Destiny Allen

Program Associate,
MCCA

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Destiny Allen is a Program Associate with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Certificates in African American Studies and East Asian Studies from Princeton University. During undergraduate study, she served as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow which provided her a research grant to pursue interdisciplinary research and produce her thesis titled “Beyond Mimicry: Black-American Street Dance, Global Commodification, and the Negotiation of Taiwanese Identity through Street Dance and Hip Hop Culture.”

JEAN LEE

President & CEO,
MCCA

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Jean Lee is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), the preeminent advisor on diversity, equity, and inclusion to C-suites across corporate America. As an immigrant woman of color with a background in social work and corporate law, the professional has always been personal for Ms. Lee. A fierce advocate for her individual and institutional clients, she now champions systems-level change to create greater opportunities for those who, like her, are building careers in defiance of the status quo.

Ms. Lee brings an intersectional focus to her leadership of MCCA, where she has established a researched-based management consulting practice to help organizations develop sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies; identified and promoted more than a dozen high potential talent for executive level positions in the c-suite; benchmarked the first-ever inclusion survey, which has been used as a framework for creating an inclusive culture; and established the first-ever comprehensive law firm diversity scorecard card measuring quantitative and qualitative data.  She leverages her years of experience as a clinical social worker addressing some of the most complicated societal issues and as a litigator to serve as a solutions-oriented advisor focused on impact. As a result, MCCA is moving from being a thoughtful convener of people and ideas to a thought-leader and advisor on DEI issues in the workplace.

Prior to joining MCCA, Ms. Lee served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan Chase & Co., where she worked on consumer litigation and regulatory matters, and was influential in re-establishing the diversity and inclusion committee to increase representation; and as a litigator at Milberg LLP, where she served on the firmwide global diversity committee to increase engagement of diverse communities. She is a past President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and a longtime active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and ASCEND, the leading association of AAPI executives. She currently she serves on the Select Committee for the Legends in Law Award for the Burton Foundation and as an advisor to law firms and corporate legal departments.

Ms. Lee is a sought-after conference speaker and a frequent commentator on diversity in the workplace and beyond. She has been recognized by numerous leading organizations as a change agent. The Council of Urban Professionals named her a 2014 Catalyst: Change Agent, and in 2015, she was recognized as a Trailblazer by the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York. Follow Ms. Lee on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Ms. Lee holds a B.A. in Politics and Psychology and a M.S.W. in Social Work from New York University. She received her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, where she was a Senior Editor of the Rutgers Law Record. She began her legal career at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey after clerking for the Honorable John J. Hughes, United States Magistrate Judge (retired), in the District of New Jersey. Prior to law school, Ms. Lee was a social worker for the Legal Aid Society in New York.

Speaker Requests

If you are interested in having Jean Lee speak at your event, please contact us at events@mcca.com.

Ken Mizota

Chief Product Officer
MCCA

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Ken Mizota (he/him) focuses on MCCA product strategy. He champions customer needs, enabling empirical data to influence every bit of a team’s work. He believes in living, breathing, and exploring every recess of a product, including the parts no one likes to talk about; customer credibility demands it, teams appreciate it.

With over 20 years’ experience leading teams within private and public sector, large and small, Ken’s tours of duty span Product Management, IT Management, Professional Services, and Program Management.

For the past decade, Ken has led product and platform teams focused on information security. Ken’s teams have built, delivered, and sustained award winning solutions in digital forensics and attack surface management serving over 10,000 organizations globally.

Ken holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles.

Tristan Moore

Program Associate
MCCA

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Tristan Moore graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Political Science. Previously, he worked on and studied prominent problems facing Latinx immigrants and people of color in the US. Tristan is  excited to advocate for more equity in the legal industry with MCCA before eventually attending law school. In his free time, Tristan enjoys creating and sharing poetry with others.

Sophia Piliouras

Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Corporate Secretary,
MCCA

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Sophia M. Piliouras is the Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), the preeminent advisor on diversity, equity, and inclusion to C-suites across corporate America. Ms. Piliouras’ longstanding commitment to racial and gender equity goes hand in hand with her belief that leaders become changemakers when they strive to always do better. By consistently advocating for sustainable DEI strategies and modeling effective allyship, she empowers today’s leaders to take action beyond the status quo. 

As both a seasoned attorney and an expert in managing successful organizational partnerships, Ms. Piliouras brings a wealth of insight to MCCA’s leadership team, where she directs programming and events, strategic partnerships, membership, and more. Since joining MCCA in 2016, she has served as Senior Counsel, Director of Education and Research and as President of MCCA’s Advisory Practice (MAP). 

Prior to joining MCCA, she served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan Chase, where she led teams in Auto Finance and Student Lending, Business Banking, and Asset Wealth Management, and as a litigator at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. In addition, she provided pro bono legal counsel to refugee and immigrant children through Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).

Ms. Piliouras is a frequent presenter and guest lecturer on topics in diversity, law, and strategic planning. She is a Trustee of the Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in Intellectual Property Law. Follow Ms. Piliouras on LinkedIn. 

Ms. Piliouras holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin and an M.S. from Columbia University. She received her J.D. from New York Law School, where she served as the United Nations Editor for the New York Law School Journal of Human Rights. Prior to law school, Ms. Piliouras was a project manager for CrossCom National and Hewitt Associates LLC.

Aimee Sampayan

Program Associate,
MCCA

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Aimee Sampayan (she/her) is a Program Associate at MCCA. Aimee recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Princeton University. With a background in sociological research related to DEI, educational equity, and child welfare, Aimee is excited to bring fresh perspectives and a strong academic foundation to the team.

MIU SUZUKI

Vice President, Growth and Strategy,
MCCA

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Miu Suzuki (she/her) is MCCA’s Vice President, Growth and Strategy, overseeing interdepartmental operations and strategic planning.

Previously, Miu worked at a social impact consultancy, integrating CSR and ESG strategy as a business imperative across for-profit and non-profit multinational organizations. Miu also managed the 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 Boards of Directors at a sexual and reproductive healthcare non-profit through crisis and transformation.

Miu received her B.A. in Political Science and English from Amherst College. As a second-generation Japanese American, Miu enjoys reading Asian American literature and advocates for race+ equity as a framework for our collective liberation.

CONNIE XU

Director of Research,
MCCA

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Connie Xu joined MCCA as the Director of Research and leads the organization’s key research projects and publications. A recent graduate from Columbia University’s Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences (QMSS) program, Connie brings experience in academic research specializing in topics such as diversity and discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender and race. She also has a background in business and client-facing work, holding a B.S. in Business from the University of Minnesota and having worked at KPMG and at Robert Half International in external audit and SOX implementation consulting respectively.

Wanji Walcott

Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer,
Pinterest

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Wanji Walcott is the Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer at Pinterest and is responsible for leading Legal, Compliance, Public Affairs & Policy, Philanthropy, ESG and Community Operations.

As an experienced senior executive, Wanji advises the senior leadership and the board of directors and has extensive experience with corporate governance, fintech, technology & innovation, compliance, government relations, investigations, M&A, talent management, and diversity. Prior to joining Pinterest, Wanji served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer at Discover Financial Services. Wanji also served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel at PayPal and has also held positions at American Express, Lockheed Martin IMS Corporation and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

She is on the board of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Wanji also serves on the Frederick Gunn School board of trustees and on the Women’s Board of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Ben Adams

Chief Legal Officer,
Western Union

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As Chief Legal Officer, Ben Adams oversees Western Union’s global legal affairs, public policy and regulatory affairs, ethics, and privacy efforts, and offers strategic advice to executive leadership and the Board of Directors. Ben also serves as Chair of the Western Union Foundation, whose mission is to create economic opportunity for youth and people who migrate by empowering them with the education and resources needed to succeed in today’s global economy.

Joining Western Union from PayPal, where he served most recently as Chief Commercial and Intellectual Property Counsel, Ben brings an extensive understanding of the complex legal questions and business challenges often faced by global payments companies. While there he also held the roles of Chief Counsel for Product and Technology and Chief International Counsel. Prior to PayPal, Ben held senior legal positions at Microsoft and Nokia, and began his career in private practice.

Like many among Western Union’s Executive Team, Ben is a global citizen, having lived and worked in diverse countries including India, Finland, Cameroon, and England.

Ben works with business and legal non-profits, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Western Union Foundation and OneJustice, and also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts degree from The George Washington University.

CRAIG BEAZER

Executive Vice President & General Counsel,
Lincoln Financial Group

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Executive Vice President Craig T. Beazer is the general counsel for Lincoln Financial Group. He oversees all activities for the legal, compliance, government relations and corporate secretary functions of the company, and provides strategic counsel to the CEO, senior management team and board of directors. He reports to Dennis Glass, president and CEO, and sits on the company’s Senior Management committee, which drives the company’s long-term strategy.

Before joining Lincoln, Beazer worked for Cleveland-based KeyBank, where he served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at major financial services companies, including The Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of America Corp., and General Electric Capital Corporation. He also held a number of private practice roles, beginning his career as an associate with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, where he served as a member of the Corporate and Capital Markets Group.

Beazer earned his J.D. from New York University and a B.A. from Iona College, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is a member of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals, where he is also a member of the Securities and Corporate Practices Committees. He is a former member of both The Clearing House Committee on Bank Governance and The Bank Policy Institute, and regularly serves as an expert panelist at high-profile industry meetings and events.

Michael A. Boxer

Senior Vice President and General Counsel,
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

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Michael joined the company in January 2018 as Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

Prior to joining Thermo Fisher, Michael spent more than 20 years at Luxottica, a market-leading consumer products, retail and healthcare company, where he held a number of senior business and legal roles and ultimately became Executive Vice President and Group General Counsel. Prior to Luxottica, Michael worked as an attorney with the international law firm of Winston and Strawn, specializing in M&A, corporate finance and capital market transactions, and compliance.

Michael earned his law degree from New York University School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University.

ADAM DECKINGER

General Counsel & Secretary,
TYSON FOODS, INC.

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Adam serves as General Counsel and Secretary for Tyson Foods.  In this capacity, he leads Tyson’s global Law & Compliance, Government Affairs, Internal Audit Services, Corporate Services and Aviation teams.  His responsibilities include overseeing all legal matters globally, corporate governance, regulatory, federal and state government relations and policy, internal audit, and risk management.  Adam most recently served as Senior Vice President, Head of Law and Compliance at Tyson before promoted to his current role. Adam is a member of Tyson Foods’ enterprise leadership team and reports to President & CEO Donnie King. 

Prior to joining Tyson, he served as an attorney at The Boeing Company and was an attorney with the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner.  Adam also clerked for two federal judges — the Hon. Andrew J. Kleinfeld, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Hon. Paul C. Huck, Southern District of Florida.   

Before pursuing a career in law and attending law school, he worked as a software engineer at Ciena Corp., a company that pioneered high-speed fiber optic switching.   

Adam holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Florida State University.

DUANE HOLLOWAY

Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer,
U.S. Steel Corporation

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Duane D. Holloway joined U. S. Steel in April 2018 to serve as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. He was appointed the additional role of Chief Ethics Officer in September 2018. At U. S. Steel, Mr. Holloway holds executive responsibility for all legal, ethics and compliance matters across the company. He is also responsible for environmental affairs, corporate governance and managing relations with the company’s Board of Directors.

Before joining U.S. Steel, Mr. Holloway served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Ascena Retail Group Inc., then the largest women’s specialty retail and fashion company in the U.S. During his time at Ascena, Mr. Holloway served as Global Chief Legal, Compliance, Sustainability and Diversity officer. As a member of the company’s senior leadership team, Mr. Holloway played a key role in the development and execution of the company’s revised business strategy and transformation program. He also led the transformation of those departments under his purview, significantly improving processes, service levels, outcomes, expense controls and levels of engagement. Mr. Holloway also oversaw the development of Ascena’s first-ever enterprise diversity function and strategy, in addition to a comprehensive corporate social responsibility and philanthropic program.

Previously, Mr. Holloway served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Corelogic Inc., the leading global residential property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. He oversaw members of the U.S. legal department advising on transactional, litigation, intellectual property, regulation, employment, antitrust, and governance matters. He also led the development of the department’s first-ever strategic plan.

Prior to joining CoreLogic, Mr. Holloway spent nine years at Caesars Entertainment Corp., the world’s largest gaming company at the time, where he progressed through increasingly responsible roles in the legal department before being named Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel, Operations and Litigation. In this role, he functioned as general counsel for the company’s global operations division, which included all casinos, resorts, hotels and other related holdings around the world, and helped lead the department’s continuous improvements to its operating model and strategy.

Mr. Holloway also practiced law at the firm now known as Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C.

A native of Baltimore, Md., Mr. Holloway earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Seth Krauss

Chief Administrative Officer & Senior Counsel – Endeavor Group Holdings
Chief Administrative & Legal Officer – TKO Group Holdings, Inc. 

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Seth Krauss is the Chief Administrative Officer & Senior Counsel to the Board of Directors and Senior Management of Endeavor Group Holdings, and has served in that position since January 2024.  Prior to this position, Mr. Krauss served as Chief Legal Officer of Endeavor from June 2014 until October 2023, and as Chief Administrative and Legal Officer of Endeavor from October 2023 to December 2023. In his role, he oversees Endeavor’s Legal, IT, Security, Health & Safety, and Facilities operations.  Mr. Krauss is also the Chief Administrative and Legal Officer of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE. TKO is majority owned and controlled by Endeavor. From March 2007 to June 2014, he served as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Take Two Interactive Software Inc. (Nasdaq). From March 2004 through March 2007 he served in the Legal and Compliance Division of Morgan Stanley, first as Vice President and Counsel and then as Executive Director and Counsel. From 1995 until joining Morgan Stanley in March 2004, Mr. Krauss served as an Assistant District Attorney and Senior Investigative Counsel in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Krauss currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of the Center for Family Representation and as a member of the board of trustees of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Mr. Krauss graduated with a Bachelor of Arts both in History and in Political Science from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

Hannah Lim-Johnson

Former Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary,
Meritor, Inc.

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Hannah Lim-Johnson was senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Meritor, Inc. She joined Meritor in August 2020.

In this position, Lim-Johnson had responsibility for Meritor’s legal affairs, which included oversight of legal activities related to corporate governance, acquisitions and divestitures, litigation, business standards compliance, regulatory compliance and intellectual property. She also managed the global corporate legal and compliance department.

Lim-Johnson was most recently a senior vice president and chief legal officer at Kelly Services, where she was responsible for leading the strategic direction of the Law Department and Global Security functions. She also held senior-level roles at PSEG, the ADT Corporation and TYCO International, and served as deputy attorney general for the Attorney General’s Office in Trenton, New Jersey.

Lim-Johnson holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Rutgers University School of Law, where she served as the Managing Editor of the Rutgers Law Review, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Illinois. She also serves as a board member for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the Leadership Institute of Women of Color Attorneys.

Linda Lu

Chief Legal and Risk Officer,
Zip Co

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Linda oversees Zip’s legal, compliance, enterprise risk and financial crime functions.

Prior to Zip, Linda was Senior Vice President overseeing global litigation, government actions, legal strategy, and insurance risk management at TransUnion, a global data and insights company headquartered in the US. She was on TransUnion’s Enterprise Risk Management Committee. Prior to TransUnion, Linda was the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Nationwide Insurance Personal Lines, and previously, its Chief Litigation Officer.

Linda serves as a Board Member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and a past Vice President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Linda was a Fellow of the Leadership Council of Legal Diversity, and a past Vice President of The University of Chicago Alumni Board of Governors.

LAURENCE MIDLER

Former Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer, and Senior Advisor

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Laurence H. Midler was an Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer for CBRE. Larry was a member of CBRE’s Executive Committee and oversaw its Legal, Compliance and Risk Management functions. He joined the company in April 2004 and helped lead the firm through its IPO, several transformational acquisitions and a period of global expansion and robust growth to number 122 in the Fortune list of the largest U.S.-based companies.

Prior to joining CBRE, Mr. Midler served as General Counsel to Micro Warehouse, Inc. from 2000 to 2003 and as its Assistant General Counsel from 1998 to 2000. Earlier, Mr. Midler was General Counsel of Serviscope Corporation. Mr. Midler began his legal career with Latham & Watkins, a global law firm.

Mr. Midler is active in giving back to his community, both through work and in his personal time. Mr. Midler serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Goodwill of Southern California.

JENNIFER NEWSTEAD

Chief Legal Officer,
Meta Platforms, Inc.

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Jennifer G. Newstead is chief legal officer at Meta, formerly Facebook, overseeing all global legal and corporate governance matters on behalf of the company. Prior to joining Meta in 2019, Jennifer served in senior roles in government, most recently as the Senate-confirmed legal adviser of the US Department of State, advising on issues of domestic and international law affecting the conduct of US foreign relations. Previously, she served as general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and as a principal deputy assistant attorney general at the US Department of Justice. In the private sector, Jennifer spent twelve years as a partner in a global law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, advising technology, media, and financial services firms on litigation and regulatory matters. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1991 and from Yale Law School in 1994. Jennifer clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Laurence Silberman of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. She previously served as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.

Tom Robertson

Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation

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Tom Robertson leads the Corporate, External & Legal Affairs team that supports the Experiences and Devices Group, which is responsible for Office, Windows, M365, Microsoft Surface devices, Teams, and many other products and services. He has led several other teams in Seattle, Tokyo, and Hong Kong since joining Microsoft in 1997. Before Microsoft, Robertson served as Associate General Counsel in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, where he was responsible for intellectual property issues globally and general trade issues with U.S. trading partners in the Asia Pacific region. Before that, Robertson practiced law at Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C., and London, England, and was a law clerk to the Honorable Albert Bryan, Jr., then Chief Judge in the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Virginia.

Robertson holds both Bachelor of Science and Law degrees from the University of Virginia. He is admitted to practice in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Washington State. He serves on the Boards of the National Bureau of Asian Research, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Town Hall Seattle. He is a Life Member of the Council of Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program.

He lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife and three daughters.

ANNE ROBINSON

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer,
IBM

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Anne E. Robinson is IBM’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer.

Previously, she was general counsel of Vanguard, and secretary of the Vanguard funds. She was the managing director of the Office of the General Counsel, where she led Global Public Policy, Legal, Compliance, and Investment Stewardship.

Anne has extensive experience counseling boards of directors and senior executive teams on a range of legal, regulatory, and corporate governance matters across global markets. She joined Vanguard in 2016 from Citigroup, where she was managing director and general counsel for its global cards and consumer services business. She also served as managing counsel at American Express, holding a wide range of senior legal positions over her 10-year tenure at the organization. Prior to American Express, Anne served as counsel for Deloitte’s venture capital and global outsourcing organization and started her career in private law practice at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, and McCloy.

She currently serves as an independent, non-executive director of National Grid plc and is a member of their Remuneration and Safety & Sustainability Committees.

Throughout her career, Anne has remained dedicated to advancing diversity in the legal field, for present and future generations. Her advocacy for underrepresented communities permeates her work as an industry leader. She serves on the boards of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), Children’s Rights, and the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. In 2023, Anne was honored as a Legend in Law at the prestigious Burton Awards, recognizing her extraordinary contributions and impact within the legal profession.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hampton University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

MICHAEL TANG

Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer,
Emerson Electric Co.

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Michael Tang is Senior Vice President, Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of Emerson. In this role, he is responsible for all legal matters and global security pertaining to Emerson, including corporate governance, M&A, compliance, dispute resolution, and corporate and commercial operational matters. He also is a member of Emerson’s Office of the Chief Executive, which helps develop and guide the company’s global business strategies. 

Tang has more than two decades of extensive legal and leadership experience. Prior to joining Emerson in 2023, he held the role of senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Agilent Technologies Inc. Before joining Agilent in 2006, Tang served as an associate specializing in corporate and securities at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Fenwick & West LLP. 

Tang received his Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from The Wharton School of Business. He is an active member of the State Bar of California and serves on the Board of Directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.  

Joseph J. Centeno

Outside General Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary,
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

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Joe Centeno’s practice includes collective and class action litigation,employment litigation, high stakes #MeToo matters, restrictive covenants, labor relations, policies, leave, termination of employment, joint employment, diversity and inclusion strategy and planning, Title IX investigation and compliance, and C-suite executive employment agreements. Joe counsels employers on virtually all employment and labor-related laws and regulations.He has extensive jury trial experience and has been lead trial counsel in numerous high-profile trials and arbitrations. He also has broad experience in defending claims before state and federal agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, many state and city Human and Relations and Civil Rights Commissions and agencies, and the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, where he served as a Commissioner by mayoral appointment.

Joe has been nationally recognized for his lawyering by Best Lawyers in America, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Philadelphia Business Journal, Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. He co-chairs Buchanan’s Labor, Employment, Benefits & Immigration section, which has been recognized as a national Tier 1 practice by U.S. News & World Report.

Clients can expect highly responsive, strategic guidance and aggressive advocacy from Joe. He is passionately client-focused and brings 25 years of legal, human resources and business experience to every matter.

Haley Ayure

Corporate Secretary,
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

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Haley R. Ayure focuses her practice on a full range of domestic and international corporate transactions and general commercial matters, advising businesses through each stage of the business cycle: formation, fundraising, operations, acquisitions and sale. She handles matters including mergers and acquisitions, financings, joint ventures, federal and state securities law compliance, commercial contracts, entity selection and formations, alcohol beverage licensing, general corporate governance and corporate restructurings. Haley also practices in the area of business immigration law, with a particular emphasis on developing corporate solutions to help foreign entrepreneurs start U.S. companies and qualify for visas.

Haley represents clients in a variety of industries, including technology, sports, fitness and nutrition, beer manufacturing/craft brewing, restaurants, hotels and hospitality, real estate development, security alarm, manufacturing and entertainment. Haley’s clients include startups and emerging companies, entrepreneurs, investors, private equity/venture capital, closely held companies, public companies and nonprofits.

Haley volunteers as an Expert-In-Residence at the University of Tampa Lowth Entrepreneurship Center’s incubator/accelerator program and has guest taught business law classes at the University of Tampa. Prior to joining the firm, Haley served as a Judicial Intern for the Executive Office for Immigration Review in Orlando. While attending Stetson University College of Law, Haley received the John B. Stetson Merit Scholarship and several high-grade designations. She writes for the firm’s corporate startup blog, buchanan-labs.com, and immigration blog, knowingimmigrationlaw.com.

Haley is fluent in Spanish and proficient in American Sign Language.

In addition to providing sophisticated legal counsel, Haley is committed to people. She strives to approach every interaction with a positive outlook and friendly demeanor, and endeavors to understand the real-life concerns of her clients while guiding them through transactions. Having owned and run a small business herself, Haley understands the balance involved in both taking and minimizing risk, and she strives to help her clients through this process in a way that sets them up for success.

Outside the office, Haley enjoys spending time with family and friends, singing, working out, reading and taking in all the beauty and activity that Florida has to offer. As a working mom, Haley values the time she spends with her daughter and is a firm believer in making every moment count.

SAMANTHA C. GRANT

Partner,
Reed Smith LLP

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Rodney Pratt

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer,
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.

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Rodney C. Pratt has over 20 years of experience and success leading global retail organizations as a trusted and strategic business executive and legal advisor. Rodney currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., the North America subsidiary of the French multinational conglomerate and world leader in luxury products and services. Rodney oversees the North American business, leads the LVMH North America legal team, and serves on the LVMH North America Executive Leadership Team. In his role, Rodney is responsible for strategic, tactical, and operational execution and oversight on the entire range of legal matters that typically confront a business unit within a major global consumer company. Rodney also supports LVMH Maisons, providing proactive and pragmatic legal counsel regarding worldwide regulatory, corporate, litigation and commercial matters. 

Prior to joining LVMH, Rodney spent over 11 years at NIKE, Inc. While at NIKE, Rodney served for over six years as General Counsel of Converse Inc., a wholly owned NIKE subsidiary. In addition to his legal responsibilities, Rodney was a highly valued and respected enterprise leader and served as an inaugural member of NIKE’s externally focused Black Community Commitment Task Force and Co-Founder of the Converse Diversity Network.  

Rodney is Co-Chair of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Advisory Board.  Rodney serves on the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Eye & Ear (MEE), a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and home to the world’s largest hearing and vision research center. Rodney is a Co-Founder and Board member of the Boston-based New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund (NCF). Rodney is an Adjunct Professor at Howard University School of Law where he co-teaches a course on Sports & Social Justice.  

Rodney is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and received his law degree from the George Washington University Law School. While in law school, Rodney served as a White House Intern in the Office of the Chief of Staff under the Clinton Administration. 

Rodney proudly serves as a mentor and advisor to attorneys of all practice areas and backgrounds.

Tim Brown

President, Venerable Investment Advisers
EVP, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary, Venerable Holdings

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Tim Brown joined Venerable Holdings, Inc. in June 2018 as the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary. He leads the Law and Compliance Departments and is responsible for a range of areas including corporate governance, securities, regulatory law, compliance, litigation, mergers & acquisitions, commercial contracting, intellectual property, and government affairs. In 2023, he was appointed to the additional role of President of Venerable Investment Advisers where he has P&L responsibility for the investment adviser business line.

Previously, Mr. Brown was Vice President and Chief Counsel for Voya Financial, Inc., a Fortune 500 financial services company. During his time at Voya, Mr. Brown served as M&A, Corporate Transactions, and Regulatory Counsel. As a member of the leadership team, he took the company public in 2013 and played a pivotal role in driving global market realignment and margin expansion initiatives. He also led successful industry efforts to pass legislation to further strategic business priorities.

Mr. Brown started his legal career as a Corporate and Securities attorney with King & Spalding, LLP before moving to Greenberg Traurig, LLP. He is currently a member of the board of trustees of Venerable Variable Insurance Trust and the board of directors of the Federation of Iowa Insurers. He is also the past Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Hands on Atlanta board of directors.

A native of Nashville, TN, Mr. Brown earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee State University, cum laude, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Elena Centeio

Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Finance & Global Innovation,
General Motors Company

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Elena is an experienced corporate attorney who started her career at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 25 years ago and has since spent more than 15 years in-house. She proactively partners with business leaders at GM to balance risk and opportunity utilizing broad-based legal and business experience. Elena advises on M&A, financing matters, venture projects, co-developments, joint ventures, government contracting, and internal reorganizations. She is also fortunate to support the new business incubator within GM and ensures the team is well positioned to react quickly to differing risk profiles while remaining nimble. She gets to work on flying cars!

Her passion is enabling GM to become the most inclusive company in the world. She leads GM Legal Staff’s committee on Awareness and Training which is driving better understanding and awareness within GM on the disparate treatment of certain people and increasing more open dialogue on diversity, equity and inclusion.

She also serves on the board of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra which enables her to support programs to put instruments into the hands of all children within Detroit.

She is a practitioner of continuous improvement and holds a green belt in Six Sigma.

Joe Drayton

Partner,
Proskauer Rose LLP

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A first-chair trial lawyer, Joe Drayton has represented some of the nation’s most prominent companies across a wide array of industries in all facets of intellectual property (IP) litigation before both state and federal courts, as well as the International Trade Commission and American Arbitration Association.

Joe has more than two decades of experience specializing in both domestic and international intellectual property and complex commercial disputes, including patent, trade secrets, copyright, trademark and trade dress and false advertising across diverse industries. He also counsels clients in all aspects of IP acquisition, transfer, protection and enforcement.

Joe is a trusted advisor for several corporate executives and a national leader in the legal community. He is regularly recognized as one of the top lawyers in the U.S., having consistently been named to the IAM Patent 1000 list. Most recently, Joe received the C. Francis Stadford Award by the National Bar Association, the highest award bestowed by the association that is given to a member whose leadership, integrity, legal skills and devotion have inspired colleagues and contributed greatly to the legal profession. A longtime bar leader, Joe served as the 76th president of the National Bar Association and is also a former vice president and Board chair of the New York City Bar Association.

Ellen Duffy

Senior Vice President, Head of Employment Law,
Lincoln Financial Group

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Ellen Duffy is Senior Vice President, Head of Employment Law at Lincoln Financial Group where she leads the Employment Law team, providing executive leadership, strategy and legal representation for all aspects of human resources, including labor, employment, employee benefits and immigration. Ellen provides strategic counsel to senior leadership on employment-related legal issues such as diversity and inclusion, and discrimination and harassment prevention. Ellen serves as the Executive Sponsor for Lincoln’s Legal Diversity Action Team.

Ellen has 30 years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law. Previously, she worked for Genworth Financial where she served as Deputy General Counsel, focused on labor and employment, for nearly 15 years. Prior to that, she was Vice President, Senior Employment counsel at GE Financial Assurance. She was also a partner with LeClair Ryan and held various other leadership roles within the labor and employment legal space including the firm, Goodwin Procter, and the Equal Employment Advisory Council.

Ellen began her legal career as law clerk intern for the Honorable William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She earned her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and American Studies, magna cum laude, from Wellesley College. Ellen serves on the board of directors for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger and has served as a board member for Feed More: central Virginia’s core hunger relief organization. Ellen is a member of the American Employment Law Council, the nation’s premier organization of senior labor and employment attorneys.

Willie Hernandez

General Counsel, International
The Coca-Cola Company

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Willie Hernandez is an executive who leads large-scale, high-performing teams and global public companies through transformation, expansion, complex crises and opportunities worldwide. He currently serves as General Counsel, International of The Coca-Cola Company where he is responsible for legal support to the company’s operations in 200 countries and territories.

 Known for growing, protecting, and restoring credibility with governments, investors, consumers, and the public in the U.S and worldwide, Willie has more than 20 years of experience navigating highly competitive, heavily regulated environments for leading public companies. He has served across all lines of business and supported a wide range of corporate functions, from global finance to government affairs and from communications to cybersecurity.

Previously, Willie served as Head of Legal for the Facebook and Messenger apps (Meta), Deputy General Counsel for Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) and Senior Counsel at two top public companies (Amazon and IBM). His global expertise includes first-hand experience of doing business overseas, where he navigated government investigations, operational challenges and disputes, complex M&A and other global expansion strategies.   He lived and worked for three years in Shanghai, China as General Counsel for IBM’s services unit across the Emerging Markets.

Willie began his legal career as a litigation associate at Jackson Walker LLP after earning his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and B.S. in Environmental Science from the UC Berkley.

Raised in the east side of San Jose, CA, Willie was the first member of his family to attend college. Drawing from personal experience, he is committed to educational and professional development for students from low-income backgrounds to attend college and achieve professional careers. Currently he serves as the Board Chair of Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School, and he serves as a board member for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Bay Area. He is also a longstanding member of the Hispanic National Bar Association and an advisory committee member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

JENNIFER IVAN

Associate General Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation

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Jennifer Ivan is an Associate General Counsel for Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington, where she leads Microsoft’s Windows and Devices legal team. In this role, she leads a team of legal professionals that provide legal support in all areas of the Windows + Devices business, including AI, privacy, intellectual property, compliance, competition, and commercial and consumer issues. Prior to that role, she led the team that supported all commercial sales in the United States and Canada, and government and community affairs for Canada. Prior to that role, Jennifer led the legal team for the M365 Security, Compliance, and Management (SCM) group.

She also previously led Diversity & Inclusion for Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) organization. In this role, she led CELA’s efforts to build and sustain a diverse department that reflects the diversity of our global company, the communities in which we work, and the customers that we serve and to take full advantage of that diversity by creating and nurturing a culture of inclusion that allows individuals and teams to do their best work.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Jennifer was Legal Director for Dell Computer Corporation in Austin, Texas, where she supported the Dell Services organization.

Prior to joining Dell, Jennifer was a Staff Attorney for IBM in Austin, Texas, where she provided comprehensive legal support for IBM’s Server Group.

Jennifer graduated Cum Laude with Honors in Liberal Arts with a B.A. in Political Science and English from the Ohio State University in 1990. Jennifer received her J.D. Cum Laude from the Ohio State University School of Law in 1994.  She has served for more than 15 years on the board of Youth Eastside Services (currently President), a non-profit that provides counseling and support programs for children and young adults who are dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, mental health issues, abuse and other difficult issues. She is also on the Next Generation Advisory Board for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her 19-year-old daughter (Olivia), her 25-year-old son (Parker) and her husband, Donnie. 

She can be reached at Jenivan@microsoft.com.

Mike Jackson

GM & Associate General Counsel
Compliance & Ethics (C&E) Governance, Training, and Culture
Corporate External Legal Affairs (CELA),
Microsoft Corporation

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Mike Jackson serves as Associate General Counsel and Head of Microsoft’s Compliance & Ethics Governance, Training, and Culture team. Mike’s team advances Microsoft’s culture of trust and ethics through several centers of excellence, including anti-corruption and regulatory legal advice, compliance training, compliance communications, culture of compliance analytics, and global readiness which ensures that Microsoft’s products and goods are localized, inclusive, and reflect Microsoft’s values globally. Mike is a member of the Corporate, External, Legal Affairs (CELA) Leadership Team and has held other leadership roles within Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mike built and led teams at several Fortune 500 companies, including Target and The J.M. Smucker Company.

Mike is a member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)’s N-Gen Advisory Board and previously served on the Board of Directors for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Mike was recognized as part of the 2024 Empower Executive Role Model List sponsored by YouTube, which highlights senior executives of color who have broken barriers and glass ceilings within their fields and companies.

Jorja Jackson

Vice President, Legal & Regulatory Affairs,
WorkDay

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Jorja Jackson is Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs at Workday. She began her legal career as an Employment Lawyer at Littler Mendelson and then moved in-house and supported corporate law departments at ArcSight (acquired by HP), Robert Half International, Inc. and Salesforce where she advised business on matters impacting global employment and improving the success of the company. At Workday, she oversees subject matter experts in litigation, cybersecurity, governance, regulatory and ethics. One area of particular interest and fun is her work on ESG and setting up a framework and governance for this expansive and constantly evolving area of work. She helps the business solve problems to move the business forward. Jorja has also served as faculty in the extension programs for San Francisco State University and UCLA, teaching classes focused on ethics and employment law basics for students interested in HR or business roles.

Sumit Mallick

Deputy General Counsel
Brex

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Sumit started his legal career at Berkeley Law as a Colbentz Civil Rights Fellow. As a fellow, he worked on education civil rights work with the NAACP LDF, MALDEF and the ACLU to address inequities in the public education system. After graduating from law school, Sumit worked as a Fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights focusing on affirmative litigation in the area of educational equality. At the Lawyers’ Committee, Sumit worked as co-counsel on an affirmative litigation against the New Orleans school district for its disparate treatment of disabled students. Sumit was also part of a team that sought injunctive and compensatory relief against the state of Maryland for its long standing disparate funding of the state’s HBCUs. Sumit then joined the law firm of WilmerHale in Washington, D.C. where he was a part of the appellate and while collar groups. Sumit represented clients in a variety of industries focusing on internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, and appellate matters. Sumit maintained a robust pro bono practice while in the private sector. Sumit co-chaired a class action lawsuit with the SPLC against the city of Mobile, Alabama for its practice of long-term suspending students without proper due process which disparately impacted minority students. Sumit also briefed and argued several state appellate arguments on gay marriage and LGBT adoption rights. Sumit transitioned to public service and joined the Department of Justice in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Sumit’s career in public service focused on prosecuting violent crimes, sexual assaults, human trafficking, drug cartels, gun trafficking, cyber crimes, and financial crimes. Sumit more recently has returned to the private sector where he led the Global Litigation and Investigations team at Stripe prior to joining Chime in his current role as the Head of Litigation and Product.

James McClammy

Partner, Civil Litigation
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

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Jim is a seasoned trial attorney with a broad litigation practice. Financial institutions, corporations, debtors, creditors and creditor committees look to Jim for representation in a wide range of matters, including securities, commodities and antitrust class actions, bankruptcy-related litigation, and other complex federal and state law litigation. These matters cover a range of industries, including finance, pharmaceuticals, private equity, airline, and energy.

Clients appreciate the effort he invests in finding the optimal solutions to their cases. Given the size and complexity of his typical cases, there is clearly no one-size-fits-all approach. To this end, Jim focuses on developing a bespoke litigation strategy to deliver the desired results, while balancing each client’s objectives and budgetary constraints with what is at stake in the case.

Jim’s recent matters include the representation of banks, other financial institutions and hedge funds in class actions asserting violations of the federal securities and antitrust laws; lenders and other creditors in contested bankruptcy litigation; pharmaceutical and other debtors in challenging chapter 11 proceedings; and the foreign representatives of numerous companies seeking relief from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Alexis Mendoza

Chief Compliance Officer & Deputy CLO,
Nokia

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Alex leads Nokia’s global Ethics, Compliance & Regulatory function and is based in the New York City area. He joined Nokia in 2016. Prior to assuming the role of Chief Compliance Officer in 2022, Alex served as VP, Deputy CLO and Global General Counsel for Nokia’s Cloud & Network Services business group and Customer Experience organization. Prior to joining Nokia, he held various senior in-house legal roles with Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent including in the areas of Litigation and Compliance. Prior to going in-house in 2010, Alex worked as a litigator in the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General and with a law firm in the New York metropolitan area. Alex is active in the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion space. He leads various internal and external initiatives devoted to the topic and collaborates frequently with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (“MCCA”) on driving change within the legal community.

Debbie Walters-Francique

Vice President and Assistant General Counsel,
Pfizer Inc.

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Debbie Walters-Francique is a Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, and a member of the Legal Division Executive Team. She is the Chief Counsel for the Pricing and Access Legal Team (P&A Legal). P&A Legal provides legal support to key functions across the enterprise, including supporting day-to-day activities related to managed access, drug pricing and government reimbursement programs, patient access programs and innovative transactions with healthcare stakeholders globally. Mrs. Walters-Francique also provides expertise and counsel to a broad range of clients across the entire organization related to the federal and state Anti-Kickback laws, as well as provides key strategic counsel into the development and evolution of key commercial and medical roles and interactions.

Mrs. Walters-Francique has been with Pfizer since October 30, 2000.

Prior to joining Pfizer, Mrs. Walters-Francique was in private practice with the law firm of Shearman ＆ Sterling in their Mergers ＆ Acquisitions Group. Prior to law school Mrs. Walters-Francique worked for GTE (now Verizon) as an accountant in their financial group and prior to GTE as a Certified Public Accountant for Deloitte ＆ Touche.

Mrs. Walters-Francique received her undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Connecticut and her law degree from Fordham University.