About MCCA
25 years of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) was founded in 1997 to champion the hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse attorneys in corporate law departments and law firms.
For 25 years, we have pushed the legal industry towards change. Through scholarships for beginning lawyers, we’re supporting the leaders of the future. We‘ve coached executives further along in their careers—and have helped many advances to general counsel. We have published industry-leading demographic information about the profession best equipped to spearhead greater diversity in corporate America: lawyers. Our data-driven approach holds companies and firms accountable—and illuminates opportunities for growth. We’ve challenged the industry to look past the status quo—to generate the solutions and strategies leaders need to sustain DEI progress for the long run. To do better.
Looking ahead, we will continue to empower not just general counsels, but all of corporate America’s
C-suite executives—from CEOs to CDOs—because advancing DEI is everyone’s responsibility. We’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, and we have a deep understanding of the gaps firms are facing. And we know a successful, concerted push to diversify corporate America requires bringing everyone to the table. With our advocacy, our solutions, and our innovative resources, we will empower America’s corporate leaders to raise awareness, raise standards, and raise the bar. And the potential is enormous: what starts in the C-suite can change the perspective of leaders and boards, shape policies for employees and outside vendors, and spark the movements that shift industries and markets.
Now, under the leadership of two women of color, we’ve built a coalition of executives and attorneys across all backgrounds, speaking with a united voice to advise some of the biggest names in the business. We are powered by both the truth of our lived experiences and the undeniability of our data and solutions.
As we look ahead to our next quarter-century, we will accelerate the pace of change. We will be informative but impatient. We will not stop until our companies look like our country. We will help corporate America know better, and do better, to lead better.
MCCA’S MISSION STATEMENT
MCCA is committed to advancing the hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse lawyers in law departments and law firms by providing research, best practices, professional development, and training; and through pipeline initiatives.
MCCA’S VISION
To make the next generation of legal leaders as diverse as the world we live in.
What does #RiseUnited mean?
Learn more about MCCA’s Uniqueness
As the preeminent voice on diversity issues in the legal profession, MCCA accomplishes its mission through industry-shaping publications, research, and training, innovative pipeline initiatives, and curated events designed to connect its members to thought-leaders and one another.
MCCA takes an inclusive approach to the definition of “diversity.” Therefore, its research and training address issues of race/ ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and generational differences that impact the legal profession’s workforce.
Over the years, MCCA’s thought leadership has been widely recognized.
The association has received several awards including recognition by the Association of Corporate Counsel, the National LGBT Bar Association, the National Minority Business Council, Inc., and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
We’re excited to share that our organization has earned a 2022 Platinum Seal of Transparency with Candid! Now, you can support our work with trust and confidence by viewing our GuideStar #NonprofitProfile.
And we’ve received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, which means we’re accountable, transparent, and financially healthy! Check out our Charity Navigator profile to learn more.
ANNUAL REPORTS & FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The MCCA is committed to transparency; learn more about our mission, growth, impact, and vision.
Please see below for MCCA’s Annual Reports, Audited Financial Statements, and IRS Form 990s.
LEADERSHIP
ANNUAL REPORTS &
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The MCCA is committed to transparency; learn more about our mission, growth, impact, and vision. Please see below for MCCA’s Annual Reports, Audited Financial Statements,
and IRS Form 990s.
LEADERSHIP
ANNUAL REPORTS &
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The MCCA is committed to transparency; learn more about our mission, growth, impact, and vision. Please see below for MCCA’s Annual Reports, Audited Financial Statements, and IRS Form 990s.
MCCA TEAM
TABITHA BARBOUR
Executive Assistant
e: tbarbour@mcca.com
LUIS BARRAZA
VP, Operations
& Strategic Initiatives
e: LBarraza@mcca.com
Brenda Camacho
Chief Financial Officer
e: bcamacho@mcca.com
Mayra I. Grajales
Director of Finance
e: MGrajales@mcca.com
ROBERT HENRY
Director of Membership
e: rhenry@mcca.com
LAUREN HOSSFELD
Assistant Counsel, Program Manager
p: (336) 708-1001
e: lhossfeld@mcca.com
TIEARA JONES
Associate Web Developer / Digital Media Designer
p: (202) 739-5905
e: tjones@mcca.com
JEAN LEE
President & CEO
SOPHIA PILIOURAS
Chief Operating Officer &
Corporate Secretary
e: spiliouras@mcca.com
GUADALUPE ROBLEDO
Operations and Development Coordinator
e: grobledo@mcca.com
MICHAEL THOMPSON
DEI Practice Leader
e: mthompson@mcca.com
FRIDA THOMSEN
Creative Consultant,
Web & Design
e: fthomsen@mcca.com
MCCA TEAM
JEAN LEE
President & CEO
SOPHIA PILIOURAS
Chief Operating Officer &
Corporate Secretary
e: spiliouras@mcca.com
Brenda Camacho
Chief Financial Officer
e: bcamacho@mcca.com
Mayra I. Grajales
Director of Finance
e: MGrajales@mcca.com
MICHAEL THOMPSON
DEI Practice Leader
e: mthompson@mcca.com
LUIS BARRAZA
VP, Operations
& Strategic Initiatives
e: LBarraza@mcca.com
TABITHA BARBOUR
Executive Assistant
e: tbarbour@mcca.com
ROBERT HENRY
Director of Membership
e: rhenry@mcca.com
LAUREN HOSSFELD
Assistant Counsel, Program Manager
p: (336) 708-1001
e: lhossfeld@mcca.com
TIEARA JONES
Associate Web Developer / Digital Media Designer
p: (202) 739-5905
e: tjones@mcca.com
GUADALUPE ROBLEDO
Operations and Development Coordinator
e: grobledo@mcca.com
FRIDA THOMSEN
Creative Consultant,
Web & Design
e: fthomsen@mcca.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WANJI WALCOTT
DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES
Executive Vice President,
Chief Legal Officer
& General Counsel,
MCCA Board Chair,
Executive Committee,
Governance & Nominating Committee
JEAN LEE
MCCA
President & CEO
CRAIG BEAZER
LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP
Executive Vice President
& General Counsel,
DUANE HOLLOWAY
U.S. STEEL
Senior Vice President,
General Counsel,
& Chief Ethics
& Compliance Officer
Audit Committee Chair,
Executive Committee
SETH KRAUSS
ENDEAVOR
Chief Legal Officer,
Governance & Nominating
Committee
SANDRA LEUNG
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel,
Finance & Investments
Committee Chair
HANNAH LIM-JOHNSON
MERITOR, INC.
Former Senior Vice President,
Chief Legal Officer
& Corporate Secretary,
Governance & Nominating Committee
LINDA LU
TRANSUNION
Senior Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel,
Audit Committee
LAURENCE MIDLER
CBRE
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Risk Officer
LANESHA MINNIX
ECOLAB
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel
Finance & Investments Committee
JENNIFER NEWSTEAD
META PLATFORMS, INC.
Chief Legal Officer
AMY FLIEGELMAN OLLI
VMWARE, INC.
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel,
Governance & Nominating Committee
TOM ROBERTSON
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Corporate Vice President &
Deputy General Counsel,
Finance & Investments Committee
ANNE ROBINSON
THE VANGUARD GROUP, INC.
Managing Director
& General Counsel
Governance & Nominating Committee
MICHAEL TANG
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Senior Vice President,
General Counsel & Secretary,
Governance & Nominating Committee
AMY TU
TYSON FOODS, INC.
Chief Legal Officer & Secretary,
Global Governance
& Corporate Affairs,
Audit Committee
NEIL WILCOX
FISERV, INC.
Executive Vice President &
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility,
Finance & Investments Committee
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WANJI WALCOTT
DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES
Executive Vice President,
Chief Legal Officer
& General Counsel,
MCCA Board Chair,
Executive Committee,
Governance & Nominating Committee
JEAN LEE
MCCA
President & CEO
CRAIG BEAZER
LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP
Executive Vice President
& General Counsel,
DUANE HOLLOWAY
U.S. STEEL
Senior Vice President,
General Counsel,
& Chief Ethics
& Compliance Officer
Audit Committee Chair,
Executive Committee
SETH KRAUSS
ENDEAVOR
Chief Legal Officer,
Governance & Nominating
Committee
SANDRA LEUNG
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel,
Finance & Investments
Committee Chair
HANNAH LIM-JOHNSON
MERITOR, INC.
Former Senior Vice President,
Chief Legal Officer
& Corporate Secretary,
Governance & Nominating Committee
LINDA LU
TRANSUNION
Senior Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel,
Audit Committee
LAURENCE MIDLER
CBRE
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Risk Officer
LANESHA MINNIX
ECOLAB
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel
Finance & Investments Committee
JENNIFER NEWSTEAD
META PLATFORMS, INC.
Chief Legal Officer
AMY FLIEGELMAN OLLI
VMWARE, INC.
Executive Vice President &
General Counsel,
Governance & Nominating Committee
TOM ROBERTSON
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Corporate Vice President &
Deputy General Counsel,
Finance & Investments Committee
ANNE ROBINSON
THE VANGUARD GROUP, INC.
Managing Director
& General Counsel
Governance & Nominating Committee
MICHAEL TANG
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Senior Vice President,
General Counsel & Secretary,
Governance & Nominating Committee
AMY TU
TYSON FOODS, INC.
Chief Legal Officer & Secretary,
Global Governance
& Corporate Affairs,
Audit Committee
NEIL WILCOX
FISERV
Executive Vice President &
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility,
Finance & Investments Committee
MCCA Corporate Officers
JOSEPH CENTENO
BUCHANAN INGERSOLL
& ROONEY PC
Outside General Counsel &
Assistant Corporate Secretary
SOPHIA PILIOURAS
MCCA
Corporate Secretary
MCCA Corporate Officers
JOSEPH CENTENO
BUCHANAN INGERSOLL
& ROONEY PC
Outside General Counsel &
Assistant Corporate Secretary
SOPHIA PILIOURAS
MCCA
Corporate Secretary
MCCA Corporate Officers
JOSEPH CENTENO
BUCHANAN INGERSOLL
& ROONEY PC
Outside General Counsel &
Assistant Corporate Secretary
SOPHIA PILIOURAS
MCCA
Corporate Secretary
MCCA Board of Advisors
SUZAN A. MILLER
INTEL CORPORATION
Former Corporate Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel &
Corporate Secretary,
ROBIN H. SANGSTON
COX
Vice President,
Chief Compliance
& Privacy Officer,
MCCA Board of Advisors
SUZAN A. MILLER
INTEL CORPORATION
Former Corporate Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel &
Corporate Secretary,
ROBIN H. SANGSTON
COX
Vice President,
Chief Compliance
& Privacy Officer,
MCCA Board of Advisors
SUZAN A. MILLER
Former Corporate Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel &
Corporate Secretary,
Intel Corporation
ROBIN H. SANGSTON
COX
Vice President,
Chief Compliance
& Privacy Officer,
N-GEN ADVISORY BOARD
Driving conversation to inspire the next generation. Want to join the MCCA N-GEN Advisory Board?
ANNE LEE BENEDICT
MCCA N-Gen Chair,
THOMAS JAMES HOMES
Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary
SAMANTHA C. GRANT
MCCA N-Gen Vice-Chair,
SHEPPARD MULLIN
RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP
Partner
RODNEY C. PRATT
MCCA N-Gen Vice-Chair,
LVMH MOËT HENNESSY
LOUIS VUITTON INC.
Senior Vice President
and Chief Legal Officer
ELENA CENTEIO
GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY
Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Finance & Global Innovation
WILLIE HERNANDEZ
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
General Counsel, International
ANA IACOVETTA
VMWARE, INC.
Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel and
Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer
JENNIFER IVAN
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Associate General Counsel
MIKE JACKSON
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Associate General Counsel/General Manager, Compliance & Ethics Governance, Training, and Culture
N-Gen Advisory Board Corporate Secretary
DANIELLE VILLOCH
ATLANTIC SAPPHIRE
Head of Legal
N-GEN ADVISORY BOARD
Driving conversation to inspire the next generation. Want to join the MCCA N-GEN Advisory Board?
ANNE LEE BENEDICT
MCCA N-Gen Chair,
THOMAS JAMES HOMES
Chief Legal Officer,
Chief Administrative Officer
and Secretary
SAMANTHA C. GRANT
MCCA N-Gen Vice-Chair,
SHEPPARD MULLIN
RICHTER & HAMPTON LLP
Partner
RODNEY C. PRATT
MCCA N-Gen Vice-Chair,
LVMH MOËT HENNESSY
LOUIS VUITTON INC.
Senior Vice President
and Chief Legal Officer
ELENA CENTEIO
GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY
Assistant General Counsel, Corporate Finance & Global Innovation
WILLIE HERNANDEZ
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
General Counsel, International
ANA IACOVETTA
VMWARE, INC.
Vice President,
Deputy General Counsel and
Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer
JENNIFER IVAN
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Associate General Counsel
MIKE JACKSON
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Associate General Counsel/General Manager, Compliance & Ethics Governance, Training, and Culture
SUMIT MALLICK
CHIME FINANCIAL, INC.
Associate General Counsel
N-Gen Advisory Board Corporate Secretary
DANIELLE VILLOCH
ATLANTIC SAPPHIRE
Head of Legal
JEAN LEE
President & CEO,
MCCA
—
Jean Lee is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), the leading national diversity, equity and inclusion organization for the legal profession. MCCA is focused on recruiting, retaining and promoting women and diverse attorneys by providing cutting-edge research, best practices, toolkits, professional development and training.
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. Before joining JP Morgan Chase & Co. in 2011, Ms. Lee worked on litigation matters at a boutique litigation firm in New York City and started her career as a law clerk to the Honorable John J. Hughes, United States Magistrate Judge (retired), in the District of New Jersey.
She graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Politics and Psychology and a M.S.W. in Social Work. Ms. Lee received her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, where she was a Senior Editor of the Rutgers Law Record.
In 2014, the Council of Urban Professionals recognized Ms. Lee as a Catalyst: Change Agent | Law and in 2015, she was recognized as a Trailblazer by the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York. 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.
Sophia Piliouras
Chief Operating Officer & Corporate Secretary,
MCCA
—
Sophia M. Piliouras is Chief Operating Officer & Corporate Secretary at the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). As a senior member of the leadership team, Sophia is responsible for human resources; information technology; events and programming; strategic relations and membership. Sophia joined MCCA in 2016 as Senior Counsel, Director of Education and Research and most recently served as President of the MCCA Advisory Practice (MAP) where she partnered closely with MCCA’s members in increasing the impact, effectiveness and sustainability of their organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plans.
Prior to joining MCCA, Sophia was Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan Chase of the Consumer & Community Banking Regulatory, Operations and Controls team (CCB ROC). Sophia served as the lead lawyer for the Auto Finance and Student Lending, Business Banking, and Asset Wealth Management lines of business providing strategic and transactional support on statutory and regulatory compliance including oversight and legal risk assessment of outside counsel. Sophia also practiced as litigation attorney at Seyfarth Shaw LLP where she represented clients in consumer financial services litigation.
Sophia has spoken at numerous conferences and programs on diversity, equity and inclusion in corporate America and currently serves as Trustee on the Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law Board. Sophia holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, a J.D. New York Law School where she served as the United Nations Editor for the New York Law School Journal of Human Rights and an M.S. from Columbia University.
MICHAEL THOMPSON
DEI Practice Leader,
MCCA
—
Michael Thompson is a veteran Business Development and Training professional and brings over 25 years of corporate experience. As a business developer, he managed New England, MidAtlantic and Southeastern regions, consistently driving sales and expanding growth opportunities within the packaging and health insurance industries. He later worked within regional human resources consulting firms as a Solutions Consultant focused on making the DEI connection to business outcomes. More recently he operated as an independent consultant primarily focused on strategy-execution and executive-level Unconscious Bias facilitation.
As an accomplished trainer and facilitator, he has led training programs covering such topics as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Unconscious Bias, Health Literacy, Cultural Competency, and Race in the Workplace. Michael has successfully facilitated hundreds of sessions for Fortune-ranked organizations across multiple markets. Michael holds a BA from Morris College and MA from Bowling Green State University.
Wanji Walcott
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel,
Discover Financial Services
—
Wanji Walcott is Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Discover Financial Services, and a member of the company’s Executive Committee. She is a high-impact global financial services executive with a proven track record of building and leading diverse teams and fostering a culture of collaboration as a trusted advisor. Ms. Walcott is responsible for Discover’s Legal Organization, Government Relations and the company’s Patent & Innovation Program.
With a passion for helping others, Ms. Walcott is committed to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) and serves as executive sponsor of HOLA, Discover’s Latinx Employee Resource Group. She leads the company’s DE&I Task Force and is an active participant in the Legal Organization’s pro bono program, which provides free, high-quality legal services to those in need.
In 2021, the Pro Bono Institute honored Discover and Ms. Walcott with the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award. She was also recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable General Counsel in 2021.
Prior to joining Discover in 2019, Ms. Walcott was Senior Vice President and General Counsel at PayPal Holdings, Inc., where she provided counsel to senior management and the board of directors, was accountable for all areas of the global legal department and provided legal support to corporate affiliates, including a bank. She has also held senior positions at American Express, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, DSET Corporation and Lockheed Martin.
Ms. Walcott serves on the Board of Directors of Foresight II (NASDAQ: FACQU) and has served on a number of non-profit boards, including her current role as Board Chair for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) and director roles at movement.org and The Gunnery School. She is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, the Chicago Network, and the Economic Club of Chicago and holds a B.A. and J.D. from Howard University. She is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey and has a Limited License as In-House Counsel in Illinois.
Stuart Alderoty
General Counsel,
Ripple
—
Stuart Alderoty is the General Counsel at Ripple, overseeing the legal, compliance and regulation departments. Stuart brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the role with expertise in financial services and regulatory affairs. He’s been General Counsel and part of the executive leadership teams at CIT Group and HSBC North America Holdings. Stuart also was Managing Counsel at American Express where he served on the leadership team of the President and CEO of American Express’ Consumer Card Business. Stuart began his career in private practice and was a partner with the international law firm of LeBouef, Lamb, Greene and MacRae where he specialized in complex litigation.
Ricardo A. Anzaldua
Former Executive Vice President & General Counsel,
Freddie Mac
—
Ricardo A. Anzaldua is Former Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”).
From December 2012 to December 2017, Anzaldua served as General Counsel and as Special Advisor to the CEO of MetLife. In that role he led the 1,000+ person team comprising the company’s global legal operations, corporate secretary’s office, corporate ethics and compliance group and government affairs operation. He designed and led the execution of the Company’s one-of-a-kind successful legal challenge of its too-big-to-fail designation under the Dodd-Frank Act.
Anzaldua joined MetLife from The Hartford Financial Services Group, where he was Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel. There, he led the Company’s efforts to qualify for TARP funding and to raise more than $10 billion of capital in the throes and the aftermath of the Great Recession. After the financial crisis, he led the legal teams advising the Company’s two largest operating divisions, Commercial and Consumer Markets. Prior to joining The Hartford, Anzaldua was a partner with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York. He began his legal career with the firm upon graduation from Harvard Law School in 1990.
Before law school, Anzaldua was the publications director and senior editor at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, a University of California think tank focusing on research relating to Mexico and U.S.-Mexican relations, as well as Latin America more generally.
Anzaldua currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, an international nonprofit focused on economic and community development and empowerment in the developing world, as well as on the Boards of MCCA, the New York City Bar Fund, and LatinoJustice/PRLDEF. From 2007-2018, he served on the Board of the Greater Hartford Legal Aid foundation (and as its President from 2015-2018).
CRAIG BEAZER
Executive Vice President & General Counsel,
Lincoln Financial Group
—
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.
DUANE HOLLOWAY
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer,
U.S. Steel Corporation
—
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 Legal Officer,
Endeavor
—
Seth Krauss has served as the Chief Legal Officer of Endeavor since June 2014. At Endeavor, Mr. Krauss oversees the global legal function, government relations, risk management and physical security, managing a department of professionals located around the globe. Mr. Krauss is also a member of the executive team responsible for managing the day to day affairs of the company.
Mr. Krauss currently serves as a Director on the Board for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), a non-profit organization that promotes and supports diversity, inclusion and equity in the legal profession.
From 2007 until 2014, Mr. Krauss served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ TTWO).He joined Take-Two from Morgan Stanley, where he served as an Executive Director in the Legal and Compliance Division from 2004 until 2007. At Morgan Stanley, he was responsible for coordinating all significant regulatory and law enforcement matters in the U.S. and served as one of the firm’s senior liaisons to its regulators.
From 1995 to 2004, Mr. Krauss served as an Assistant District Attorney and Senior Investigative Counsel in the New York County District Attorneys’ Office. At the DA’s Office, Mr. Krauss was responsible for leading complex, long-term investigations into violations of securities, banking, accounting, and taxation laws and regulations, working closely with US Federal and State regulators and law enforcement agencies as well as numerous international regulators and agencies. Among other matters, he co-led the Office’s investigation of the role of financial institutions in Enron’s collapse.
From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Krauss served as a Trustee on the Board of Duke University. He has also served as a Director on the Board for the legal services organization, the Center for Family Representation, as well as on the Board of Advisors for the Asian American Bar Association of NY and the MacDella Cooper Foundation. Mr. Krauss received his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1992 and his law degree in 1995 from the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Sandra Leung
Executive Vice President & General Counsel,
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
—
Sandy Leung is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. She leads the worldwide Law Department and is responsible for a wide range of legal areas including intellectual property, commercial and regulatory law, litigation, corporate governance, securities and transactions including licensing, acquisitions and divestitures. She also has responsibility for Environment, Health & Safety, Compliance & Ethics Corporate Security and Corporate Philanthropy.
Sandy joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1992 as a staff attorney in the litigation department. She was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility and was elected Corporate Secretary in 1999. In September 2006, she was appointed Interim General Counsel. In February 2007, she was named General Counsel.
Sandy began her legal career as Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York City where she was an original member of the Child Abuse Bureau. She ended her prosecutorial career, after trying more than 40 jury trials to verdict, as a member of the prestigious Homicide Investigations Unit where she conducted investigations of unsolved homicides linked with drug gang activity.
Sandy is on the board of directors of the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the board of directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.
Sandy is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston College Law School.
Additional Awards
- 2009 Recipient of the Justice in Action Award from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- 2013 Recipient of the Excellence in Corporate Practice Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel
- Named one of America’s 2014 and 2016 Top 50 General Counsel by the National Law Journal
Hannah Lim-Johnson
Former Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary,
Meritor, Inc.
—
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
Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel – Litigation, Enforcement & Strategy,
TransUnion
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Linda Lu is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Trans Union. She and her team are responsible for global litigation, government enforcement, strategy, legal counseling for HR, IP, real estate, and insurance risk management. Prior to Trans Union, Linda was the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Nationwide Insurance Personal Lines, and previously, it’s Chief Litigation Officer.
Linda is currently a Board Member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and the Association of Corporate Counsel Foundation. Linda is past Vice President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, past President of the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago, and an Alumni Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. She is also past Vice President of The University of Chicago Board of Governors. Linda is the recipient of NAPABA’s Best Lawyers Under 40 Award, and recognized as a R3-100 by Inside Counsel Magazine. Linda was recognized by the National Diversity Council as one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Ohio, received the Transformative Leadership Award from Inside Counsel, awarded the Diversity Leadership Award by NAPABA, and received the Ohio Asian Award.
Linda graduated from the Georgetown Law Center and The University of Chicago, where she was captain and MVP of the tennis team.
LAURENCE MIDLER
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer,
CBRE
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Laurence H. Midler is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer for CBRE. Larry is a member of CBRE’s Executive Committee and oversees 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.
Lanesha Minnix
Former Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary,
Flowserve Corporation
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Lanesha Minnix served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Flowserve Corporation (NYSE: FLS), an S&P 500 manufacturer of engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves operating in more than 50 countries. As Chief Legal Officer, Ms. Minnix was a member of the Executive Leadership Team and oversaw all legal, governance, compliance, and regulatory affairs globally for the company.
Prior to joining Flowserve, Ms. Minnix served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BMCH), a Fortune 700 provider of diversified residential building products. As General Counsel, she was responsible for all legal matters of the company as well as the risk management function.
Prior to joining BMC, Ms. Minnix was Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE: ABM), a Fortune 500 facility solutions company with 100,000 employees worldwide. Before her tenure with ABM, Ms. Minnix held significant legal leadership roles at Royal Dutch Shell/Shell Oil Company including roles in the downstream business and an expat role based in Qatar. Ms. Minnix began her career as a corporate associate at the law firm of K&L Gates and then as Corporate Counsel for Sprint Corporation.
Ms. Minnix earned her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from the University of Tulsa and Bachler of Science from St. Louis University. She serves on the Board of Directors for Minority Corporate Counsel Association and previously served on the Board of Trustees and for the National Urban League and the Girls Scouts of San Jacinto Council in Houston. She is a member of the Texas and Pennsylvania Bars.
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.
Amy Fliegelman Olli
Executive Vice President & General Counsel,
VMware, Inc.
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Amy Fliegelman Olli is the Executive Vice President & General Counsel for VMware. With more than 20 years of legal experience, Amy leads VMware’s Global Legal team, which includes VMware’s Ethics & Compliance and Global Government Relations organizations, and she champions the company’s commitment to integrity, ethics, compliance and risk management practices.
Prior to joining VMware, Amy served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Avaya. She led the Avaya Law and Global Contracting organization. Prior to Avaya, Amy held a similar position at CA Technologies and spent more than 18 years at IBM.
In 2010, Amy was the winner of Burton’s “Legends in Law” award and was named by the Diversity Journal as a “Woman Worth Watching” in 2011. She was a 2014 winner of the “Aiming High” Award from Legal Momentum, and in 2017, was included in Corporate Counsel’s list of Transformative Leaders in Technology, Media & Telecom and Collaborative Leadership. In 2021, Amy was named to Financial Times “Top 20 General Counsels,” and she was recognized with a “2021 Women, Influence & Power in Law, General Counsel of the Year—In House” award by Corporate Counsel.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Oswego and a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England School of Law.
Tom Robertson
Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation
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Robertson leads the Corporate, External & Legal Affairs team that supports the Experiences and Devices Group, which is responsible for Office, Windows, Office 365, Microsoft Surface devices, Skype, Teams and many other products and services. He has led other teams in Seattle, Tokyo and Hong Kong since joining in 1997. Before Microsoft, Robertson was Associate General Counsel in the Office of the United States Trade Representative within the Executive Office of the President, where he was responsible for intellectual property issues 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 Greater Seattle Partners, the Coalition of Services Industries, the National Bureau of Asian Research 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.
ANNE ROBINSON
Managing Director & General Counsel,
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
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Anne E. Robinson is general counsel of The Vanguard Group, Inc., and secretary of the Vanguard funds. She is managing director of the Office of the General Counsel, which includes Legal, Compliance, Investment Stewardship, and Government Relations. She joined Vanguard in 2016, bringing over 20 years of legal experience in the financial services industry, where she has counseled senior executives on a wide range of legal, regulatory, and business issues.
Prior to joining Vanguard, Ms. Robinson was a managing director and general counsel in the Citigroup global legal department. Before that, she was a managing counsel at American Express; during more than 10 years at that company, she served in a wide range of senior legal positions. Prior to joining American Express, she was division counsel to Deloitte Consulting’s venture capital firm and its global outsourcing organization. She started her legal career in private practice with the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy.
Ms. Robinson earned a B.S. from Hampton University and a J.D. from Columbia University Law School.
DAWN SMITH
President & Chief Operating Officer,
Cologix, Inc.
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Dawn is President and Chief Operating Officer of Cologix, where she leads the company’s strategic initiatives, real estate development, human resources, legal, all other administrative functions, and corporate strategy. She also serves as Corporate Secretary to the company’s Board of Directors.
Prior to Cologix, Dawn was most recently the executive vice president and chief legal officer of McAfee, where she led the legal and government relations organization globally. Prior to McAfee, Dawn was the senior vice president and chief legal officer at VMware.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Dawn graduated from Stanford Law School. Dawn joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and then became partner at Morrison & Foerster with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt financings, board advisory, and corporate governance.
Dawn currently serves on the board of directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Her leadership has earned numerous recognitions in the field of law, including: Top 50 Women Lawyers in the U.S. by the National Diversity Council, Value Champion Award by the Association of Corporate Counsel, Most Innovative In-House Legal Team in North America, and Top 20 General Counsel by the Financial Times.
In addition to her JD from Stanford Law School, Dawn earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, where she also received the Vice Admiral Lawrence Award for most outstanding woman athlete. As a commissioned officer, Dawn was chosen for the highly competitive naval nuclear submarine program founded by Admiral Hyman Rickover, and while in the Navy she earned an MBA from Providence College.
MICHAEL TANG
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary,
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
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Michael Tang is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Agilent Technologies. He is responsible for leading Agilent’s global legal organization and advising the board of directors and management team on all aspects of the law, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and securities matters.
Tang has served in the Legal and Corporate Development departments of Agilent since joining the company in 2006. In 2013 he was named Agilent Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary. Tang was the lead attorney on Agilent’s spinoff of its electronic measurement business to form Keysight Technologies.
Prior to Agilent, Tang represented public and private technology companies in a broad range of corporate and securities matters at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a Palo Alto, California, law firm and Fenwick & West LLP, a Mountain View, California, law firm.
Tang is a graduate of Columbia Law School. He also holds a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He is an active member of the State Bar of California.
Amy Tu
Chief Legal Officer & Secretary, Global Governance and Corporate Affairs,
Tyson Foods, Inc.
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Amy Tu leads the team that manages Tyson Foods’ most significant risks and leverages its most significant opportunities. Her Global Governance and Corporate Affairs organization comprises nearly 5,000 team members across 10 functions and many areas of expertise. She oversees the legal, government affairs, corporate communications, ethics and compliance, audit services, health and safety, food safety and quality assurance, environment, corporate services and aviation functions. Since joining the enterprise leadership team in 2017, Amy’s role and responsibilities have continued to expand. She reports to President and CEO Donnie King.
Amy joined Tyson from The Boeing Company where she held progressive leadership positions in law and corporate development and strategy departments. She served as chief counsel for Boeing global law affairs, commercial airplanes and aviation services divisions, supporting multiple business and functional leaders worldwide. Amy was also instrumental in shaping the global law affairs practice as Boeing’s first regional counsel based in London, U.K., with responsibilities for commercial, military and defense matters in Europe, Russia, and Israel. Prior to joining Boeing in 2001, Amy led global transactions and international legal matters as an international corporate counsel at The Gap and Walmart.
Over the course of her career, Amy has developed deep expertise establishing and supporting global operations, executing complex cross-border, international and domestic transactions, and developing and integrating teams and new ventures into existing businesses.
Amy earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Wellesley College, and in 2013 was selected as the Johnson Fellow for the University of Arkansas. Amy serves as a member of the NWA Council Executive Committee and as a board member for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA).
Neil Wilcox
Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Social Responsibility,
Fiserv, Inc.
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Neil H. Wilcox is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Fiserv, Inc., leading the company’s focus on corporate citizenship and social responsibility, including strategies to build upon its success in community and non-profit engagement, diversity and inclusion, and global philanthropy and volunteerism. He oversees sustainability commitments for the organization and helps govern and measure the impact of these initiatives and their value to the business and key stakeholders.
Wilcox joined Fiserv in September 2020 as Chief of Staff for the Office of the CEO, gaining a deep understanding of day-to-day operations across the organization and working closely with the Fiserv leadership team on a wide range of operational effectiveness initiatives.
Prior to joining Fiserv, Wilcox served as interim General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer at USAA, providing strategic counsel and legal advice to the CEO, Board of Directors and Executive Council. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Enterprise Shared Services Counsel at USAA. Previously, Wilcox was Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at First Data. He has also held division general counsel and senior compliance roles with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Marsh & McLennan.
Over the course of his career, Wilcox has developed significant expertise with bank and insurance regulatory matters, corporate real estate, intellectual property, procurement, litigation, and mergers and acquisitions. He serves on the boards of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and New York’s Hale House Center, and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council.
Wilcox received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
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.
Suzan A. Miller
Former Corporate Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, & Corporate Secretary,
Intel Corporation
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Suzan (Sam) A. Miller was a Corporate Vice President, Intel Corporation. Currently working on a corporate governance consulting project, Ms. Miller’s previous roles at Intel include Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and Deputy General Counsel, Intel Corporation. In this role, Ms. Miller led Intel’s worldwide Corporate Legal Group, providing legal support for corporate governance, security law, corporate finance, and treasury; Vice President of the Business Legal Group and General Counsel of Intel Capital. Ms. Miller was an active advocate within Intel and externally for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the technology industry. She was the executive sponsor for the Santa Clara Women at Intel Network, a member of Intel’s Network of Executive Women Leaders, and on the Board of the National Association of Women Lawyers (“NAWL”). Ms. Miller is currently on the Boards of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, US National Committee for UN Women, Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services, and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (“MCCA”). She received her B.S. from Bryn Mawr College and her J.D. from Santa Clara University. Ms. Miller can be reached at suzan.miller@me.com.
Robin H. Sangston
Vice President, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer,
Cox Communications, Inc.
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Robin Sangston is Vice President, CIPP/US Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for Cox Communications, Inc. She leads the company’s Ethics and Compliance organization, which is responsible for the company’s Ethics and Doing Business Right compliance program. In addition, she has responsibility for privacy, antitrust compliance and employment law. In 2015, Cox was a recipient of a MARCOM award – Platinum Winner – for its Code of Conduct.
Robin is a native of Washington, D.C. where her father was an announcer for NBC and Voice of America. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society. She received her J.D., with high honors, from George Washington Law School where she graduated Order of the Coif and was a member of the Law Review. She practiced First Amendment law with a D.C. firm before joining Cox in 1995.
Robin is passionate about helping people succeed at Cox, in the legal profession and in the community. She served as founding co-Chair of Cox’s Women’s Employee Resource Group, which has over 1,100 members, and is the Executive Sponsor of Cox Enterprises’ 25 year-long mentoring relationship with Chamblee High School in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, she currently serves on the board of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. She is also board President of Jerusalem House, Atlanta’s oldest and largest provider of free and subsidized housing and wrap around services to HIV/ AIDS infected individuals and their families.
Robin has also served on numerous boards that promote diversity, inclusion and equality for everyone, including Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), Cable Positive, The Atlanta Legal Diversity Consortium, Page Turners Make Great Learners, the Atlanta Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and the Boy Scouts of America, Atlanta Area Council, where she focused on the Scout Reach program to bring scouting to underprivileged youth in Atlanta.
She is also an active mentor and has participated in many formal and informal mentoring relationships, including the Pathbuilders Achieva mentoring program, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyer’s Leadership Academy, the J. Mack Robinson College of Business women’s mentoring program, WICT’s mentoring program and various Cox mentoring programs.
Robin is a graduate of the Class of 2014 of Leadership Atlanta.
She has been recognized nationally and locally for her leadership and efforts to advance others by various organizations, including WICT, the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Association of Corporate Counsel, Atlanta Chapter, Counsel on Call, OnBoard, Womenetics, and the Atlanta Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.
Anne Lee Benedict
Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary,
Thomas James Homes
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Anne serves as Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary, of Thomas James Homes, where she oversees corporate administration, risk management, people management, corporate affairs, ESG, and legal affairs. She previously served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Summit Materials, Inc. (NYSE: SUM), a leading U.S. based construction materials company.
Prior to joining Summit in 2013, Anne was a partner in the Washington DC office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she had practiced since 2000. Her practice involved a wide range of corporate law matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions, securities offerings, securities regulation and disclosure issues, and corporate governance matters. She began her legal career with Chadbourne & Parke (now Norton Rose Fulbright) in New York in 1999.
Anne graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1999. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1995.
SAMANTHA C. GRANT
Partner,
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
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Samantha C. Grant is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm’s Century City office.
Areas of Practice
Samantha represents employers in administrative, arbitration and trial proceedings in labor and employment matters, including single-plaintiff, class and collective actions. She has extensive experience litigating discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, breach of contract, fraud, defamation, trade secret, covenants not to compete, and unfair competition cases, among others. She also advises clients on litigation avoidance strategies and local, state and federal compliance matters, as well as conducts management and workforce training. The insight and experience she gained while on a two-year secondment, as in-house employment counsel for a Fortune 50 company, was invaluable in her becoming a particularly pragmatic outside counsel.
Rodney Pratt
Vice President, Chief Administrative Office Operations, Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives,
Nike, Inc.
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Rodney is responsible for leading and managing the operations, innovation, and strategic initiatives of NIKE’s Chief Administrative Office, which is comprised of the legal, government & public affairs, social & community impact, security, investigations, and business continuity functions. Rodney also serves as a member of NIKE’s Black Community Commitment Task Force. From 2014 to 2020, Rodney served as the VP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Converse Inc., a NIKE subsidiary. Prior to joining Converse, he was an Assistant General Counsel at NIKE. In that role, Rodney served as a business and legal advisor to many of NIKE’s and its affiliate brands’ internal business teams. Rodney began his legal career as a corporate, finance, and M&A attorney with a major law firm in Washington, DC. Rodney serves on the Board of Directors of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund, which is based in Boston, MA. Rodney also serves on the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Eye & Ear, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and home to the world’s largest vision and hearing research center. Rodney is a Co-Chair of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Advisory Board. 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.
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.
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 supports Microsoft’s Security, Compliance, and Management (SCM) group. In this role, she manages a team of legal professionals that provides general counseling and transactional legal support in areas of product development, product marketing, privacy, regulatory and compliance matters. The SCM group is responsible for IT management tools and services like Windows 365 and Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and security and compliance products like Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Information Protection.
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 13 years on the board of Youth Eastside Services (currently Vice 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 17-year-old daughter (Olivia), her 23-year-old son (Parker) and her husband, Donnie.
She can be reached at Jenivan@microsoft.com.
Mike Jackson
Associate General Counsel/General Manager, Compliance & Ethics Governance, Training, and Culture,
Microsoft Corporation
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Mike Jackson is Associate General Counsel/General Manager for Compliance Governance, Training, and Culture at Microsoft. As a member of Microsoft’s Compliance and Ethics leadership team, Mike and his team are responsible for advancing global trust in Microsoft through development and maintenance of corporate compliance policies, governance, learning, communications and through ensuring that Microsoft’s products, goods, and services are inclusive around the world. Prior to this role, Mike led a team responsible for workplace investigations in North America at Microsoft and was also responsible for the team’s global executive reporting. Mike is a member of Microsoft’s Corporate, External, Legal Affairs (CELA) Extended Leadership Team and is currently the Global D&I lead for the department. Prior to Microsoft, Mike held roles at Target, The J.M. Smucker Company, and McDonald’s.
Mike is a member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)’s N-Gen Advisory Board and served previously on the Board of Directors for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Mike Jackson was recently recognized by Yahoo U.K. as part of its 2021 OUTstanding LGBTQ+ Role Model List.
LaTanya Langley
Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary,
Edgewell Personal Care Company
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LaTanya Langley serves as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Edgewell Personal Care Company, a leading pure-play consumer products company with an attractive, diversified portfolio of established brand names in the wet shave, sun and skincare and feminine care categories based in the Greater New York area.
Prior to joining Edgewell, Ms. Langley was most recently Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at BIC®. Throughout her 22-year career, Ms. Langley held several leadership roles including executive roles at Diageo, including General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd. based in Accra, Ghana.
Ms. Langley began her legal career as an associate at Paul Hastings LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Shipman & Goodwin LLP, specializing in corporate law and business finance and restructuring.
Ms. Langley is a member of the New York and Connecticut Bars and the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Ms. Langley received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and doctor of laws, honoris causa from Trinity College, where she serves on the Board of Trustees and received her juris doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law where she serves as an adjunct professor.
Sumit Mallick
Associate General Counsel,
Chime Financial, Inc.
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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.
The N-Gen Advisory Board (N-GEN) helps MCCA drive the conversation to inspire change in the legal profession through programs, networking, and education. N-GEN is comprised of dynamic general counsel of small public companies, division or deputy general counsels of large companies, and law firm partners who have demonstrated commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within their own organizations. N-GEN board members engage and network with our Board of Directors and have special access to MCCA events, including our C-Suite Leadership Institute/ In-House Counsel Summit.
THE N-GEN ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS SERVE 2 YEAR TERMS AND WILL
ASSIST MCCA IN PURSUING ITS MISSION IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
- Generate cutting-edge ideas for programming and events;
- Help identify and prepare the next generation of MCCA leadership;
- Develop and support MCCA’s educational and training programs;
- Support MCCA as a brand ambassador;
- Optimize MCCA networking events; and
- Increase the value of MCCA membership.
CRITERIA FOR N-GEN ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER:
- Must be an attorney working in an MCCA member organization (Corporate or Law Firm);
- Must be a recognized leader within the corporate legal departments or law firm as demonstrated
by internal leadership positions; and - Must have between 12 to 25 years of practice experience.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Attend 4 Board meetings annually (3 will be in person at MCCA’s signature conferences)
and 1 will be via conference call; and - Must be able to promote and/or assist in the promotion and support of MCCA programs,
events, and education.
For more information please contact programs@mcca.com.