Illinois 2024 – GC Powerlist
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Illinois 2024

Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel

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  • Industries

  • Powerlist

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Adrienne Banks Pitts

Managing director, general counsel and corporate secretary | Loop Capital & JLC

Financials

Alan K. Tse

Global chief legal officer and corporate secretary | Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)

Industrials and real estate

Alan K. Tse is the global chief legal officer and corporate secretary of Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc (NYSE: JLL), the Fortune 200 Real Estate Services Company with 105,000 employees worldwide....

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Alfreda Bradley-Coar

Executive vice president, chief legal and people officer | Obama Foundation

Nonprofit

Amy J. Peña

General counsel | The Chicago Community Trust

Public sector

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Andrew Stevens

Global general counsel | IMC Trading

Financials

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Andrew Oppenheimer

Chief legal officer | Ferrara

Food

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Anne-Marie Wieland D’Angelo

Executive vice president, general counsel | Hilton

Hotels

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Ayesha Ahmed

General counsel | Nexus Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare

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Beth Shapiro

General counsel | Abt Electronics

Consumer products

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Bradley Burd

General counsel | GoHealth

Healthcare

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Brenda Lang

Head of legal, US | AXA Partners

Insurance

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Brett Scharback

General counsel | Chicago Cubs

Sports and media

Bryan L. Perry

Vice President, general counsel | Northern Illinois University

Education

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Carey Bartell

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Conagra Brands

Food

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Cary Pumphrey

Group vice president, legal | Walgreens

Consumer products

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Catherine Levitt

Executive vice president and general counsel | Astellas Pharma

Healthcare

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Charles Broll

Chief legal officer | Tropicana Brands Group

Food

Charles Broll is forming a global legal team from scratch, which includes individuals, processes, templates, law firm relationships, and ways of working. Charles is doing this in Chicago and London...

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Chris Steinway

General counsel, corporate secretary and director of human resources | The Belt Railway Company of Chicago

Transport and infrastructure

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Christine DeBiase

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Allstate

Insurance

Christopher Mermigas

Head of legal | RSA Security

Information technology

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Christopher Dekker

Vice president, general counsel, secretary and CCO | Brunswick Corporation

Industrial and real estate

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Corey Grauer

Chief legal officer | LRS

Commercial and professional services

Cristen Kogl

Chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary | Zebra Technologies

Information technology

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Darren Zeidel

Executive vice president general counsel and company secretary | AON

Financials

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David J. Mulvihill

Senior vice president and managing counsel | Wells Fargo

Financials

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David Rosenbloom

Senior vice president and general counsel | Baxter International Inc

Healthcare

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Deborah Friedman

Director of legal affairs | TDS

Telecommunication services

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Deborah Solmor

General counsel | Gateway Foundation

Healthcare

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Desiree Ralls-Morrison

Executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary | McDonald's

Food

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Divya Mehta

Senior vice president law and general counsel | KONE

Industrials and real estate

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Eileen Tierney

General counsel and corporate secretary | EVRAZ North America

Materials and mining

Eleanor Cabrere

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Navistar

Industrial and real estate

Elizabeth Sheyn Brown

General counsel and chief administrative officer | CSC Generation Enterprise

Financials

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Emma Rodriguez-Ayala

Chief administrative officer, general counsel, board secretary | Ariel Investments

Financials

Folarin Dosunmu

Vice president and general counsel | Levy Restaurants

Hotels

Folarin Dosunmu is vice president and general counsel for Levy. Folarin is a business advisor to the senior management team and leads the legal team on all significant matters involving...

Francesco Paolino

General counsel, Americas | Avanade

Information technology

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Frank R. Jimenez

General counsel and corporate secretary | GE Healthcare

Healthcare

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Gayle Littleton

Executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary | Exelon Corporation

Energy and utilities

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Georgia Vlamis

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | USG

Materials and mining

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Heather Russell

Executive vice president and chief legal officer | TransUnion

Information technology

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Hiranda Donoghue

Executie vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary | Fortune Brands Innovations

Materials and mining

Hiranda is executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Fortune Brands Innovations. She joined the company in December 2021 and oversees global legal operations, corporate governance, compliance...

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Hugo Dubovoy Jr.

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Regal Rexnord

Industrials and real estate

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Ivonne Cabrera

Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary | Dover corporation

Industrial and real estate

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James Niewiara

Senior vice president and general counsel | Motorola Solutions

Telecommunication services

James P. Kelly

Legal director, North America | HOERBIGER

Materials and mining

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Janice Hamblin

Senior vice president, general counsel | Cramer-Krasselt

Sports and media

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Jennifer Hamilton

Chief legal officer | Exterro

Information technology

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Jennifer Manning

General counsel | Levi, Ray & Shoup

Information technology

Jessica Bahr

Vice president, deputy general counsel | Constellation Brands

Food

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Jodi Caro

General counsel, chief risk and compliance officer | Ulta Beauty

Consumer products

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Joe Blasko

General counsel and corporate secretary | LanzaTech

Information technology

John Curtin

General counsel and corporate secretary | Martin Brower

Consumer product

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John Corvino

Vice president and general counsel | Chicago White Sox

Sports and media

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Jonathan Romick

General counsel | Linden Partners

Financials

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Julie Musselman

Vice president, legal and regulatory | Peerless Network

Telecommunication services

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Karla Mitchell Gowen

General counsel | City Colleges of Chicago

Education

Keith E. Horton

General manager and general counsel | Camelot Illinois

Consumer products

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Kristin Coleman

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Albemarle Corporation

Materials and mining

Kristy N. Waterman

Executive vice president, chief human resources officer and general counsel | Treehouse Foods

Food

Kyle Hermanson

Vice president and deputy general counsel | Invenergy

Energy and utilities

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Laura Stein

Executive vice president, general counsel, corporate and legal affairs | Mondelēz International

Food

Laura Stein is Executive Vice President – Corporate & Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Mondelēz International, a global snacking company with 2023 net revenues of approximately $36...

Laura Warren

Senior vice president and general counsel | Chicago Fire Football Club

Public sector

Laura is a seasoned sports executive and chief legal advisor for Chicago’s Major League Soccer team, the Chicago Fire Football Club. In her role as chief legal and administrative officer,...

Lauren K. Schwartz

Global general counsel and corporate secretary | cleverbridge

Information technology

Lauren K. Schwartz is a dynamic leader, C-suite advisor, and advocate known for her unwavering commitment to problem-solving and enabling business success. With over 15 years of experience in the...

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Lisa Anderson

Senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary | IDEX Corporation

Industrials and real estate

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Luke Valentino

General counsel and secretary | Transformco

Consumer products

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Margaret Egan

Executive vice president, general counsel and secretary | Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hotels

Matthew Robert Campobasso

General counsel, corporate secretary | Enfusion

Information technology

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Melvin F. Williams

Chief legal officer | Chicago Trading Company

Financials

Meredith Ritchie

Senior vice president, general counsel and chief ethics and governmental affairs officer | Alliant Credit Union

Financials

Meredith Ritchie, a Chicago native, graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and obtained her JD from DePaul College of Law in Chicago. Meredith has had a diverse legal career...

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Michael Hatfield

General counsel | ofi

Food

Michelle Belew

General counsel | Sphera

Information technology

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Michelle Clatfelter

Chief legal officer | Springfield Clinic

Healthcare

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Nancy Berardinelli-Krantz

Senior vice president, chief legal officer | Grainger

Consumer products

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Noelle Perkins

Executive vice president, general counsel and secretary | Cushman & Wakefield

Industrial and real estate

Noelle Perkins is the EVP, General Counsel & Secretary for Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK), a global leader in commercial real estate services with 52,000 employees in over 400 offices...

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Paul Rios

General counsel | Nitel

Telecommunication services

Paul Fichter

Executive vice president, chief legal officer | Credit union 1

Financials

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Paula Ferguson

EVP, Managing Director, General Counsel for Wholesale Lending and Transaction Banking | HSBC North America

Financials

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Perry Siatis

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | AbbVie

Healthcare

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R. Lee Allen

Executive vice president and chief legal officer | BRANDT

Food

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Ram Padmanabhan

Chief operating officer and general counsel | Chicago Bulls

Sports and media

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Randall Lewis

Senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance and ethics officer | Transdev North America

Transport and infrastructure

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Regina Bynote-Jones

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | ADM

Food

Rick Kulevich

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | CDW

Information technology

Rick Kulevich is senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of CDW, responsible for the legal, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, and ethics and compliance functions. He joined CDW...

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Robert Chernoff

General counsel, Americas | Renishaw

Materials and mining

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Robert S. Rivkin

Senior vice president and chief legal officer | United Airlines

Transport and infrastructure

Rozan Simoni

General counsel, North America | COFCO International

Food

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Sean Martin

Chief legal officer and general counsel | Generate Biomedicines

Healthcare

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Susan C. Levy

Executive vice president and general counsel | Northern Trust Corporation

Financials

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Susan Stone

Executive vice president, general counsel | CNA insurance

Financials

Tajanae Mallett

General counsel | Arjo

Materials and mining

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Talita Ramos Erickson

Head of legal operatons and chief of staff | Mcdonald's

Food

Talita Ramos Erickson is head of Global Legal Operations & Chief of Staff for the Global Legal and Compliance Department at McDonald’s Corporation, based in Chicago. Before joining McDonald’s in 2023,...

Tanya M. Jaeger de Foras

Senior vice president, chief legal officer, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer | Ingredion Incorporated

Food

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Tejal Vakharia

Seior vice president, general counsel | Allscripts

Information technology

Theresa R. Shea

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Utz Brands

Food

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Tom LaFrance

Executive vice president, chief legal and human resources officer, corporate secretary | Hub Group

Transport and infrastructure

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Trisha Cole

Chief operating officer and general counsel | Medtelligent

Information technology

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Walter Hazlitt

Vice president, general counsel and secretary | Illinois Institute of Technology

Education

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William D. Abbott

Senior vice president and general counsel | Misumi USA

Industrials and real estate

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Zachary Raimi

General counsel, Americas | HH Global

Commercial and professional services

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The Legal 500 is excited to present the second edition of the GC Powerlist Illinois 2024. Building on the previous edition, this year’s Powerlist once again highlights outstanding in-house counsel in Illinois, chosen for their exceptional skill, impact, and dedication.

When speaking with The Legal 500, many general counsel emphasised the importance of integrating the legal function more closely with business operations. For example, Tanya Jaeger de Foras, SVP and chief legal officer at Ingredion, noted that her team “developed a vision and mission statement that we are one global team, working together to be recognized for adding value by driving outcomes that advance the strategy and protect the company.”

William Abbott, general counsel at Misumi, also shared his approach to supporting company goals, explaining, “We send a personal response to each customer within 24 hours of receipt, then follow up to better understand their expectations, aiming to exceed them whenever possible.

In a shifting economic and regulatory landscape, general counsel in Illinois are addressing challenges from employment issues like non-compete clauses and data privacy to interest rate changes by the Federal Reserve. Summing up the role of general counsel in these times, Christopher Mermigas, general counsel at RSA Security says, “By involving legal expertise early in the project lifecycle, we can guide teams through potential obstacles and help them navigate complex regulatory issues, enabling smoother processes and increasing chances of success.”

Congratulations to all honorees in this year’s GC Powerlist Illinois. We appreciate their contributions and insights shared during our research for this edition!

GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025

Legal 500 was proud to host the second edition of the GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 in Nairobi, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. This year’s reception brought together over 100 of the most influential and innovative corporate counsel from the region, and was an unrivalled success, cementing Legal 500’s role as the leading voice in recognising in-house legal excellence across Africa.

The evening was opened by Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC Powerlist publication at Legal 500, who highlighted the growing prestige of the East Africa edition and the increasing challenge of selecting honourees from such a deep (and rapidly growing) pool of talent.

Guests were then treated to some particularly relevant insights from distinguished speakers. Rachel Musoke, Head of ENS Uganda, delivered a thoughtful welcome that reflected on the importance of collaboration between private practice and in-house teams. This was followed by a powerful keynote from Habil Waswani, Company Secretary & Director Legal Services and Regulatory Compliance at Kenya Airways, who shared reflections on leadership, regulatory stewardship, and the evolving role of corporate counsel in East Africa.

The highlight of the evening was the certificate ceremony, where this year’s honourees were formally recognised. Certificates were presented by senior representatives of ENS, including Désiré Kamanzi (head of ENS Rwanda), Rachel Musoke, Nigel Shaw (head of ENS Kenya), Donald Nyakairu (Partner, ENS Uganda), Dieudonne Nzafashwanayo (partner, ENS Rwanda) and Binti Shah (Partner, ENS Kenya) whose participation underlined the depth of the firm’s support for the GC Powerlist initiative.

The GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 reaffirmed The Legal 500’s commitment to shining a spotlight on the region’s most talented in-house lawyers. With an even stronger field of candidates, this year’s edition stands as a powerful testament to the influence and expertise of East Africa’s legal leaders. Habil Waswani’s excellent speech, which got a raucous reception from those in the room, is reproduced below with his permission:

‘My name is Habil Waswani, and I have been an inhouse legal practitioner for the past 21 years in different sectors (having done law-firm practice for 2 years before that). Tt is indeed a true privilege and honour for me to be here tonight, surrounded by the sharpest legal minds and calmest crisis-handlers the East African corporate world has to offer.

First, let me thank the Legal 500 and ENSAfrica teams, for organising such a fantastic event and for bringing us together in such style. Congratulations to each of tonight’s honourees. You represent the very best of general counsel in this very dynamic corporate space the businesses we support operate in. Strategic, ethical, resilient, and, let’s be honest, often underappreciated leaders of industry.

I am so happy that this evening is not about contracts, or compliance checklists, or board packs. Tonight is about celebrating you, the people behind all of that. The steady hands guiding companies through complexities, uncertainties, and ensuring that the opportunities that lie within those difficult circumstances are lawfully realized.

We all know the role of GCs has evolved. We are no longer tucked away at the end of a corridor marked “Legal” or labelled the proverbial “cost centres”. These days, the GCs sit at the big table – helping drive corporate strategy, shaping desired culture, providing leadership and safeguarding business reputations. We have become indispensable partners to businesses, interpreters, navigators, protectors… and on some (many) days, therapists with law degrees. And yet, we mostly do it all so quietly. No victory laps, no press releases. Often, success for us means the expected disaster didn’t happen.

But tonight, we break that rule. Tonight, we raise a glass to the GCs who’ve blazed the trail courageously, with clarity, conviction, and tremendous resilience that only matches the expectations of the Leadership Guru John Maxwell when he said, “resilient leaders don’t wait for the storm to past — they learn to dance in the rain”. You have managed to balance growth and governance, risk and reward regularly. And, of course, always managed to deal with those 10pm messages: “Hey, just a quick question…Are you able to talk right now…?”

Let this evening serve as a reminder that you are not just experienced legal advisors. You are leaders — spear heads and enablers of execution — and without a doubt critical pillars of business strategy.

To all the honourees, congratulations once again for the well-deserved recognition. This is for the heavy lifting that you do, the standards you uphold, and the impact you make – quietly, consistently, and brilliantly so. You’ve earned this spotlight.

And now, let’s gather and celebrate this milestone. And while we’re at it I plead with you to stay away from your phones …you might just spot a message that says, “please quickly review this and we can discuss your views in the morning?”