C-SUITE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
The C-Suite Leadership Institute (“CLI”) is an effort by senior leaders in the legal community to effectively change the diversity landscape for C-Suite general counsel at Fortune 500 companies. CLI provides a platform for senior leaders to identify, develop, and promote talented attorneys of color. The program, led by influential leaders, is structured with panels, workshops, and individual meetings that provide learning, networking and visibility opportunities for participants.
CLI panels will feature insights from Fortune 500 GCs, top-tier leadership development consultants and executive search professionals. CLI program topics include personal leadership development and assessment; executive presence; inclusive communications; corporate governance / ESG; and crisis management. While the program is virtual, there will be ample time for structured group sessions and networking to promote peer to peer and leader connectivity.
2021 CLI SCHEDULED DATES
CLI will be virtual and will be held on August 4-5, 2021.
If you have any questions, please email programs@mcca.com.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
- Attorney of color: specifically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups – African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latinx.
- Average tenure of experience 15-20 years.
- Direct report to Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel or within 2 reporting levels to Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel.
- Applicant must manage at least 5 full-time attorneys and is the lead attorney advising a business.
- MCCA corporate members will be given priority review but all attorneys of color that meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply.
*If you are an early or mid-career diverse lawyer or diverse senior in-house counsel who is an individual contributor, MCCA offers a 12-month program as part of our Sources of Success program (SOS). Please click here for more information. The 2021 SOS application will open July 2021.
C-SUITE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
The C-Suite Leadership Institute (“CLI”) is an effort by senior leaders in the legal community to effectively change the diversity landscape for C-Suite general counsel at Fortune 500 companies. CLI provides a platform for senior leaders to identify, develop, and promote talented attorneys of color. The program, led by influential leaders, is structured with panels, workshops, and individual meetings that provide learning, networking and visibility opportunities for participants.
CLI panels will feature insights from Fortune 500 GCs, top-tier leadership development consultants and executive search professionals. CLI program topics include personal leadership development and assessment; executive presence; inclusive communications; corporate governance / ESG; and crisis management. While the program is virtual, there will be ample time for structured group sessions and networking to promote peer to peer and leader connectivity.
2021 CLI SCHEDULED DATES
CLI will be virtual and will be held on August 4-5, 2021.
If you have any questions, please email programs@mcca.com.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
- Attorney of color: specifically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups – African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latinx.
- Average tenure of experience 15-20 years.
- Direct report to Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel or within 2 reporting levels to Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel.
- Applicant must manage at least 5 full-time attorneys and is the lead attorney advising a business.
- MCCA corporate members will be given priority review but all attorneys of color that meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply.
*If you are an early or mid-career diverse lawyer or diverse senior in-house counsel who is an individual contributor, MCCA offers a 12-month program as part of our Sources of Success program (SOS). Please click here for more information. The 2021 SOS application will open July 2021.
2020 C-Suite Leadership Institute Recap
2020 C-Suite Leadership Institute Speakers
ANNE LEE BENEDICT
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary,
Summit Materials, Inc.
DENEEN DONNLEY
Senior Vice President & General Counsel,
Consolidated Edison, Inc.
CYNTHIA DOW
Managing Director, Head of Global Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Practice,
Russell Reynolds Associates
JAY KIM
Partner – In-House Counsel Recruiting,
Major, Lindsey & Africa
HANNAH LIM-JOHNSON
Senior Vice President,
Chief Legal Officer &
Corporate Secretary,
Meritor, Inc.
DAVID LOVE III
Partner,
Spencer Stuart
TINA SHAH PAIKEDAY
Head of Global D&I Advisory Services,
Russell Reynolds Associates
CRAIG SILLIMAN
Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative, Legal
and Public Policy Officer,
Verizon Communications
MICHAEL TANG
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary,
Agilent Technologies
Past Participating Companies
50onRed
A+E Networks
ABM Industries Incorporated
Accudyne Industries, LLC
ACE Cash Express, Inc.
AECOM
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Agility Fuel Solutions
AIG
Albemarle Corporation
Alliant Energy
Almod Diamonds Ltd
Altria Client Services Inc.
Andeavor
Aon plc
Apple Bank for Savings
Apple Inc.
Aptean
Aramark Corporation
Arch Capital Group
AT&T
Autodesk, Inc.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
(ADP)
AXA XL
Bank of America Corporation
Barneys New York
BBC Worldwide Americas, Inc.
BBCN Bank
BIC International Co.
BlackRock
Bloomberg BNA
BMO Financial Group
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmacueticals, Inc.
BrightEdge Technologies, Inc.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Capital One Bank
Cellebrite Inc.
Checkr
Chevron USA
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
CLS Bank International
Credible Labs Inc.
Dataminr, Inc.
Desjardins General Insurance Group
Diageo North America
Doosan Group
Duke Realty Corporation
East Coast Energy Group
East West Bank
eBay Inc.
Electronics For Imaging, Inc.
Entegris, Inc.
Entertainment Software Association
Facebook, Inc
Exponential Interactive, Inc.
Fitbit, Inc.
Freddie Mac
G6 Hospitality LLC
Gap Inc.
GE Asset Management Incorporated
General Motors Company
Genpact
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
GoodData
Google LLC
GreenOak Real Estate
GT Advanced Technologies Inc.
Hearst Corporate
Heraeus Incorporated
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hologic, Inc.
HomeLight, Inc.
Honeywell International Inc.
Human Longevity, Inc.
IBM Corporation
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Imperva, Inc.
Ingram Micro
InterDigital, Inc.
International Paper Company
Intuit
JM Eagle
Johnson Controls International plc
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kongregate Inc.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions,
Inc.
Lincoln Financial Group
Lockheed Martin Rotary & Mission
Systems (RMS)
Logitech Inc.
Los Angeles Organizing Committee
for the Olympic and Paralympic
Games 2028 (“LA 2028”)
LPL Financial
LUKOIL Pan Americas, LLC
Luther Burbank Savings
Lyft, Inc.
MacKay Shields
Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Mars Wrigley Confectionery
Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.
Mary Kay Inc.
Massachusetts Mutual Financial
Group
Mastercard International
Incorporated
McKesson Corporation
McKinsey & Company
Mead Johnson Nutrition Company
Meritor, Inc.
Meta Financial Group and MetaBank
MetLife
Microsoft
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking
Corporation
Mitsui Rail Capital, LLC
MOCAP Analytics
Moelis
Moelis & Company
Moogsoft Inc.
Morgan Stanley
Natera
Nationwide
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Company
Newegg Inc.
NiSource Inc.
Norfolk Southern Corporation
North America Aon
Office of the White House Counsel
OnDeck
P. H. Glatfelter Company
PayScale, Inc.
Pearson
Pepco Holdings, Inc.
PepsiCo, Inc.
Permobil, Inc.
Pernod Ricard USA
Petco
Pfizer Inc.
PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.
PPM America, Inc
Pratt & Whitney
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Prudential Financial, Inc.
Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB)
Public Storage
Pymetrics, Inc.
QBE North America
Rakuten USA, Inc.
Recology Inc.
Rent the Runway
Resideo Technologies, Inc.
Rocket Fuel
ROHM Semiconductor U.S.A., LLC
S&P Global Inc.
Salesforce.com, Inc.
Sequoia Consulting Group
Shell Oil Corporation
Siemens Corporation
Siemens Energy, Inc.
Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC
Signum Biosciences, Inc.
Silicon Valley Bank
Sindeo
Southeast Toyota Finance
Southern Company Gas
Standard Insurance Company
Staples Canada ULC
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide, Inc. (formerly)
State Farm Mutual Automobile
Insurance Company
StoneMor Partners L.P.
SugarCRM
Summit Materials, Inc.
Target
Tenneco
Tesla, Inc.
The Climate Corporation
The Clorox Company
The Durst Organization
The Gap, Inc.
The Hearst Corporation
The Home Depot
The Rockefeller Group
The Travelers Companies, Inc.
The University of Texas System
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
The Walt Disney Company
Thomson Reuters
Thrivent Financial
Transamerica
TruConnect Communications
TrueBlue, Inc.
Two Sigma IQ
UnitedHealthcare
Univision Communications Inc.
Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc.
US Foods
US Government
USAA
Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
Verifone Systems, Inc.
Verizon
Vyopta Incorporated
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Wells Fargo
Western Digital Corporation
Western Union Company
Whirlpool Corporation
Wintrust Commercial Finance,
a division of Wintrust Asset
Finance Inc.
Wyndham Worldwide
Zipcar, Inc.
ZipRecruiter, Inc.
Anne Lee Benedict
General Counsel,
Thomas James Homes
—
As General Counsel and Secretary, Anne oversees the legal affairs of Thomas James Homes. 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, where she was responsible for all legal matters.
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.
Deneen Donnley
Senior Vice President & General Counsel,
Consolidated Edison Company of New York
—
Deneen serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies. She previously served as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to USAA. She also previously served as the general counsel for USAA Bank.
Before joining USAA, Deneen worked at ING DIRECT as the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining ING DIRECT, she served as an attorney for Pepper Hamilton LLP and a staff attorney with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Deneen serves on the Boards of Directors of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) and Girls Inc. of New York City. She is a member of both the Executive Leadership Council and the Direct Women Board Institute.
A graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Deneen also received her Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law in New York.
Cynthia Dow
Managing Director, Head of Global Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Practice,
Russell Reynolds Associates
—
Cynthia Dow leads the firm’s Boston office, covering the New England region. She also heads the global Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Officers Practice and is a senior member of the Consumer, Board & CEO and Diversity & Inclusion Practices. Cynthia focuses on General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and other board and corporate governance roles across a broad range of industries, including legal, consumer, industrial, technology, energy, sports and entertainment, healthcare and financial services. Her clients range from Fortune 500 organizations to global mid-cap and small-cap private organizations and portfolio companies of leading private equity firms.
Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Cynthia had a successful legal career as a corporate generalist, and labor and employment attorney. She practiced law for more than 15 years, as an attorney with Baker Botts LLP in Dallas, as the General Counsel to a technology company and as Vice President & Assistant General Counsel with Cadbury Schweppes. During her legal career, Cynthia led legal departments and advised across labor and employment, regulatory matters and corporate restructurings. Earlier in her career, she served as Senior Law Clerk to Chief Judge Jerry Buchmeyer of the Northern District of Texas.
Cynthia received her BA in government from Cornell University, with distinction, and her JD from the Columbia School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an editor of the Journal of Law and Social Problems. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, is a retired member of the New York and Texas State Bars, and previously led the Board of Directors at the Dallas Contemporary art museum.
Jay Kim
Partner,
Major, Lindsey & Africa
—
Jay Kim is a Partner with the San Francisco office. She focuses on in-house searches from small private startups to Fortune 500 companies. Jay recruits for a wide range of positions, including for General Counsels, DGC/AGCs, Chiefs of IP, Compliance, Employment, and other specialized roles. Since joining Major, Lindsey & Africa in April of 2011, a majority of her placements have been diversity candidates.
Living in the Bay Area (since 1989), Jay has developed a particular expertise in the needs of industries intersecting with technology and life sciences — zeroing in on the right candidates from a select nationwide pool. Her dedication to engraining herself in her client’s culture and her true commitment to finding the best person for their teams results in long-term matches that thrive within even the most unique environments.
Jay’s client list includes: Agilent, Amyris*, Applied Materials, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, CytomX*, Cytokinetics, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, GlobalLogic, Novo Ventures, Portola Pharma, Red Hat, Square Inc., Uber Technologies*, University of California, Varian Medical Systems*, UNITY Biotechnology, Zendesk and Zymergen*.
Jay has also successfully partnered with our Asia office on a general counsel search for a NYSE-listed technology company in Seoul, Korea, and worked closely with Infosys headquarters in Bangalore, India, to place their general counsel in Silicon Valley. She also recently closed a search for Novartis, located in Basel, Switzerland.
Jay has a deep passion and understanding for diversity and is regular speaker and contributor to several diversity organizations, not only sharing her experience but also providing guidance and support to members to help them find career-success and fulfillment.
Jay started her career working as a litigator for five years, including at Gordon & Rees as an associate and with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a legal affairs staff attorney. After practicing law, she opened a small business and explored her creative side in music and fashion while traveling extensively. She then moved into recruiting at a major legal recruiting firm before joining Major, Lindsey & Africa.
Education
- University of California, Hastings College of the Law: J.D.
- San Francisco State University: B.A., magna cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
Tina Shah Paikeday
Head of Global D&I Advisory Services,
Russell Reynolds Associates
—
Tina Shah Paikeday leads the firm’s global D&I Consulting Services as a senior member of the Leadership & Succession Practice. Recent work has included the recruitment of Chief Diversity Officers, the development of inclusive leaders and inclusive culture transformation. Based in San Francisco, she advises public, private and nonprofit clients around the world.
Previous Experience
Tina has more than 20 years of industry experience. She joined Russell Reynolds Associates from the Talent Advisory Board, a boutique research and management consulting firm she founded. As a Managing Director, Tina advised clients on managing a diverse workforce. Earlier, she was a Senior Director at the Corporate Executive Board and was instrumental in building the Corporate Leadership Council Solutions people analytics business. Tina started her career at McKinsey & Company and has worked in sales and marketing at Procter & Gamble and The Clorox Company. Tina was also CEO of zBox Company, a venture-backed, tech-based appliance producer whose product line was later acquired by Whirlpool.
Education & Affiliations
Tina received a BS in commerce, with honors, from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has also completed doctoral-level coursework and is researching mindfulness and executive decision-making. Tina has lectured on organizational behavior, strategy and leadership at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Virginia. She is a Trustee of the IDEA Fund at the University of Virginia, an active supporter of Vision 2025: Diversity and Community at Stanford University and a member of the Academy of Management.
Craig Silliman
Executive Vice President of Public Policy & General Counsel,
Verizon Communications
—
Craig Silliman is Executive Vice President, Public Policy and General Counsel, responsible for leading the company’s public policy, legal, regulatory, government affairs and security groups.
Before assuming his current position in January 2015, Silliman was Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Affairs, with responsibility for Verizon’s global public policy, federal and state legislative affairs, federal regulatory affairs, strategic alliances, national security, privacy and corporate citizenship.
Prior to that, Silliman served in a number of other senior management roles at Verizon. He was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Verizon’s wireline consumer, business and wholesale groups globally, and Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, with responsibility for antitrust, intellectual property, national security, privacy and strategic product support.
Prior to joining a Verizon predecessor company in 1997, Silliman was an attorney in the international trade practice at Collier, Shannon, Rill & Scott in Washington, D.C. He has also taught international telecommunications regulation as an adjunct professor at the American University School of Law in Washington, D.C.
Silliman earned his law degree from the University of Virginia.
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.
MICHAEL TANG
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary,
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
—
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.