Texas 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
General counsel and corporate secretary | Virtuoso
Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Key Energy Services
Executive Vice President & General Counsel | Cenergy International Services
Head of Legal, Region Americas | DNV Group
Ruth Colvin is the Head of Group Legal, Region Americas for the DNV Group. Known for her proactive approach and business-oriented solutions, Ruth leads a team of legal professionals providing...
Chief Legal Counsel, Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary | PetroTal
Chief legal officer and corporate secretary | The Container Store
Executive Vice President, Secretary, and Chief Legal Officer | Halliburton
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary | Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts
Mr. Rose is Ashford’s executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, and he serves in the same roles for Ashford Hospitality Trust and Braemar Hotels & Resorts. Mr. Rose brings...
Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary | OW OceanWinds
Managing Director, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Texas Capital Bank
Chief legal officer and general counsel | Keurig Dr Pepper
Anthony Shoemaker serves as chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary for Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP). Prior to his appointment in 2021, he had been with the company for...
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Ecopetrol USA
Audrey Guaqueta joined Ecopetrol USA’s leadership team as general counsel and corporate secretary, in October 2024. Audrey has over 19 years of legal experience, with ten years in management, holding...
Executive Vice President, Performance and Essential Materials, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer | Westlake
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | LTK
Brittany DeGan is a seasoned general counsel and corporate secretary with a passion for managing and building legal and business teams, scaling high-growth technology companies, creating process improvements, and driving...
Senior vice president, chief risk officer and chief compliance officer | Sempra Infrastructure
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Contango Resources
EVP, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary | Orion Group Holdings
SVP, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary | Select Water Solutions
Executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary | TechnipFMC
Formerly senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel | Texas Instruments
Executive Vice President,General Counsel and Secrey | Huntsman
Vice President - Corporate Counsel; General Counsel of Prudential Asset Resources, Inc. | Prudential Asset Resources
Executive vice president and general counsel | Quanta Services
General Counsel | Vice President of Compliance | Corporate Secretary | Bluebell Creameries
He is a native Texan, having grown up in Arlington where his parents still live. He graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University in College Station, spending four years as...
Executive vice president and general counsel | Crown Castle
SVP, General Counsel, Head of Government Affairs, and Corporate Secretary | Bristow Group
Elizabeth Matthews is a C-suite executive and global business leader with over twenty-five years of board-level experience, functional experience, and reporting lines that included government affairs, insurance/risk management, regulatory, technology,...
Senior Vice President - Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Sysco
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | Wingstop
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Group 1 Automotive
Executive vice president, business affairs and general counsel | Houston Texans
Director, Executive Vice President, General counsel and secretary | Enterprise Products
Group general counsel, chief compliance officer | Infosys
Inderpreet is the group general counsel and the chief compliance officer of Infosys. In this role, she leads the legal and compliance function of the company. She is a strategic...
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer | Energy Transfer
Vice President and General Counsel | Active Cyber
I started my career in the Dallas office of Weil in the Private Equity Mergers and Acquisitions Group before moving to Sidley Austin. I left Sidley Austin to become in-house...
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer | Carnelian Energy Capital
Executive vice president & chief legal and administrative officer | Hewlett Packard Enterprise
General Counsel and corporate secretary | Talen Energy
John Wander joined Talen Energy in June 2023 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In this position, he leads the Company’s Legal and Regulatory and External Affairs functions, oversees corporate...
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel | Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System
Vice president and general counsel | Arca Continental/Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages
Joseph serves as Vice President and General Counsel of Arca Continental/Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages. He is a graduate of The McCallie School and received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and...
Executive vice president and general counsel | Pioneer Natural Resources Company
Senior Vice President - Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Kodiak Gas Services
enior vice president, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | ConocoPhillips
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Acme Brick Company
General Counsel | Crow Holdings
Kevin Bryant is general counsel of Crow Holdings and is responsible for all legal matters and tax planning. He also is responsible for the structuring and formation of the Crow...
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary | Fluor Corporation
Executive Director, General Counsel | Kubota Tractor Corporation
General counsel, PepsiCo Foods North America | PepsiCo
Leanne Oliver serves as the senior vice president and general counsel for PepsiCo Foods North America, a combined $USD30bn business which includes Frito-Lay North America and Quaker Foods North America....
General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer | Sterling Infrastructure
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer | Southwest Airlines Company
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | Eagle Materials
SVP, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer | Trillium Flow Technologies
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary | Cinemark Holdings
SVP, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer | Nabors Industries
Executive vice president and general counsel | CenterPoint Energy
Monica Karuturi is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of CenterPoint Energy. In this role, she oversees the company’s legal department and risk management functions, including claims, environmental, insurance, enterprise...
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Secretary | Lennox
Monica Brown was appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer in January 2025. She joined Lennox in 2012 and has served in various leadership roles, including vice president and...
VP of Land & General Counsel | Santo Petroleum
Nicole Singer is the Vice President of Land and General Counsel of Santo Petroleum and its affiliated companies. Santo is a privately-owned independent minerals, royalties, exploration and production company with...
Chief legal officer, Executive Vice President | Universal weather & Aviation
Omar J. Fahel is a seasoned corporate executive and legal professional with extensive experience in strategic planning, corporate governance, risk management, and international business law. With a proven track record...
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary | Copart
Executive Vice President Sustainability and Governance and Chief Legal Officer | Mcdermott International
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | Academy Sports + Outdoors
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary | Plains All American Pipeline
Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel | American Airlines
Senior vice president & chief administrative officer | Enerflex
Regional General Counsel - North America | Fortescue Future Industries
Group Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Toyota North America
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | Trinity Industries
Mr. Ewing joined Trinity in 2015 as Associate General Counsel and was named Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer in 2023. Prior to joining Trinity, he was a lawyer...
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Cheniere Energy
Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer | Austin Industries
Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | AZZ
Tara Mackey has served as AZZ Inc.’s Chief Legal Officer & Secretary since 2014, where she manages all legal matters for the company, Corporate Governance, M&A, SEC Reporting, the AZZ...
Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer | The Neiman Marcus Group
EVP Government Affairs, GC & Corporate Secretary | Phillips 66
General counsel and corporate secretary | NextDecade Corporation
Vera de Gyarfas joined NextDecade as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in July 2021 and is responsible for all legal and contractual matters affecting NextDecade. De Gyarfas is a skilled corporate...
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Battalion Oil Corporation
Chief Compliance Officer, SVP - Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Antero Resources
Legal 500 is back again with yet another maiden edition; GC Powerlist Texas. While this is our first dedicated focus on the great state of Texas, it’s far from our first foray into the US, and we are excited to introduce another title to the ever-growing GC Powerlist series. With its vast and diverse legal landscape, Texas presented a unique challenge in identifying the top in-house counsel, but it has been a rewarding process. From Dallas and Austin to San Antonio, Houston, and beyond, we are proud to highlight the outstanding legal professionals who are leading the charge in this dynamic state.
As we engaged with senior in-house counsel across Texas, we heard insightful reflections on the trends shaping their work. As one counsel shared, “Politically, anticipating changes which may occur in a new administration and ‘future proofing’ our agreements, to the extent possible, has been a focus for our team.” Another noted the shift in federal regulatory actions, “federal regulatory initiatives initiated during the current administration that place significant burdens on companies (i.e. FTC non-compete rules, EPA emissions targeting, Corporate Transparency Act, and other attempts by federal agencies to appropriate state regulatory functions) will likely be pulled back by the new administration…” And reflecting on broader global trends, one senior in-house counsel pointed out, “first, the current geopolitical uncertainty will continue to add complexity and unpredictability for businesses, especially the ones with large global operations.”
We are grateful for the opportunity to engage with such a high calibre of in-house counsel from across this vast state, and we look forward to continuing to track the legal landscape in Texas in the years ahead.
A special thank you to Weil, Gotshal & Manges for their generous support in making this edition possible. We are excited to unveil these profiles and recognize the incredible talent in Texas!
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 Rwanda), Rachel Musoke, Nigel Shaw (Head of Kenya), Donald Nyakairu (Executive, Uganda), Dieudonne Nzafashwanayo (Executive, Rwanda), Rahema Nakirya Ssemyalo (Executive, Uganda) and Binti Shah (Executive, 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.
