Members of The Executive Leadership Council continue to be recognized by their companies and in the media for their accomplishments. This issue covers information received during the third quarter of 2024.

Career Transitions

• Tonya T. Robinson, former Vice Chair and General Counsel for Legal, Regulatory, and Compliance at KPMG LLP, was named General Counsel and Managing Director of its legal division of Vanguard.
• Peggy Simmons, former EVP – Utilities of American Electric Power Company Inc, was named EVP – Regulatory and Chief Administrative Officer of American Electric Power Company Inc.
• Mike Smith, former Managing Director for Incrementium Advisors, was named President & CEO of Hanwha Defense USA.

Board & Commission Appointments

• Crystal Ashby, EVP, Chief People, DEI, and Communications Officer for Independence Health Group, was named to the board of Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.
• Bruce Chinn, Former CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, joined the board of Celanese Corporation.
• Frank Clyburn, Former CEO & Board Director for IFF, joined the boards of Revolution Medicines and Cencora.
• Nefertiti Greene, President – Science & Diagnostics for Mars Petcare, Mars, joined the board of UCB.
• Rhonda J. Morris, VP and Chief Human Resources Officer of Chevron Corporation, joined the board of Workday, Inc.
• Gregory Nixon, Head of Strategic Investments, Senior Managing Director and Senior Legal Counsel for Cerberus Capital Management, joined the board of Eos Energy.
• Shelley Stewart II, ELC Board Member and Managing Partner at Bottom Line Advisory, joined the board of Northeastern University.
• Telisa Toliver, ELC Board Member and Former GM, Renewable Power for Chevron Corporation, was named to the board of Atmos Energy.
• Claude Wade, EVP, Chief Digital Officer, Global Head of Business Operations & Global Claims for AIG, joined the board of Citizens Financial Group.

Major Awards and Recognitions

• Gregory Deavens, President & CEO of Independence Health Group, received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Manor College in Jenkintown, PA during their Summer commencement ceremonies. After his commencement speech, Greg and his wife Beverly made a personal gift to the college’s Summer Scholars Program, which was designed to provide a pathway for eligible returning students to take selected summer courses in 2024 and 2025 with no tuition cost.
• Deneen Donnley, SVP and General Counsel at Consolidated Edison, Inc., will receive the Charlotte E. Ray Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.
• Keith Dorsey, Managing Partner and US Practice Leader of CEO and Board Services at Boyden, provided the Summer 2024 commencement address at Pepperdine University.
• Caroline Wanga, President & CEO of Essence Ventures will receive the 2024 Mosaic Woman Trailblazer Award at the National Women’s Business Leadership Conference, November 21st – 22nd, hosted by DiversityWomanMedia at the Gaylord National Harbor.

Media Articles and Mentions

• Several ELC members signed onto a letter of 90 CEOs who are supporting VP Harris for President. Signatories include: Ken Chenault, Roz Brewer, Ken Frazier, Arnold Donald.
• Crystal Ashby, EVP, Chief People, DEI, and Communications Officer for Independence Health Group was a panelist on “Creating psychological safety in the workplace” for Accenture’s 2024 African American and Hispanic ERG Leadership Summit.
• Herman Bulls, International Director and Vice Chairman, Americas for JLL was recently quoted in a September 25th Reuters article on Making the Business Case for Boardroom Diversity
• Leilani Brown, Founder & CEO of Giant Steps LLC launched the Your First Job podcast that she co-hosts. The inaugural guest for the show was fellow ELC member Orlando Ashford, Chief People Officer for Fanatics.
• Ken Chenault, Chairman and Managing Director at General Catalyst, and Ken Frazier, Chairman of General Catalyst’s Health Assurance Initiatives, will be speakers at the 2024 Flagship Under 30 Summit for Forbes.
  • Chenault also appeared as a speaker during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL
• Grady Crosby, Chief Sustainability and Impact Officer at Northwestern Mutual, will speak at Sustainability USA 2024.
• Carla Harris, Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, provides her “eight pearls of leadership”. She was also quoted in a column for Luxury Travel Advisor magazine on the theme of Be Intentional about Your Leadership.
• Mike Hyter, ELC President and CEO, and The ELC, co-hosted CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-NV), alongside small businesses and key stakeholders, for a discussion on expanding opportunities for Black-owned businesses.
• Lisa Jackson, Vice President, Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple, was named to the Forbes 50 over 50 List of Changemakers, Innovators and Influencers.
• Archie Jones, Founder of NxGEN Coach Network, was quoted around the announcement of a new Board Governance Training Camp, in association with international law firm Womble Bond Dickinson.
• David A. Jones, newly named President and Managing Director of Merck Canada, noted that he was an alumni of the ELC Academy’s Strengthening the Pipeline Program.
• Reggie Van Lee served as a panelist during the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors’ recent Corporate Directors Summit on September 19th at JPMorgan Chase’s NYC Headquarters.
• Racquel Oden, HSBC US Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, will present an Economic Outlook for Fall 2024 during CNBC’s Women and Wealth event on September 25th Virtual Event.