Board Strategies and Structures for Managing Risk

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Panelists 

John K. Thompson Global Head Artificial Intelligence (AI) for EY

John Thompson is a recognized expert on demonstrating what to do and what to avoid in the journey of transforming a business and individual functions through data, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, simulation, and optimization.  Best-selling author of books such as “Data for All,” “Building Analytics Teams: Harnessing Analytics and AI for Business Improvement” and “Analytics: How to Win With Intelligence,” as well as an Adjunct Professor at the  Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Thompson advises senior leaders and board members on the business opportunities and how to identify and manage risks inherent in the complex landscape of data, technology and AI.

Currently, as Global Head of AI for EY, Thompson leads its AI consulting practice, which works with internal and external teams to solve business problems and to deliver AI applications. He also leads and manages EY's External Vendor Advisory Group, partnering with technology and professional service providers to help guide EY in strategy, technology, Go To Market motions and more. Earlier in his career, Thompson was Executive Partner & CEO Advisor at Gartner, Executive Director & General Manager–Advanced Analytics at Dell Technologies, and Vice President–Business Development for The Nielsen Company. He holds a M.B.A. from DePaul and a B.S. from Ferris State University.

John W. Kett Public Company, CEO

John Kett is a former CEO who drove unprecedented growth over a 10-year period while pioneering innovative product development strategies including a full digital transformation of the business. His focus on digitization and data resulted in broadening the service offering and growing top and bottom-line results. Mr. Kett led the company through a successful spin off in 2019 from KAR Global (now Openlane [NYSE:KAR]) and built out the necessary infrastructure, processes and functions to operate independently. Managing investors was a key responsibility and John has great experience across the spectrum of investors, including activist shareholders.

John also has strong experience building out a strong board of directors and working with them across a variety of subjects. He was directly involved in all of the committees, development of the strategic plan, and in getting shareholder approval of the combination with RB Global (NYSE:RBA). This included shareholder discussions as well as presentations to ISS and Glass Lewis. This culminated in a successful completion of the merger in March 2023, valuing IAA at over $7 billion.

Paulette R. Dodson Executive Leader, Board Director

Paulette Dodson is an executive leader and board director with extensive experience as a strategic advisor to CEOs and Boards of Directors of Fortune 500 and large privately held companies. As General Counsel at Alight, Inc. (NYSE: ALIT), Petsmart, Inc. and Sara Lee Corporation, Paulette executed and advised on strategic and cultural change, including Board governance, executive management, Board succession planning, shareholder activism, cybersecurity and privacy issues, mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance, and ESG. Since 2021, Paulette has served on the Board of Directors of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLO), the fast-casual restaurant chain known for its Chicago-style street food menu, and sits on the Board’s Corporate Governance Committee and Audit Committee. In addition, since the second quarter of 2023, she serves on the Board of Directors of Trupanion (NASDAQ: TRUP) and Bark (NYSE: BARK) where she Chairs each of their Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees

Paulette last served as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary for Alight, Inc., a global human capital and business solutions provider carved out from Aon as a Blackstone portfolio company. During her tenure with Alight, Paulette served as a key advisor to the C-Suite and Board as it established itself as a stand-alone global company and prepared for going public which it eventually achieved in 2021 IPO (via a SPAC transaction). She led several strategic M&A transactions, including and most notably the execution of a long-term outsourcing deal related to the divestiture of an 8,000 colleague subsidiary located in India. Paulette also spearheaded the development of the Company’s first global ESG committee and working group, which ushered in Alight’s first global impact report. Before joining Alight, Paulette was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of PetSmart, Inc. During her time at PetSmart, she guided the Board and company through leadership changes, a shareholder activist defense, and the largest leveraged buyout of a retailer at the time, which resulted in the $8.7B public to private sale of the company. She led PetSmart Charities, then North America’s largest animal welfare organization, through a full strategic review and organizational transformation. Paulette also served in various roles at Sara Lee Corporation, including General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Counsel for North America. As General Counsel, she oversaw the division of the Company into two separate publicly traded companies: Hillshire Brands, a meat processing company in the United States, and Douwe Egberts, a beverage company in the Netherlands.

Since 2011, Paulette has served on the Board of Directors of Mather Inc. She currently chairs the Corporate Governance Committee and serves on the Executive Committee. With $73M in annual revenues and nearly $1B in assets, Mather creates ways for people to age well through building and managing award-winning residences, a research institute, and neighborhood programs that support innovations and best practices. She is also on the Board of the United Way of Metro Chicago. In 2022, she received the Anti-Defamation League’s prestigious Womenof Achievement Award to recognize her civic contributions, including her efforts towards promoting diversity and equity.

Paulette holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from City College of New York and a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School.

Moderator

Arthur E. Mertes Partner Tucker Ellis LLP

Art is a partner in the Business Law Department of Tucker Ellis. He is active with PDA’s Programming Committee and has chaired PDA’s Private Equity and Family Office Committee. His 25+ year law practice focuses on corporate and contract law, M&A, financings, securities, capital raises and investments, growth companies, IP/data/licensing, organizational structure and governance, shareholder disputes and business litigation, and business law involving new
economy and traditional industries, predominantly counseling middle-market growth to mid-sized public companies and the related investment community. Art has presented on topics such as Mergers & Acquisitions, M&A Ethics, Board Governance, Middle Market Companies, Private Equity, Venture & Angel Financing, and Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship. Art is a trusted legal advisor to companies, boards and investors, and has a long history of business and NFP board service. He has founded and run a prior law firm, and has received several M&A Awards from the MBBI M&A trade group. Art is a proud 3-time University of Illinois grad, holding a J.D./magna cum laude/College of Law, an MBA/ honors/Geis College of Business, and a B.S. Mechanical Engineering/College of Engineering. Art enjoys yoga, real estate, growth company investment and not-for-profit service.

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