03:30 PM - 04:45 PM (Pacific)
04:30 PM - 05:45 PM (Mountain)
05:30 PM - 06:45 PM (Central)
06:30 PM - 07:45 PM (Eastern)

Registration

$0    Registration Fee 

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Overview

Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) issues have become more prominent in the modern boardroom. Developing a well-articulated strategy balances value creation, purpose, growth, and performance. Increasingly materiality has come into focus as financial returns and long-term investments are framed in an ESG context. These topics are complex and often interrelated. Highlights include:

• Environmental – climate change, sustainability, product lifecycle reclamation, greenhouse gas emissions, water conservation and reuse, pollution, supply chain considerations, and energy efficiency.
• Social – human capital, diversity, equity, inclusion, demographic and workforce transformations, geopolitical instability, customer & employee engagement, and satisfaction.
• Governance – board composition, cybersecurity, C-Suite selection, compensation and performance oversight, succession planning, strategy development, anticorruption, and risk management.

Companies are increasingly applying these non-financial factors to their analysis process of identifying material risks and growth opportunities. Heightened expectations, activists, regulators, and social media-driven hyper transparency have made ESG a bellwether for potential customers and investors. But what does it really look like in practice?

This informal conversation, sprinkled with humor and stories, will explore how to successfully develop and implement an impactful ESG strategy, anticipate challenges, and align incentives that strike the right balance between performance and stakeholder priorities.

Key Participant Takeaways:

• How does the board’s structure and agenda development ensure the correct amount of attention is provided to the most pressing ESG topics?
• How do individual directors stay ‘plugged in’ to the latest thought leadership on these rapidly evolving topics?
• What role should the board play in communicating the organization’s position on important issues via formal channels and aligning the organization’s culture with strategic priorities?

Thank you to our National Sponsors!

Thank you to our Chapter Sponsors!

Speakers

Beth Gotthelf Principal BUTZEL

Beth Gotthelf is an environmental expert with over 30 years of experience. She has extensive local, state, and federal government relations experience. Ms. Gotthelf leveraged her work in the automotive, aerospace and defense sectors with her work bringing Israeli ingenuity and technology to the United States. Board ready, NACD Directorship Certified, and an asset to boards as they expand their ESG strategies.

• Problem Solver. In just two years, Ms. Gotthelf went from identifying a governance issue, to convincing Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (now U.S. Secretary of Energy) to form an inner circle advisory group of female business leaders, implementing her vision including identifying and convincing the business leaders to serve, resulting in the group making recommendations for more effective government, along with business retention and attraction.
• Visionary for Economic Opportunities. Convinced the Israeli Ministry of Defense SIBAT to hold first defense industry trade mission to a state (instead of only countries) and implemented same. The Deputy Director of the Israeli Ministry of Defense SIBAT still describes this first of its kind mission as “The Gold Star" and Ms. Gotthelf as the "secret sauce."
• Driver of Success. Original board member and past president of the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator fostering collaboration and economic growth.
• Relationship Leader. Led Trade Mission of legislative leadership to Israel to build relationships "across the aisle" and develop tools for economic development.
• Advocate on Behalf of Industry. Represented industry in the drafting of national environmental rules.

Irene Chang Britt Independent Board Chair and Committee Chair

Irene Chang Britt is an experienced and forward-thinking independent board director, currently serving on the boards of global coffee & donut chain Dunkin Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN – Chair, Nomination and Corporate Governance), menswear leader Tailored Brands Inc. (NYSE: TLRD — Chair, Nomination and Corporate Governance), top ten life insurance company Brighthouse Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: BHF — Chair, Nomination and Corporate Governance) and privately held BayBridge Seniors Housing Inc. (Chairperson of the Board). In addition to her current boards, Irene previously served on the boards of food and energy biotech TerraVia Inc. (Chairperson of the Board) and energy company Sunoco, Inc.

Ms. Britt is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow and a frequent speaker on both leadership and corporate governance best practices. She is a highly accomplished former Fortune 500 C-Suite executive with a long track record of transforming businesses to achieve industry-leading growth. From 2012 through 2015, she was President, Pepperidge Farm and Senior Vice President, Global Baking and Snacking for the Campbell Soup Company, capping a decade of executive service at the company that also included tenure as Global Chief Strategy Officer, President of North America Foodservice and Vice President & General Manager, Sauces and Beverages.

Before joining Campbell Soup in 2005, Irene held a number of leadership positions within Kraft Foods / Nabisco in both the U.S. and Canada, including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Salted Snacks division and Post Cereal division. Before that, she spent more than a decade at Kimberly-Clark, where she held key assignments in marketing, sales and R&D leadership.

Irene is a member of the NACD New York Chapter Board of Directors, where she is Chair, Nomination and Corporate Governance, and a member of the Programing Committee. She has been honored with a number of recognitions for her business and community accomplishments, including NACD Directorship 100 (2017), a Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) Award (2014) and New Jersey Business Hall of Fame award (2011).

Irene earned her B.A. from the University of Toronto and MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Kathleen Ligocki Board Member, Serial CEO, Philanthropist

Ms. Ligocki is a highly experienced board member and the Chair of Board at Farmers Business Network, a venture-backed agtech company and serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees; and the Indiana University Foundation, where she chairs the Audit Committee and sits on the Legal/Governance Committee. Ms. Ligocki also currently serves on the boards of Carpenter Technology (NYSE: CRS), where she chairs the Human Capital Management Committee and sits on the Nominating/Governance and Strategy Committees; PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG), where she sits on the Audit and Sustainability/Innovation Committees; and Lear Corp (NYSE: LEA) where she has been a director of the Company since 2012.

From December 2015 to February 2019, Ms. Ligocki served as the Chief Executive Officer of Agility Fuel Solutions, based in Costa Mesa, California. Ms. Ligocki served as the Chief Executive Officer of Harvest Power, Inc., one of the leading organics management companies in North America from 2014 to 2015. From 2012 to 2014, she served as an Operating Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital providers where she worked with the firm’s greentech ventures on strategic challenges, scaling operations and commercialization. Ms. Ligocki also has served as the Chief Executive Officer of two early-stage companies: Next Autoworks, an auto company with a unique low-cost business model, from 2010 to 2012, and GS Motors, a Mexico City-based auto retailer owned by Grupo Salinas, a large Mexican conglomerate, from 2008 to 2009. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Ligocki was a Principal in Pine Lake Partners, a consultancy focused on startups and turnarounds. From 2003 to 2007, Ms. Ligocki was the Chief Executive Officer of Tower Automotive, a global Fortune 1000 automotive supplier. Previously, Ms. Ligocki held executive positions at Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and at United Technologies Corporation where she led operations in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Russia. Ms. Ligocki began her career at General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) working for 15 years at Delco Electronics Corporation. Ms. Ligocki formerly served as a director of Qell Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: QELL), Agility Fuel Solutions, Harvest Power, Inc., Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), Next Autoworks, BlueOak Resources, Lehigh Technologies, and Tower Automotive. Ms. Ligocki earned a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction in Liberal Studies from Indiana University Kokomo and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She also has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Oakland University, Central Michigan University and Indiana University Kokomo.

Julie M. B. Bradley CEO RegimenMD,

Ms. Julie M. B. Bradley is the CEO of RegimenMD, an e-commerce skin care marketplace.  Previously she served as the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Tripadvisor from October 2011 to November 2015.  She oversaw finance, investor relations, accounting, corporate development, human resources and real estate. She served as the Chief Financial Officer of Art Technology Group Inc. from July 2005 to January 2011 when the Company was acquired by Oracle.  She was responsible for managing all financial activities, investor relations and global IT.  She joined Art Technology Group from Akamai Technologies, where she served as Vice President of Finance. She joined Akamai in April, 2000, responsible for directing a wide variety of financial activities, including its successful Sarbanes-Oxley implementation program, balance sheet restructuring and its achievement of profitability. Prior to Akamai, Ms. Bradley served for over seven years at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where she served as a Manager specializing in multi-national corporate taxation.  She currently serves as a Director and Audit Committee Chairperson for three public companies:  GoodRx, WISH and First Watch Restaurant Group and one private company:  BitSight.  Previously, she served as a Director of Wayfair, Blue Apron, Constant Contact and Exact Target. She was named 2010 CFO of the Year by the Boston Business Journal. Ms. Bradley is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.A. in Economics from Wheaton College.

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