former President of the Saint Louis Zoo Association Board.
He and his wife, Karen, have three children. In his free time, he enjoys reading, golf and
exercise.
Eileen Kamerick
Non-executive director
Legg Mason Closed End Funds, AIG Funds, Associated Banc-corp
Eileen Kamerick is a National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow and SEC Financial Expert who is currently serving as a Board of Directors Member for three NYSE corporations and one LSE corporation.
Her financial acumen and expertise was honed in corporate Senior Advisor and CFO roles for major multi-national companies with businesses in Asia, EU, Africa, and the Americas, including: Amoco Corporation, Heidrick & Struggles, and Leo Burnett.
Eileen is known among top corporations—from small privately-held to global public conglomerates—as a strategic collaborative executive who drives growth and profitability while significantly enhancing stakeholder value.
She has an extensive network created from considerable active involvement with numerous corporate, civic, and nonprofit organizations, both nationally and in the California, Florida, and Illinois markets.
Eileen earned her MBA with honors in Finance and International Business and her JD from The University of Chicago and completed additional graduate work at Exeter College at Oxford University. She was Phi Beta Kappa and Valedictorian of her undergraduate class at Boston College.
Courtney Kamlet
Vice president, associate general counsel and corporate secretary
Vontier
Ms. Kamlet is Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Vontier Corporation. Prior to joining Vontier in November 2019, Ms. Kamlet served as in-house securities and governance counsel, with roles of increasing responsibility, for several mid- to large-cap companies. Ms. Kamlet started her career as an Attorney-Adviser in the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Kamlet has a J.D. degree (2001) and B.S. degree (1998) from the University of Florida. Ms. Kamlet serves on the Society for Corporate Governance National Board andchairs its Membership Committee. Ms. Kamlet also co-created a podcast, Women Governance Gurus, highlighting women in the field of corporate governance.
Caroline Koster
Corporate secretary, chief counsel
BGC Partners & Newmark Group
Caroline oversees corporate governance for the Company and also provides legal advice relating to securities, SEC reporting and corporate transactions and other matters. Ms. Koster joined Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. in 2002 and serves as its Managing Director & Chief Counsel for Securities & Corporate Governance. She is also the Corporate Secretary of Newmark Group, Inc. Ms. Koster also serves as Counsel and Secretary for the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund.
Ms. Koster began her career at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright). Ms. Koster received her A.B. from Duke University and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
Robyn Koyner
Vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary
Coeur Mining
Robyn joined Coeur in June 2013 as Senior Counsel. Before joining Coeur, Ms. Koyner was a partner in the Corporate and Securities group of the Chicago office of DLA Piper, LLP. She has extensive experience in public and private mergers and acquisitions transactions and securities offerings, joint ventures and other strategic agreements, corporate finance, SEC compliance and corporate governance matters. Before joining DLA, Ms. Koyner was an associate in the Capital Markets group at Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz in Chicago and an associate in the Corporate group of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, LLP in New York. Ms. Koyner holds a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
Ben Kruse
Director - global ESG reporting & insights
AT&T Corporate Social Responsibility
Ben Kruse is director of global ESG reporting & insights at AT&T. He is responsible for AT&T’s corporate responsibility reporting strategy, including alignment to leading ESG reporting standards and frameworks, and collaboration with major rating and ranking organizations. In addition to optimizing AT&T’s proactive non-financial reporting systems and performance, Ben’s team works to apply key learnings and best practice benchmarks from the reporting process, to advance corporate policy and programmatic impact. His team also leads AT&T’s biennial CSR stakeholder engagement process, to stay abreast of leading and emerging issues, and to inform the company’s long-term strategy and goal setting. Ben has nearly 22 years of experience at AT&T, with a diverse background in sales, marketing and public affairs leadership. He holds an undergraduate degree in marketing and international business from Kansas State University, and a Master of Business Administration in marketing from the University of Kansas.
Dottie Schindlinger
Executive director of the diligent institute
Diligent
Dottie Schindlinger is Executive Director of the Diligent Institute, the think tank and global governance research arm of Diligent Corporation, leading provider of secure corporate board communication and collaboration software used by over 650,000 directors and executives globally. In her role, Dottie provides thought leadership on governance, cybersecurity, and technology topics through presentations to boards and executives dozens of times each year at events around the globe. Her work has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and multiple governance and technology publications. She is co-author of the book, Governance in the Digital Age: A Guide for the Modern Corporate Board Director, ©2019, John Wiley & Sons, and she co-hosts the fortnightly show, The Corporate Director Podcast.
Dottie brings over twenty years’ experience in governance-related roles, including serving as a director, officer, committee chair, senior executive, governance consultant and trainer for private, public, and nonprofit boards. She was a founding team member of the tech start-up BoardEffect – a board management software provider focused on healthcare and nonprofit boards, acquired by Diligent in late 2016. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Diligent Institute and is the Vice Chair of the Board of the Alice Paul Institute, and she is a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar on Corporate Governance. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Byron Loflin
Global head of board engagement
Nasdaq
Byron Loflin is Global Head of Board Engagement at Nasdaq, where he leads board assessments and boardroom training for Nasdaq Governance Solutions. He is the founder and former CEO of the Center for Board Excellence (CBE) – acquired by Nasdaq in 2019 – and is architect of CBE’s unique board assessment and advisory platform. Byron is recognized in the governance community for developing unique products that address board dynamics, corporate culture, accountability and performance. His experience and expertise are in the design and administration of assessments and advising board chairs, boards, committees, directors and executive management in a full range of corporate governance matters including strategic alignment, best practices, board refreshment, diversity, structures and corporate planning. He and his team have performed several hundred third-party board, committee, peer and CEO self-assessments for organizations of all structures and sizes.
Byron is a graduate of Harvard Business School (OPM) and James Madison University (BA). He is a member of the Society for Corporate Governance, Institute of Directors (UK), and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Some of his recent published works include: “Love Your Neighbor,” International Banker Spring 2019, “Guide to Board Assessments,” Corporate Board Member June 2019, “Reboot, Not Refresh,” International Banker Spring 2018; “Board Evaluations: Getting Aligned,” published by Nasdaq 2017, and “Six Reasons Digital D&O Questionnaires Streamline Proxy Disclosure,” published by Nasdaq 2017.
Rose Marie Glazer
Senior vice president, corporate secretary and deputy general counsel
AIG
Rose Marie E. Glazer joined AIG in March 2017. She leads the corporate governance, securities, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and administrative services legal teams.
Before joining AIG, Rose Marie was Senior Vice President and General Counsel – Americas for Siemens Corporation where she oversaw all aspects of the Siemens legal department throughout North and South America beginning in 2012. Prior to that, she was General Counsel of Siemens PLM Software. Before becoming general counsel, Rose Marie was Associate General Counsel and Compliance Officer at Siemens PLM Software. Rose Marie has also served as interim General Counsel of Siemens’ Mesoamerica operations in Mexico City.
In November 2004, Rose Marie joined Siemens PLM Software from Telvista, Inc., an international contact center company. Rose Marie was Telvista’s Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to joining Telvista, Rose Marie held in-house counsel positions at Allied Riser Communications and American Airlines. She began her legal career as an attorney with the law firm Jones Day in Dallas.
Rose Marie was named one of the “Twenty Most Influential Hispanics in Technology” by Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology Magazine in 2017. In 2016 the National Diversity Council honored her as one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology”.
Rose Marie has been featured in numerous publications and is a frequent author and speaker on topics such as Corporate Governance, Crisis Management, Compliance and Ethics and the intersection of Technology and Law. She is a National Association of Corporate Directors Governance Fellow.
Rose Marie earned her law degree, cum laude, from Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, Texas. She also has a BBA in Accounting, summa cum laude, and a BA in Spanish, summa cum laude, from Southern Methodist University. She is admitted to the State Bar of Texas.
Gillian Emmett Moldowan
Partner, compensation, governance & ERISA practice
Shearman & Sterling
Gillian advises companies, boards of directors, executives and investors on compensation and benefit matters, including equity-based incentives, deferred compensation programs and employment, retention and severance arrangements. Her practice focuses in particular on issues that arise in securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions transactions. She regularly counsels clients on disclosure, corporate governance, trading rules (including Section 16) and the negotiation of executive employment arrangements. Gillian also advises on the applicability of federal securities law, tax law and general employment-related legal issues.
Edythe Nipper
Corporate secretary
South Jersey Industries
Edythe Nipper, Corporate Secretary, South Jersey Industries, Inc. Prior to SJI Ms. Nipper held the role of Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Heartland Payment Systems. She has also served as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, SEC and Governance at Alpha Natural Resources and as a Contract Attorney with US Foods. In each of these roles, she was responsible for providing legal counsel to CEOs, boards of directors and executive leadership regarding securities regulations, corporate governance and executive compensation. Ms. Nipper earned her BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida and her J.D. from Western Michigan University. She also received her LL.M in Securities Regulation from Georgetown University.
Marjorie Pierre-Merritt
MD, senior corporate counsel and assistant corporate secretary, oversight & advocacy
TIAA
Marjorie Pierre-Merritt is the Managing Director, Senior Corporate Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary of Teachers Insurance Annuity Association of America (TIAA), which has $1.1 trillion in assets under management (as of 6/30/2020) and offers a wide range of financial solutions, including investing, banking, advice and education, and retirement services.
Ms. Pierre-Merritt has been a practicing attorney for over 25 years with experience in establishing, partnering and executing legal and governance-related strategic visions. She has served as counsel and secretary to a number of notable companies in addition to TIAA, such as Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, The New York Times and Pfizer, practicing in the areas of SEC reporting and compliance, corporate governance, shareholder engagement, annual meetings, executive compensation, compliance with the exchange and other regulatory provisions, among other areas. She launched her professional career as an attorney at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, specializing in securities and mergers and acquisitions.
Her initial work experience began as a certified public accountant before she decided to focus on the legal profession. She also serves on the Montclair YMCA board of trustees. Ms. Pierre-Merritt earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law and B.B.A. in Accounting from Bernard M. Baruch College in New York.
Tom Riesenberg
Director of legal and regulatory policy
SASB
Mr. Riesenberg is the Director of Legal and Regulatory Policy at SASB. He is the former Deputy General Counsel of Ernst & Young LLP responsible for regulatory matters, primarily involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Mr. Riesenberg worked at EY from 1993 to 2013 where he was extensively involved in the major legislative and regulatory developments affecting the accounting profession. Previously he served for seven years as an Assistant General Counsel at the SEC, where he handled courts of appeals and Supreme Court litigation and international legal matters. He was the recipient of the Manuel F. Cohen Outstanding SEC Younger Attorney Award in recognition of his handling of several significant SEC enforcement cases. He also worked as a law clerk for a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., as a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice Lands and Natural Resources Division, and as an associate at the law firm of Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Riesenberg graduated from the New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review, a Root-Tilden Scholar, and recipient of the George P. Foulk Memorial Award. He received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, where he graduated with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is a former chair of the Law and Accounting Committee of the American Bar Association, former president of the Association of SEC Alumni, former treasurer of the SEC Historical Society, and a current member of the Advisory Board of the BNA Securities Regulation and Law Report. For seven years he was an adjunct professor of securities law at the Georgetown University Law Center. He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the D.C. Jewish Community Relations Council and the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation.
Mr. Riesenberg’s position with SASB is funded through a secondment arrangement with Ernst & Young.
Michael Rosen
Head of capital markets engagement
Chief Executives for Corporate Responsibility
As Head of Capital Markets Engagement for CECP’s CEO Investor Forum, Michael works with corporate issuers, the buy side and sell side, and other capital markets participants and service providers to deliver the Forum’s mission of rewiring the capital markets towards the long term.
Michael comes to CECP’s CEO Investor Forum from the sell side where he was most recently a Director of Investor Access at UBS Investment Bank. In this role, he advised Investor Relations Officers (IROs) on the development and implementation of high ROI investor marketing programs as well as broader industry trends including MiFID II and the mainstream shift by active investors toward integrating financially material ESG risk factors into their investment processes. Prior to joining UBS, Michael held various positions on both the buy side and sell side including J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Morgan Joseph TriArtisan Group, and Citi Global Markets.
Michael has an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, a BA in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Michigan and is a NIRI 40 under 40 honoree and member of the New York Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
Elizabeth Riotte
Vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary
AVANGRID
Liz has served as Assistant Corporate Secretary for AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company with approximately $35 billion in assets and operations in 24 states, since June 2016 and was appointed Vice President – Deputy General Counsel in April 2020. Liz oversees the corporate legal team and provides strategic advice and counsel to AVANGRID’s senior management and board of directors in the areas of corporate governance, securities law compliance and public disclosures, and corporate finance. Liz was previously an associate attorney at BakerHostetler LLP in Cleveland, Ohio and Verrill Dana LLP in Portland, Maine.
Liz holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law School, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Case Western Reserve Law Review and is a member of the Order of the Coif. Liz is a member of the Maine Bar and serves as the chair of the boards of directors of the Maine Women’s Lobby and the MWL Education Fund.
Liz lives in Cumberland, Maine with her husband and two daughters.
Brian Tomlinson
Research director, CEO investor forum
Chief Executives for Corporate Responsibility CECP
Brian develops executive-ready research to enable issuers to reorient their disclosures toward the long-term. His publications provide principles, frameworks, and management approaches for the practice of long-term disclosure and integration of ESG issues.
Brian’s work on capital markets has been published by Harvard Business Review, Institutional Investor, MIT Sloan Management Review, the World Economic Forum, IR Magazine, and the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance.
Brian has a decade of experience as a corporate finance attorney. He has an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from Oxford University”
Jean Weng
SVP, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary
Voya Financial
Jean Weng is the SVP, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Voya Financial, Inc., a Fortune 500 company that provides retirement and asset management solutions. In her current role, she works closely with the Board of Directors, advising it on corporate governance practices and trends, overseeing the organization and operation of all Board and Committee meetings and spearheading the company’s shareholder engagement program. In addition to her role as Corporate Secretary, she also oversees Government Affairs and Legal Operations for the Law and Compliance department.
Prior to joining Voya, she was counsel in the Capital Markets Group of Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP, where she worked on numerous capital raising transactions including IPOs, debt and equity follow-ons and derivatives transactions, as well as advising companies on 33 Act and 34 Act disclosure. She received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College, a master’s degree in musicology from Columbia University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She was chosen as the Corporate Governance Professional of the Year for a small/midcap company in the 2015 Corporate Governance Awards by Corporate Secretary magazine.
Lopa Zielinski
EVP, corporate secretary and head of governance
HSBC USA
Our attendees are leading GRC practitioners with an established track record and strategic GRC role within their company.
Below is a sample of some of our past virtual attendees:
Job title | Company | Job title | Company | |
Senior counsel | AbbVie | General counsel and corp. secretary | Investors Bancorp | |
SVP, corporate secretary and deputy general counsel | AIG | Senior director, executive compensation & assistant corporate secretary | Kelly Services | |
Deputy general counsel | Alight Solutions | SVP, assistant general counsel | Kemper | |
Assistant corp. secretary | Alliant Energy | Non-exec director | Legg Mason, AIG, Associated Banc-corp | |
Assistant corporate secretary | American Red Cross | Asst general counsel and asst secretary | Marathon Oil | |
Legal compliance coordinator | Ascent Resources | Corporate counsel | Masco | |
Director of global CSR reporting and insights | AT&T | Managing chief counsel | McKesson | |
VP, deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary | Avangrid | Corporate secretary & VP legal | MGRC | |
EVP | BCW Global | Director of sustainability | Micron Technology | |
Corporate secretary and chief counsel, and corporate secretary | BGC Partners & Newmark Group | VP, chief legal office & corporate secretary | National Student Clearinghouse | |
GC | BIO | Vice president, chief securities counsel and assistant corporate secretary | Newell Brands | |
Managing director, head of investment stewardship – The Americas | Blackrock | EVP, general counsel | NFP | |
Manager-shareholder relations | Bladex | VP, deputy GC and corporate secretary | NRG Energy | |
Sr. group director, corporate social responsibility | Cadence Design Systems | Associate GC, asst. corp. sec | PayPal | |
General counsel, assistant corp. secretary | Canadian Pacific | Governance manager | Pedernales Electric Cooperative | |
EVP, general counsel & CCO | Chugach Alaska | SVP, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary | Rockland Trust Company | |
Associate general counsel | Corporation Service Company | Executive strategy & assistant corporate secretary | Sandia National Laboratories | |
Assistant general counsel | Couer | Associate GC and assistant secretary | Sealed Air | |
Corporate counsel | Crawford & Company | Corporate secretary and chief counsel, and corporate secretary | South Jersey Industries | |
Chief counsel | CSG | Sr director, corporate | Splunk | |
VP, associate general counsel, corporate secretary | CUNA Mutual Group | Senior counsel and assistant secretary | TD Bank | |
Senior counsel & corporate secretary | Diageo North America | Assistant corporate secretary | The Hershey Company | |
Director of investor & external relations | Financial Institutions | Managing director, senior corporate counsel and assistant corporate secretary of oversight and advocacy | TIAA | |
Director of corporate governance & corporate secretary | First Business Financial Services | Senior corporate counsel | TrueBlue | |
EVP, general counsel and secretary | Focus Brands | Assistant corporate secretary | Truist | |
President | Galena Strategies | Associate general counsel, securities & corporate secretary | United States Steel | |
VP & sr. counsel, corporate | Henry Schein | Head of corporate affairs | Vanda Pharmaceuticals | |
Director, counsel, securities & corp transactions | Herbalife Nutrition | Vice president & associate general counsel | VeriSign | |
Vice president, associate general counsel | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | VP, associate general counsel & corporate secretary | Vontier | |
Executive vice president, corporate secretary and head of governance | HSBC US | SVP, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary | Voya | |
VP, deputy GC, chief corporate & securities counsel and assistant secretary | IDEXX Laboratories | Senior corporate counsel | Zendesk |
Why partner with us?
The Corporate Secretary Forum – US brings together some of the most influential people in the GRC community.
The event offers an effective approach to targeting clients when they are exploring how they can improve their GRC practice. Through our unrivalled knowledge of the subject matters and commitment to in-depth agenda research, our events are guaranteed to attract a qualified audience.
The unique buzz we create at our virtual events – a far cry from a webinar – makes them multi-faceted and highly interactive with great engagement in particular from leading GRC practitioners. This allows our partners to have meaningful conversations with corporates who are deciding which parts of their GRC program to invest in, which service providers to engage and consultants to retain. By partnering with us on an event, you can generate leads, showcase your thought leadership and position yourselves as the partner of choice to the GRC community.
We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience at the Corporate Secretary Forum – US. Get in touch with Taylor Ray or call on +1 212 430 6895.
In the last 12 months, Corporate Secretary’s virtual events have attracted the highest, most diverse and senior attendees and experts in governance
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Forum Partners
Diligent is the leading provider of modern governance solutions. Our digital-first approach brings together an integrated suite of product solutions, insights and professional expertise that empower leaders to drive change and build resiliency across their organizations.
Our solutions help build the infrastructure to operationalize modern governance processes and best practices, transforming effective governance into a long-term, competitive advantage. From secure collaboration and compliance solutions to our industry-leading insights and governance network, we are changing how work gets done at the board and executive levels.
The largest global network of corporate directors and executives, Diligent is relied on by more than 19,000 organizations and 700,000 leaders in in over 90 countries. With award-winning customer service across the globe, Diligent serves more than 50% of the Fortune 1000, 70% of the FTSE 100, and 65% of the ASX.
Visit www.diligent.com to learn how modern governance helps you outperform your peers and the competition.
Lumi is the leading digital platform facilitating in-room, hybrid and virtual AGMs for the world’s largest corporations, membership organisations, associations, legislative bodies, faith based organisations and partnerships.
It is the only platform that digitises the entire lifecycle of an AGM in a single solution that enables sophisticated meeting facilitation before, during and after the live meeting – including authenticated registration, live secure polling, Q&A management and relevant reporting.
Lumi is headquartered in Hampshire, UK where central functions including finance, product development and marketing are based, but has offices in 11 countries across EMEA, APAC and the Americas. Highly differentiated in the majority of markets where it is active, Lumi benefits from extremely strong, experienced and renowned MDs who head up each in-country team.
Its mobile solution enabled Lumi to facilitate the UK’s first electronic AGM held by a listed company, Jimmy Choo, in June 2016. The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic rapidly accelerated the adoption of the Lumi virtual meeting platform, and Lumi has run over 2500 virtual and hybrid AGMs during 2020, in 35 different countries, including several hundred here in Canada.
For more information, visit www.lumiglobal.com
The super early bird rate expires on September 17, 2021.
After this date the price will increase to the early bird rate of $95. The standard price booking price is $145.
If you have any questions, please contact Chloë Rutter at [email protected] or +44 20 3002 0396.
For partnership opportunities
+1 212 430 6895
For agenda inquiries
+44 20 8004 4818
For all other inquiries
+44 20 3002 0396