EQUITY TRACK PROGRAM
In 2016, MCCA developed the Equity Track Program (“Equity Track” or “Program”) to address the lack of diversity within the equity partnership levels at majority law firms as reported in our Law Firm Diversity Survey Report.
The Equity Track is a twelve-month program, and we will select ten partners at major law firms for our next Program.
We develop the Equity Track cohort by providing the following interactive classroom programs: (i) relationship development that turns into business; (ii) refined executive presence and communications; (iii) mock pitch sessions with senior in-house lawyers; and (iv) navigation of billing and origination credit.
This program also includes the “Kitchen Cabinet” — a panel comprised of a rainmaker from each partner’s firm, a senior in-house lawyer who has the authority to provide a book of business and make introductions to other senior in-house lawyers, and an executive coach focused on promoting the partner during the twelve months and beyond.
To view an example of a previous year’s application, please click here.
2019-2020 Equity Track Participants
Juan Arteaga
Crowell & Moring LLP
Cyndie Chang
Duane Morris LLP
Estela Diaz
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Lewis Goss II
Arent Fox LLP
Sonny Haynes
Partner,
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
TAMARON HOUSTON
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
KAREN JORDAN
Dentons US LLP
AMANDEEP SIDHU
Winston & Strawn LLP
TIFFANY SMITH
Partner,
WilmerHale
GEOFFREY YOUNG
Reed Smith LLP
Equity Track Mentors
IRIS CHEN
Deputy General Counsel,
Airbnb, Inc.
SHEILA DAVIDSON
Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer,
New York Life Insurance Company
JENNIFER LAGUNAS
Vice President, Corporate Legal, Governance, Operations & Assistant Corporate Secretary,
AbbVie
KERI MATTHEWS
Principal, Head of Employment Law Group,
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
ALEXIS MENDOZA
Vice President, General Counsel,
Nokia
LAURA MERIANOS
Principal,
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
LANESHA MINNIX
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary,
Flowserve Corporation
MICHAEL TANG
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary,
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
NEIL WILCOX
Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Social Responsibility,
Fiserv, Inc.
SIMONE WU
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & External Affairs,
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
JENNIFER YOKOYAMA
Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief IP Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation
Juan Arteaga
Crowell & Moring LLP
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Juan A. Arteaga is an experienced antitrust and white collar attorney with significant litigation and trial experience. He is a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he led and oversaw various high- profile civil and criminal investigations and litigation. His practice focuses primarily on advising companies, boards of directors, special committees, and executives on a broad range of civil and criminal antitrust matters, including litigation, merger reviews, and government and internal investigations. Juan also represents clients in a wide range of high-profile and complex regulatory investigations and commercial litigation, including securities litigation, shareholder derivative actions, class actions, and international arbitrations.
Juan has been recognized as a leading lawyer by numerous professional publications and associations. He was named a “Diversity and Inclusion Champion” by the New York City Bar Association (2019), a “Rising Star” by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (2018), a “Distinguished Leader” by the New York Law Journal (2018), a “CUP Catalyst” by the Council of Urban Professionals (2018), selected to the Ethisphere Institute’s “Attorneys Who Matter” list (2017), an “Antitrust Rising Star” by Law360 (2017), a “Rising Star” by the New York Law Journal (2016), and a “Top Lawyer Under 40” by the Hispanic National Bar Association (2012). He has also received numerous awards for his pro bono work and civic involvement from organizations such as the New York Legal Aid Society, Legal Outreach, Her Justice, Puerto Rican Bar Association, and LatinoJustice.
Juan is the co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Council and the hiring partner for the New York office. He also serves on the firm’s Recruiting and Professional Development Committees.
Between 2013 and 2017, Juan was a senior official in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. During this period, Juan served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Enforcement, where he lead and oversaw numerous high-profile and complex investigations and litigation related to various industries, including financial services, aviation, food and beverage, health care, technology, cable, manufactured products, transportation, and telecommunications. Juan also served as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. In this role, Juan helped oversee all aspects of the Antitrust Division’s operations and enforcement programs, including merger reviews and enforcement actions, non-merger civil investigations and litigation, and criminal cartel investigations and prosecutions. He also helped advise White House officials on competition policy issues and oversee the Antitrust Division’s coordination with various federal regulatory agencies, State Attorneys General, and foreign competition enforcement agencies.
Juan devotes significant time to pro bono and community work. He has represented immigrants in deportation proceedings, battered women and their children in family court and immigration proceedings, and indigent criminal defendants in post-conviction habeas proceedings and appeals. Juan serves on the boards of various non-profit organizations, including Legal Outreach, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp., and Free the Slaves. He also serves on the New York City Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee and the Fourth Circuit’s Criminal Justice Act Panel. He has previously served as a fellow in the White House Presidential Leadership Program, the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section Leadership Program, and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
Juan received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he served as a managing editor of the Law Review and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received the Archbishop Oscar Romero Scholarship. After law school, Juan served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Roger L. Gregory of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Cyndie Chang
Duane Morris LLP
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Cyndie Chang is the Duane Morris Los Angeles managing partner and a member of firm’s governing Partners Board, and one of the few Asian American women in upper management at an AmLaw 100 firm. Chang litigates complex business, class action and commercial disputes involving contracts, products liability, product safety and recall, business torts and fraud, insurance coverage, trademarks, and real estate. Chang has represented many public and private companies, and has obtained favorable results serving as first chair in state and federal bench trials, jury trials and arbitration, leading joint defense groups in complex cases, and resolving cases through creative settlements and dispositive motions. She is an advocate for women and minorities in the law. She served as President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), representing more than 50,000 Asian American attorneys and 75 local, state and national bar associations. She led NAPABA’s advocacy efforts on significant issues, including NAPABA’s position and amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court on immigration issues and also initiated programs for minority women in the profession and lawyers’ self-care/mental health. She was also President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, which awarded her its inaugural Trailblazer award. She serves on the Board of Directors for Loyola Law School, LA and received the Board of Governors Grand Reunion alumni award. She is a Commissioner on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and board member of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). She’s received the “Super Lawyers” distinction, including Top 50 Women of Southern California and the Daily Journal’s Top 100 California Women Lawyers. Her honors include: one of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” and “Leader in Law” by the Los Angeles Business Journal; NAPABA’s 2010 Best Lawyers Under 40; Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) EDGE’s inaugural Greater Equality Award recipient; Asian Americans Advancing Justice Pro Bono Award recipient with her firm; one of The Recorder’s “Lawyer on the Fast Track”; and profiled in Best Lawyers Magazine, Spring Edition 2016, as one of 15 women in the legal profession leading the charge for achievements in the practice and policy, on both local and national levels.
Estela Diaz
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
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Key Experience
- Handles internal investigations for companies, boards, and individuals.
- Litigates employment discrimination suits and putative class actions.
- A certified Title IX investigator.
Practice
Estela Diaz represents companies and individuals in a variety of criminal and regulatory investigations involving state and federal government authorities. She also has strong experience in conducting internal investigations involving allegations of misconduct against senior executives of public companies and other organizations.
In the employment context, Estela has litigated employment discrimination suits and putative class actions involving wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law. Estela is a certified Title IX investigator.
Prior to joining Akin Gump Estela served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s New York district office, where she litigated individual and class actions involving discrimination and harassment.
Representative Work
- Conducting an independent audit and investigation of workplace culture, and policies and practices related to diversity and inclusion, on behalf of the special committee of the board of a
public company. - Advising the board of trustees of a public university regarding its obligations and fiduciary duties in connection with numerous lawsuits and investigations.
- Conducting numerous Title IX investigations involving complaints against both students and faculty.
- Investigating complaints of sexual harassment and other discrimination allegations at the demand or complaint stage of litigation.
Lewis Goss II
Arent Fox LLP
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Lewis Goss II is a partner in the Real Estate group with an emphasis on finance, acquisitions, and dispositions.
Lewis represents financial institutions, private equity funds, and other institutional investors in a wide variety of commercial transactions, including: real estate acquisition, bridge and construction financing; mezzanine and other subordinate debt structures; syndications and intercreditor agreements; and loan restructuring, distressed assets, and workouts. Lewis has experience with both single-asset and large portfolio transactions with domestic and international borrowers and collateral. Additionally, Lewis represents commercial real estate developers in their single asset and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions.
Sonny Haynes
Partner,
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
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Sonny Haynes uses her litigation experience to help clients meet their objectives, whether in federal and state courtrooms or at the negotiation table. Sonny’s litigation practice includes representing a variety of clients from complaint through verdict and on appeal. She has represented clients in both federal and state courts and has appellate experience in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and the Court of Appeals of North Carolina. Her skills and experience in pretrial litigation include extensive motion practice and expert witness development.
Insurance Defense
Sonny regularly litigates matters involving ERISA benefit and fiduciary liability, life, and disability claims. Her contract and commercial tort experience includes defending insurance companies in actions alleging fraud, bad faith, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Product Liability and Mass Tort Litigation
Complex scientific and medical issues arise frequently in the product liability and mass tort actions that Sonny handles. She has represented manufacturers of a variety of products and defended against claims involving asbestos, silica, and talc.
Local Government Defense
Sonny’s experience includes representing county agencies, elected officials, and law enforcement officers in:
- Constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
- State law tort claims
- Employment cases, including Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination claims; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference and retaliation claims; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigations; and cases involving the North Carolina Human Resources Act
- Administrative law hearings, including contested case hearings before the North Carolina O_ce of Administrative Hearings
- Private prison cases
- Department of Social Services (DSS) cases
- Wrongful death cases
Education and School Law
In addition to her broad range of litigation experience, Sonny has extensive experience advising charter schools and education management organizations in the areas of board formation and support, charter applications, and school policy and compliance matters.
Tamaron Houston
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Ms. Houston is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in the Atlanta office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Commercial real estate transactions require responsive and agile counsel. Clients including, but not limited to, banks, life companies, developers, national retailers, special servicers, lenders, borrowers and others routinely turn to Ms. Houston for matters including commercial mortgage loan originations, securitizations, the acquisitions and dispositions of commercial real estate, hotels and multifamily real property. As a partner in one of the five largest commercial real estate practices in the United States, Ms. Houston is able to help her clients navigate complex transactions and decisions efficiently, across offices and practices.
Ms. Houston represents lenders in connection with CMBS financings, mortgage loan portfolios and master and special servicers in connection with distressed assets, remedies and workouts. In defaulted loans and workouts, Ms. Houston advises servicers and borrowers on forbearance and settlement agreements, loan modifications, restructuring, foreclosures and deed-in-lieu agreements.
Clients engaged in secured transactions and credit financings, including loan restructuring, mezzanine transactions and subordinate financings have relied on Ms. Houston for guidance. She regularly counsels lenders with multistate and multiple property portfolios, including hotels, independent and assisted living facilities, gas stations, office complexes, shopping centers, and industrial parks.
Ms. Houston is an active member of the firm’s Diversity Inclusion and Action Team. Since 2012, she has chaired the Spelman and Morehouse Internship Program, which provides students who are interested in attending law school with an opportunity to gain practical experience working at Seyfarth Shaw. Ms. Houston is a certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and a member of Seyfarth’s Lawyer Development Committee. While attending law school at The University of Virginia, Ms. Houston clerked for the NAACP legal department in Houston, Texas during Hurricane Katrina, helping evacuees with landlord and tenant disputes, wrongful evictions and foreclosure issues. She also served as president of the law school’s Women of Color student group, and as a contributing editor of the Virginia Sports & Entertainment Journal. Ms. Houston also studied international banking and finance in England at The University of Nottingham School of Law.
Karen Jordan
Dentons US LLP
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Karen Jordan is a member of Dentons’ Corporate practice. She concentrates on advising corporate clients in a wide range of corporate, public finance, corporate finance, real estate and securities transactions.
In her public finance practice, Karen has represented underwriters, borrowers, issuers and political subdivisions in transactions totaling in excess of US$1 billion. She focus on all aspects of project financing for commercial facilities; real estate developments; health care facilities; senior living and retirement facilities; airports; utilities; manufacturing facilities; sports facilities; governmental, community and cultural facilities; and facilities for colleges, universities and other educational institutions, including public, private and “virtual” schools.
Karen has also represented a number of corporate clients in all aspects of their business, including mergers and acquisitions, financing and investment transactions, as well as general corporate matters. She has extensive experience in corporate procurement (including a secondment at a Fortune 500 company), providing procurement advice in the context of high-value transactions. Karen has represented issuers in both private and public offerings, including initial public offerings and equity and debt offerings of existing public companies. She also represents a number of nonprofit corporations on structure, governance and compliance issues.
Karen has been a featured speaker on the corporate law, municipal finance and the use of public incentives to finance private development, including speaking engagements for the Women’s Business Development Center, the National Association of Bond Lawyers, Commercial Real Estate Women, and the Jeffrey E. Smith Institute of Real Estate.
Amandeep Sidhu
Winston & Strawn LLP
—
Amandeep (Aman) Sidhu is a litigation partner in the firm’s D.C. office, focusing his practice on regulatory and compliance counseling, state and federal government investigations, and complex civil litigation involving regulated industries. Aman regularly represents clients in high stakes disputes in the health care and life sciences industries, including hospitals and health care companies in defense of qui tam litigation involving the False Claims Act (FCA), Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute in federal district courts. His health care regulatory practice includes significant experience in certificate of need (CON) laws in Virginia and Washington, DC and he regularly facilitates approval for the introduction or expansion of health care services in these jurisdictions. Furthermore, Aman also advises clients on domestic and international risk management issues, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA).
Aman clerked for the Chief Judge Walter S. Felton, Jr., of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and while clerking, he was a member of the National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys. At that time, he was appointed by Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr. in the Supreme Court of Virginia to serve as a task force member of the Commission on Virginia Courts in the 21stCentury: To Benefit All, To Exclude None.
Aman is also a co-founder of the Sikh Coalition, the largest civil and human rights non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to protecting the interests of the Sikh community. He has led lobbying efforts in the U.S. Congress regarding hate crimes, profiling, workplace, and public accommodation discrimination, and also serves as lead counsel in an ongoing effort to end the U.S. military’s presumptive ban on the service of observant Sikhs and other religious minorities. In partnership with the Sikh Coalition and other organizational partners, Aman’s work led to historic policy changes in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force that has opened the door to over 60 observant Sikhs serving in the U.S. military.
Tiffany Smith
Partner,
WilmerHale
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Tiffany J. Smith has over a decade of experience advising and representing broker-dealers and other financial institutions, including financial technology companies, regarding compliance with federal and state securities laws and regulations and the rules of the self-regulatory organizations. Ms. Smith’s practice primarily focuses on three areas: (i) broker-dealer regulatory compliance, (ii) representing clients in connection with enforcement matters and regulatory examinations, and (iii) providing regulatory advice in connection with corporate transactions.
With respect to broker-dealer regulatory compliance, Ms. Smith often advises clients on newly adopted rules and areas of increased regulatory focus, including the rules on market access, securities trading and market activities, short sales, and issuer repurchases. Ms. Smith also has experience advising clients on the regulatory implications of new and emerging technologies (e.g., blockchain) and helping clients navigate the regulatory hurdles associated with these technologies. In addition, she counsels clients on triggers for broker-dealer registration, including those related to offshore activities and those related to the activities of financial technology companies.
Ms. Smith has experience representing clients in connection with regulatory examinations, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) enforcement matters, and the FINRA MC-400 Membership Continuance Process, and conducting internal investigations.
Ms. Smith often serves as regulatory counsel in connection with corporate transactions involving broker-dealers, advises clients through the FINRA new and continuing member application processes, and counsels clients on the triggers for filing a FINRA continuing member application.
At the firm, Ms. Smith has been active on the Diversity Committee, Hiring Committee, Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, and various volunteer-based initiatives. From 2016–2019, she was co-chair of firm’s New York summer associate program.
While in law school, Ms. Smith was a Compliance Audit Specialist for M&T Securities. She audited personnel to ensure compliance with internal, federal and self-regulatory organization rules, and held the following securities licenses: Series 6, 7, 24, 53, 63 and 65. Ms. Smith also interned at the Investment Management Division of the SEC and the Litigation Department at FINRA.
In 2014, Ms. Smith completed the Council of Urban Professionals Executive Leadership Program, a year-long leadership development program comprised of leadership training, coaching and keynote conversations with executives. Ms. Smith is also a member of the Wall Street Blockchain Association, the New York City Bar, the National Bar Association, the Metropolitan Black Bar Association and the LGBT Bar Association of New York; and on the Board of the Legal Aid Society.
Geoffrey Young
Reed Smith LLP
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Geoff is a partner in the Global Commercial Disputes Group. His practice comprises litigating and providing counsel for complex business disputes across a variety of industries that cover a wide range of the firm’s specialties, including complex commercial litigation, products liability (especially aviation litigation), financial services litigation, energy and natural resources, advertising/trademark litigation, and international arbitration. In addition, Geoff has experience within the areas of internal and governmental investigations, including under federal and state false claims statutes.
As a seasoned litigator, Geoff has significant experience handling various aspects of litigation in state and federal court, including at the trial and appellate levels. He also has substantial experience with domestic and international arbitration proceedings under the rules of various organizations, such as JAMS, AAA, ICDR, and WIPO. Geoff has experience arguing complex trial court motions and appeals, taking and defending complex depositions, and has commenced and defended various actions seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. He has also tried cases and arbitrations through verdict and/or award.
Geoff holds a number of leadership roles within the firm, including with the firm’s Black/African-American Affinity Group and the New York Office Diversity Committee. He is also a member of the New York Office’s Hiring Committee and Community Service Committee. Additionally, Geoff devotes significant time to pro bono matters, especially the firm’s capital punishment matters.
Geoff served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sandra L. Townes in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Iris Chen
Deputy General Counsel,
Airbnb, Inc.
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Iris Chen is a Deputy General Counsel in the Legal Department at Airbnb, Inc. where she leads a team of 40 attorneys and legal professionals that support Airbnb’s product, commercial and marketing functions as well as managing the company’s trademark and copyright matters. Prior to joining Airbnb, Iris spent 14 years with Google as a Vice President in the Legal Department where she led a team of 145+ legal team members responsible for supporting global product development and all commercial transactions in North America and EMEA for Google’s advertising, commerce, payments, search, research, health, geo and supporting infrastructure services. Iris is experienced in leading and developing legal teams and advising executives across product, engineering, sales, business development and other functions. Before joining Google, Iris was a corporate associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (2001-2004) and then Ropes & Gray (2004-2006) as an associate in the firm’s investment management practice. Iris is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School.
Outside of work, Iris currently serves on the boards of the Columbia Law School Association and the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose.
Sheila Davidson
Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer,
New York Life Insurance Company
—
Sheila Kearney Davidson is Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of New York Life Insurance Company. In addition to leading the company’s legal operations, she also oversees its compliance, governance and governmental affairs functions.
Ms. Davidson joined New York Life in 1991 and has served in many leadership positions in legal, compliance and administrative areas. She was appointed to New York Life’s Executive Management Committee in January 2001.
Ms. Davidson is a member of the New York State Bar. She serves on the boards of Fairfield University, Madison Square Park Conservancy, the Citizens Budget Commission and the Life Insurance Council of New York. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as legal and compliance best practices and diversity.
In 2018, the New York City Bar Association honored Ms. Davidson with their Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award. In 2016, the National Law Journal named Ms. Davidson one of America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel citing her commitment to diversity. She is the founding executive sponsor of The Women’s Initiative, New York Life’s Employee Resource Group that connects and empowers women across the company.
Ms. Davidson graduated cum laude from Fairfield University with a B.A. She received her J.D. from George Washington University.
Jennifer Lagunas
Vice President, Corporate Legal, Governance, Operations & Assistant Corporate Secretary,
AbbVie
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Jennifer is Vice President, Corporate Legal, Governance, and Operations at AbbVie. She also serves as Assistant Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors. Ms. Lagunas leads the Legal teams addressing: Global Governance, Securities & Finance, Legal Operations, Enterprise Data, Digital Health, Global Legal Privacy, and Purchasing & Corporate Affairs. Ms. Lagunas joined the company prior to the Abbott/AbbVie separation as Division Counsel, Securities & Governance. She has also led AbbVie’s Diversity in Law Initiative since formation in 2017.
Prior to joining Abbott/AbbVie, Ms. Lagunas had responsibility for corporate and securities legal matters at Motorola, Inc., including the spin-off of Motorola Mobility and its subsequent acquisition by Google. She also served as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors and as an officer of the Motorola Mobility Charitable Foundation. Prior to Motorola, Ms. Lagunas was an attorney at the law firm Winston & Strawn LLP in the corporate department.
She earned a juris doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School and a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in international studies, French, and business from Washington University in St. Louis.
Keri Matthews
Principal, Head of Employment Law Group,
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
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Keri Matthews runs the Vanguard Employment Law group responsible for advising Vanguard on global and local employment matters including recruitment and hiring, establishment and enforcement of policies, workplace safety and health, equal employment opportunities, compensation, benefits, and immigration. She joined Vanguard from Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, where she served as Head of Employment Law. Prior to joining Fifth Third, she was with Deutsche Bank in New York and held roles in both Legal (Employment Counsel) and HR (Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion). She is a graduate of NYU School of Law and the University of Western Ontario.
Alexis Mendoza
Vice President, General Counsel,
Nokia
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Alexis P. Mendoza is Vice President, General Counsel for Nokia Software and Head of Customer Operations Legal for the Americas at Nokia. Prior to his current role, Mr. Mendoza held senior roles in the Litigation and Compliance departments at Nokia/Alcatel-Lucent. Prior to joining Nokia, Mr. Mendoza worked as a litigator in the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General and with a law firm in the New York metropolitan area. Mr. Mendoza received a J.D. from Tulane University Law School.
Laura Merianos
Principal,
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
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Laura Merianos is a principal in Vanguard’s Office of the General Counsel. She currently leads the Investment Products and Advisors Team, a team of approximately 50 crew members who provide advice to Vanguard on investment management, derivatives, securities lending, commodities, and separately managed account matters. Ms. Merianos represents Vanguard on several association committees at the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), and the Institutional Investor Forum (IIF), and she has spoken at industry conferences covering topics such as globalized trading operations, money market fund reform, municipal bond matters, the Volcker Rule, and systemic risk.
Before joining Vanguard, Ms. Merianos was an associate with the law firm of Jones Day in Washington, D.C. She earned a B.A. in Spanish and political science from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. Ms. Merianos is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Lanesha Minnix
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary,
Flowserve Corporation
—
Lanesha Minnix currently serves 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 is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and oversees 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.
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.
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.
Simone Wu
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & External Affairs,
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
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Simone Wu serves as senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and external affairs for Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world’s largest lodging franchisors, with more than 7,000 hotels in the United States and over 40 other countries and territories.
In addition to leading the company’s legal function, she also oversees risk management, procurement services, external communications and government and public relations. In this role, Ms. Wu is an integral member of the senior leadership team and serves as the primary legal advisor to the board of directors.
Prior to joining Choice Hotels in 2012, Ms. Wu served as executive vice president, general counsel, and administration for XO Communications, a leading nationwide provider of advanced IP communications, managed network, and IT infrastructure services. Previously, Ms. Wu led the international legal team at MCI, and structured technology transactions at AOL. Ms. Wu also practiced law at Skadden, Arps.
Ms. Wu currently serves on the boards of directors of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). and was previously MCCA Board Chair from 2013 to 2015.
Jennifer Yokoyama
Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief IP Counsel,
Microsoft Corporation
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Jennifer Yokoyama is the Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief IP Counsel at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA. In her current role, she oversees the team of attorneys responsible for managing Microsoft’s worldwide patent litigation docket and provides support and legal advice for her business partners throughout Microsoft as needed. Jennifer’s experience in IP litigation spans the globe from numerous jurisdictions and venues across the United States to countries throughout the Asia Pacific region including China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan as well as in jurisdictions throughout Europe. Prior to joining Microsoft, Jennifer was Principal Counsel for Patent Litigation at Apple Inc. Prior to that, she was Assistant General Counsel for IP Litigation and Strategy at Nike. Jennifer started her career as a patent litigator with McDermott, Will & Emery where she was a partner in the Irvine office before she made the move to in house. She received her Bachelors of Science degrees from University of California, San Diego where she double majored in biology and sociology. Jennifer received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.