Jen Brewer
Jen Brewer leads with heart and creativity in everything she does. Jen’s superpower is building authentic relationships, and has spent over two decades shaping cultures of integrity. Jen is currently chief ethics and compliance officer at Activision Blizzard, the video game publisher owned by Microsoft where she proudly leads and mentors a team of more than three dozen legal and compliance professionals around the globe.
Over the last decade, Jen’s proudest achievements include pioneering the Way2Play Heroes program (a group of over 140 global ethics ambassadors across all of Activision Blizzard’s businesses), ensuring 100% of all eligible employees complete a live Workplace Integrity Training, and producing a first-of-its-kind Transparency Report in 2023.
Before joining Activision Blizzard in 2012, Jen was assistant general counsel for CODA Automotive, an electric battery systems maker; executive vice president at American Discovery, a document review outsourcing firm; and general counsel and vice president of business affairs at The Firm, a film and television production and talent management company. Brewer began her career as a corporate associate focused on mergers and acquisitions at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Brewer is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (since renamed UC Law San Francisco). She lives in Ojai, California with her husband, two kids, and pets.
Aaron Briggs
Aaron Briggs is a partner in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco, CA office, where he works in the firm’s securities regulation and corporate governance practice group. Mr. Briggs’ practice focuses on advising public companies of all sizes (from pre-IPO to mega-cap) and their boards of directors, with a focus on technology and life sciences companies, on a wide range of securities and governance matters, including SEC compliance, corporate governance, ESG and sustainability reporting, investor engagement and disclosure effectiveness, proxy solicitation and annual meeting process, shareholder activism and executive compensation matters.
Before rejoining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Briggs served as Executive Counsel - Corporate, Securities & Finance, at General Electric Company. His in-house experience, which included driving GE’s revamp of its full suite of investor communications (proxy statement, 10-K, earnings releases, and integrated report), provides a unique insight and practical perspective on the issues that his clients face every day.
In 2023, Mr. Briggs was elected a Fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel, an organization of leading corporate governance lawyers from the US and Canada. In 2016, Corporate Secretary Magazine named Mr. Briggs Governance Professional of the Year. Mr. Briggs’ work has also been recognized by Financial Executives International, ReportWatch, Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, and TheCorporateCounsel.net.
Mr. Briggs is a frequent speaker on governance, proxy and securities disclosure panels and serves on the Certified Corporate Governance Professional Oversight Commission for the Society for Corporate Governance. Recent presentations include to the Center for Professional Education, Practicing Law Institute, and Society for Corporate Governance. Mr. Briggs also is the author of several governance and securities-related publications, including a chapter on “Proxy Disclosure Effectiveness” in the Practical Guide to SEC Proxy and Compensation Rules treatise.
Mr. Briggs received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School in 2007, where he was a Kosmerl Scholar. He received his Bachelor of Arts with high honors from the University of Notre Dame in 2004.
Douglas Chia
Douglas K. Chia is the President of Soundboard Governance LLC and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Corporate Law and Governance at Rutgers Law School.
Prior to founding Soundboard Governance in June 2019, Doug was Executive Director of The Conference Board ESG Center. Previously, Doug served as Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Johnson & Johnson and Assistant General Counsel, Corporate of Tyco International and practiced law at the global firms Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Clifford Chance, both in New York and Hong Kong.
Doug is also an ESG Fellow at The American College's Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services; Fellow at The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program and The Conference Board ESG Center; Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law; Advisor to Foresight BoardOps; and a member of the Advisory Boards of the ESG Professionals Network and PracticalESG.com.
Doug has held central leadership positions in the corporate governance field, including Chair of the Board of the Society for Corporate Governance; President of the Stockholder Relations Society of New York; and member of the New York Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Commission and the Corporate Laws Committee of the American Bar Association. He is currently a member of the American Bar Association, American Bar Foundation, American Law Institute, Ascend Pan-Asian Leaders, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and Society for Governance Governance. Doug has also received numerous awards and recognitions for his work in corporate governance, including Rising Star (2008) and Governance Professional of the Year, Large Cap (2013) awarded by Corporate Secretary Magazine.
A nationally recognized governance expert, Doug has spoken at major conferences and seminars across the United States throughout his career and has frequently appeared in the news media, including CNN; NPR Marketplace; The Wall Street Journal; The New York Times; Financial Times; Barron's; Fortune; and The New Yorker.
Doug received an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. He serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Princeton and a member of the Dartmouth College Fund Committee.
Joan Conley
Ms. Conley has served as a Senior Advisor on Corporate Governance & ESG Programs at Nasdaq, Inc., since December 2020. In December 2020, Ms. Conley retired from her role as the Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary following nineteen years at Nasdaq, Inc., responsible for Corporate Governance Global Ethics and Corporate Compliance, and the Nasdaq Educational Foundation. Ms. Conley also served a founding Board Member of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center ( 2014 to 2020). Prior to joining Nasdaq, Inc. in 2001, Ms. Conley was the Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary) (1994 to 2001) and the Director of Human Resources (1986-1994) at NASD (now FINRA).
In 2021, Ms. Conley was elected to the Board of EJF Acquisition Corp. (Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Governance Committee) and Tigo Energy.
Ms. Conley is a member of the Society of Corporate Governance Professionals, Extraordinary Women on Boards the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Forum and the Economic Club of Washington D.C. Ms. Conley received a BA in Economics from Dominican University and an MS in Industrial & Labor Relations from Loyola University of Chicago. Ms. Conley studied Economics at London School of Economics.
Nicole Dragoo
Nicole Dragoo is the Chief Executive Officer at Chandler Asset Management. Nicole joined the firm in December 2001 in an operations role. Over her tenure, she has been a core driver in cultivating the culture that makes Chandler unique and has led the expansion of the operations, compliance, legal and administrative functions as the firm has grown. From 2008 to 2021, she served in the roles of Chief Operating and Chief Compliance Officer and as President from 2021-2022.
As CEO, she leads the Executive committee, providing oversight of all aspects of the firm and is responsible for the firm’s strategy, culture and administration of resources. She is passionate about cultivating a culture of shared success by building a diverse and talented team of people dedicated to being stewards of the assets and communities entrusted to us.
Nicole started her investment career with Merrill Lynch on the institutional fixed income sales desk. Nicole earned her B.B.A. from the University of San Diego in business economics and her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. She is a member of the State Bar of California.
Margaret Foran
Ms. Foran is Chief Governance Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Prudential Financial, Inc.
She has been a corporate governance leader throughout her career at Sara Lee Corporation, Pfizer, Inc. and J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. Ms. Foran is a director on the Board of Orion Group Holdings, Inc. and serves as the Chair of the Compensation Committee. From December 2010 through May 2020, she served on the Board of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, where during her tenure, she served as Chair of its Sustainability and Shareholder Engagement Committee, Compensation Committee and Governance Committee. Ms. Foran previously served on the Board of The MONY Group and MONY Life Insurance Company.
Ms. Foran currently serves as an active member of many influential advisory boards including, co-chair on the Board of Directors of the Council of Institutional Investors, member of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Governance Counsel, the Catalyst’s Advisory Board, the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance’s Advisory Board, and NACD’s Nominating and Governance Committee Chair Advisory Council. In addition, Ms. Foran was recently selected by The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to serve on its Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group (SEIAG).
Ms. Foran received her B.A., magna cum laude, and J. D. degrees from the University of Notre Dame, where she serves on the law school’s Advisory Committee. She is admitted to the New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey (In-house) Bars. Additionally, Ms. Foran is NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) Directorship Certified™.
Chris Gaskill
Chris Gaskill joined Summit Materials in 2015 and has served in various roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary. Prior to joining Summit Materials, Mr. Gaskill served in senior legal roles at The Western Union Company and Cardinal Health, Inc. He began his career at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP in New York City. Mr. Gaskill has a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of Colorado Goodwill, one of the state's largest 501(c)(3) organizations.
Holly Gregory
HOLLY J. GREGORY co-chairs Sidley Austin LLP’s global Corporate Governance practice and co-leads its Chambers-recognized ESG and Crisis Management teams. She counsels boards and senior leadership teams on the full range of governance issues. Matters in the public record include advising the Business Roundtable on its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation, advising on governance and accountability mechanisms for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to replace U.S. government oversight, and advising the Board of The Pennsylvania State University on governance reforms in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal. She advised the European Commission’s Internal Market Directorate and the OECD/World Bank Global Corporate Governance Forum on governance policy and played a key role in drafting the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. She also drafted the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Key Agreed Principles of Corporate Governance and most recently, as Special Advisor to the NACD Commission on The Future of the American Board, drafted the Commission’s Report: A Framework for Governing Into the Future (September 2022).
Holly is a founding trustee, Chair-Elect, and immediate past President of The American College of Governance Counsel and is an elected member of The American Law Institute. She has served as chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Corporate Governance Committee, as an appointed member of the ABA Corporate Laws Committee, and as a member of the ABA Business Law Section Council, the Section’s governing body. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and has served on multiple NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions. Holly has lectured extensively internationally and in the U.S. on governance topics, and she writes the governance column for Practical Law: The Journal.
Holly clerked for the Honorable Roger J. Miner, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. A summa cum laude graduate of New York Law School and Executive Editor of its Law Review, she served on the Board of Trustees of the law school from 2009 through 2011.
Holly has been named among the “100 Most Influential Players in Corporate Governance” (NACD/Directorship 100) every year since inception (16 years) and received Corporate Secretary’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. She was named to The National Law Journal’s list of “White Collar, Regulatory & Compliance Trailblazers” in 2018, was identified as one of “the best and brightest minds in the legal profession” in Ethisphere’s 2017 and in 2015 Attorneys Who Matter, and was recognized as the “Best in Corporate Governance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards 2016 and at the inaugural 2012 Awards. She is regularly recognized as a leading corporate governance practitioner in publications such as International Who’s Who Legal and the Legal 500 US. Her recent YouTube analysis of the business deals in HBO’s Succession has achieved over three-quarters of a million views.
Courtney Kamlet
Ms. Kamlet is Vice President, Group 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 in the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Kamlet has a J.D. degree (2001) from the University of Florida. Ms. Kamlet serves as a director of the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation and has served as a national board member for the Society for Corporate Governance. Ms. Kamlet co-created a podcast, Women Governance Trailblazers, which highlights the careers of corporate directors and other governance professionals providing insights to listeners. Ms. Kamlet was a Diligent 2022 Modern Governance 100 Recipient - ESG, Diversity and Climate Trailblazer and a 2018 Governance Professional of the Year (small to mid-cap) – Corporate Secretary Governance Awards.
Aya Kiy-Morrocco
Ms. Aya Kiy-Morrocco believes that investing in data-driven Environmental Social Governance (ESG) programs will drive profitability, as well as catalyze relationships and shared priorities with both clients and partners. In her role as Head of ESG Governance at Cognizant, a $20 billion global technology services provider, Aya leads an award-winning global ESG governance team and works to elevate the company’s sustainability disclosures, practices, and ratings. She is dedicated to strengthening institutional capacity to raise Cognizant’s ESG performance and profile among clients, investors, and other stakeholders while helping to advance that reputation externally through investor-grade ESG reporting. Her work in ESG has been recognized by leading independent analysts including Verdantix (2022 Innovation Excellence Awards – ESG Reporting & Metrics), Corporate Secretary (2022 Corporate Governance Awards – Governance Professional of the Year), and GRC 20/20 (2023 Best-in-Class – ESG Management, Large Enterprise).
Prior to her work at Cognizant, Aya began her career in government relations at BlackBerry with a regulatory focus. As a former lobbyist, she has extensive experience in regulatory affairs, including creating strategies for federal and state regulations (e.g., conflict minerals, e-waste, SAR) and submissions to government agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (e.g., spectrum interoperability) and Federal Trade Commission (e.g., content moderation). She later served as counsel and consultant for several start-ups and app developers with a focus on compliance.
Aya received a Bachelor of Science in International Politics from Georgetown University, and her Juris Doctorate degree from The George Washington University Law School. She is a member of the bar in Washington, DC and New York State, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the award-winning non-profit, Geeks Without Frontiers, which promotes technology for a resilient world.
Hope Mehlman
Hope has more than 20 years of leadership experience in both public and private companies. She has extensive experience in corporate governance, banking, regulatory and compliance matters, cybersecurity, M&A, public and regulatory policy, litigation, payments, securities, shareholder relations, executive compensation, and ESG. Hope was highlighted by Corporate Counsel as an extraordinary leader for her “Thought Leadership” as part of their 2023 Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) Awards and previously for “Innovative Leadership” as part of their 2022 WIPL Awards. She is the recipient of the 2023 “William H. Avery Award for Equal Access to Justice” presented by Legal Aid Society, Metropolitan Family Services, Chicago. In 2021, Hope was named one of the Most Influential Women in Business in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times.
Hope currently serves as EVP, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for Discover Financial Services. She leads the legal, government affairs, corporate secretarial, and ESG functions for Discover. Hope is a strategic advisor to CEOs and Boards of Directors.
Hope previously served as EVP, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Bank of the West (BOTW). In addition, Hope served as Corporate Secretary of BNP Paribas USA, Inc.
Before joining BOTW, Hope served as EVP, Corporate Secretary, Chief Governance Officer, and Deputy General Counsel of Regions Financial Corporation. As a thought leader at Regions, Hope was instrumental in designing and implementing a best-in-class institutional shareholder engagement program and a centralized ESG strategy and disclosure program. Prior to Regions, Hope was a partner in private practice.
Hope is committed to building diverse and inclusive work environments. In 2024, she will become the executive sponsor of Discover’s Professional Women Impacting Results Resource Group. She previously served as a Director of Professional BusinessWomen of California, co-executive sponsor of BOTW’s Women’s Initiative, and executive sponsor of Bank of the West's Pan-Asian Excellence Resource Group.
Hope is a frequent guest lecturer at Stanford Law School and conference speaker on ESG, corporate governance and financial services regulation. She has authored several articles, papers, and comment letters on topics ranging from corporate governance and bank regulation. SASB asked Hope to author "A Guest Expert's Guide to SASB Standards" for companies newly embarking on SASB disclosure. She also co-authored Chapters 6-8 of the American Bar Association's book, ESG in the Boardroom: A Guidebook for Directors.
Hope serves as a member of the Independent Oversight Committee for the Best Practices Principles Group for Shareholder Voting Research. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Corporate Governance (Society). She was the recipient of Corporate Secretary’s 2019 Governance Professional of the Year (Large Cap) Award. Additionally, Global Proxy Watch recognized Hope in its 2019 list of ten people around the world who have had a breakthrough impact in corporate governance. Hope previously served as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Institutional Investors, a member of Broadridge’s Independent Steering Committee, and President of the Southeastern Chapter of the Society.
Nell Minow
Nell Minow has worked on behalf of shareholders since 1986, when she was the fourth person hired at Institutional Shareholder Services. She served as its first General Counsel and later its CEO and board member, then joined ISS founder Robert A.G. Monks at activist fund LENS, board rating firm GMI Ratings, and now at ValueEdge Advisors. She's the co-author of three books, including five editions of an MBA textbook, and more than 200 articles on corporate governance, served on several National Association of Corporate Director Blue Ribbon Commissions, has testified before the House, Senate, and the SEC, was the first director of the Corporate Governance program at Cardozo Law School, and was given the highest award from the International Corporate Governance Network.
Mr. Seethoff was Corporate Secretary and Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Corporate Legal Group, at Microsoft Corporation where he managed the office of the corporate secretary, supervised securities law compliance, provided legal support to the Company’s board of directors, and oversaw the Company’s corporate governance policies and practices. He also managed a team that provided legal support to the Company’s Finance functions and covered mergers, acquisitions, and investments, benefits and executive compensation, corporate subsidiaries, and global procurement, real estate, and facilities. Before joining Microsoft in 1999, he was a partner in the Seattle office of K&L Gates LLP.
He is a Past Chairman of the Society for Corporate Governance, chaired the Society’s Policy Advisory and Nominating and Governance Committees, and served on its Executive Steering Committee. He was a member of the American Bar Association Corporate Laws Committee from 2013 to 2022.
He was recognized in 2011 by NACD Directorship as one of the 100 most influential people in the boardroom community. In 2017, he received Corporate Secretary Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Seethoff received his B.S., Accounting degree from the University of Washington and J.D. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.
Cynthia Nastanski
Cynthia Nastanski is Senior Vice President, Corporate Law and Deputy Corporate Secretary at PepsiCo, Inc. She advises PepsiCo’s Board of Directors with respect to corporate governance and sustainability disclosure and leads PepsiCo’s corporate governance shareholder engagement program. Her responsibilities also include overseeing all aspects of PepsiCo’s securities law compliance program and providing legal advice with respect to mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, finance and executive compensation matters. Ms. Nastanski is the Secretary of PepsiCo’s Audit Committee and Disclosure Committee. Prior to joining PepsiCo she was a Corporate Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Ms. Nastanski was named Governance Professional of the Year by Corporate Secretary Magazine in 2015. She received her A.B. in Economics from Harvard University and her J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.
John Seethoff
Mr. Seethoff was Corporate Secretary and Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Corporate Legal Group, at Microsoft Corporation where he managed the office of the corporate secretary, supervised securities law compliance, provided legal support to the Company’s board of directors, and oversaw the Company’s corporate governance policies and practices. He also managed a team that provided legal support to the Company’s Finance functions and covered mergers, acquisitions, and investments, benefits and executive compensation, corporate subsidiaries, and global procurement, real estate, and facilities. Before joining Microsoft in 1999, he was a partner in the Seattle office of K&L Gates LLP.
He is a Past Chairman of the Society for Corporate Governance, chaired the Society’s Policy Advisory and Nominating and Governance Committees, and served on its Executive Steering Committee. He was a member of the American Bar Association Corporate Laws Committee from 2013 to 2022.
He was recognized in 2011 by NACD Directorship as one of the 100 most influential people in the boardroom community. In 2017, he received Corporate Secretary Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Seethoff received his B.S., Accounting degree from the University of Washington and J.D. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law
Carol Ward
She serves as Vice Chair of the Advisory Board of University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance; Co-Chairs the Corporate Governance Professional Commission; and is a member of the American College of Governance Counsel. She is member of and served as Chair of the Society for Corporate Governance 2001-2002, leading it through 9/11’s aftermath and governance crises precipitated by Enron and Tyco, served on the ABA’s Committee on Corporate Laws, and was a long-time member and President of the Stockholder Relations Society of NYC. Ms. Ward received her J.D. from Emory University and her B.A. in History from Yale University.
Tiffany Wooley
Tiffany D. Wooley is a special counsel in Sullivan & Cromwell’s General Practice Group and a member of the Firm’s Executive Compensation Group in New York. She has broad experience advising on a range of corporate governance, securities, executive compensation and employee benefits matters.
Tiffany worked for Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) from 2004 to 2021, most recently serving as Chief Counsel for Executive Compensation & Governance and Assistant Corporate Secretary, where she worked with the Board of Directors and served as the secretary to the Compensation Committee and the Directors & Governance Committee. Prior to joining Marsh McLennan, Tiffany was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in the Executive Compensation and M&A Groups.
