Crain's Chicago Business

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 7, 2021 13

2021

These 51 general counsels hailing from multinationals, real estate firms, nonprofits and universities have had a full plate. They led their organization’s legal response to the pandemic: navigating work-from-home rules, developing safety protocols and negotiating special arrangements with financial institutions, suppliers and customers.

With the heightened national recognition of systemic inequality, many became involved in stepped-up diversity and inclusion initiatives. They strived to make sure that their teams, as well as outside counsel, included attorneys from diverse backgrounds. Some top

in-house attorneys explored how to incorporate ESG—environmental, social and corporate governance— principles. Many managed funding for COVID relief and special donations for Black and other underserved communities.

They did all this while they oversaw departments handling the usual docket of legal concerns, including M&A, intellectual property, contracts, corporate governance, taxes, financing and real estate. Yet they adapted to a remarkably changed landscape.

By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli

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METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from the nomination materials. This list features only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by our editorial team. To qualify for the list, nominees must be based in the Chicago area and working as a full-time general counsel and as a member of the top management team. They must have demonstrated a leadership role in their organization, be active in professional groups and/or assumed a leadership position outside their organization, and have contributed pro bono work toward civic and community initiatives.

AYESHA AHMED

PRASANTH AKKAPEDDI

SALMAN AZAM

DOUGLAS C. BARNARD

KARYN L. BASS EHLER

General counsel and vice president of human resources Nexus Pharmaceuticals

General counsel-U.S. Zone Kraft Heinz

General counsel and chief compliance officer Dialysis Care Center

Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary CF Industries

General counsel Illinois Department of Public Health

Salman Azam is general counsel for Dialysis Care Center, a physician-owned health care provider headquartered in Homer Glen with more than 40 locations in seven states.

He manages all legal personnel and legal matters, including complex acquisitions, health care regulatory affairs, corporate compliance and labor and employment issues, as well as corporate and transactional matters. Before joining Dialysis Care Center, he was the managing partner of Azam Chandran & Gilani, a boutique firm in Chicago that handles health care and hospitality matters for small businesses. He is a two-time recipient of the Federation of Indian Associations’ annual Chicago Community Service Award, does pro bono legal work at the Downtown Islamic Center and co-founded the South Asian Bar Association Chicago Foundation.

Douglas C. Barnard is senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Deerfield-based CF Industries, a producer of ammonia and other derivative fertilizer products. He leads the legal department, providing corporate, commercial and litigation services for operations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. He is a member of the senior leadership team, oversees the compliance and ethics programs and is involved in efforts to decarbonize CF Industries’ network. Before

Karyn L. Bass Ehler manages and oversees all Illinois Department of Public Health legal functions, including advising on litigation, procurement, regulatory matters, enforcement, legislation and public health guidance.

Since starting as general counsel in August, she has assisted the IDPH team through a range of COVID-19 pandemic issues, from contracts to the legal aspects of mass vaccination.

Before joining IDPH, she led the civil rights practice group at Grant & Eisenhofer; before that, she was chief of the Illinois attorney general’s Civil Rights Bureau. Bass Ehler is a 2018 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, vice president of the Jewish Council of Urban Affairs and a member of the DePaul Law Dean’s Advisory Council.

She helped found the DePaul Center for Public Interest Law in 2006.

Ayesha Ahmed is general counsel at Lincolnshire-based Nexus Pharmaceuticals, a womenand minority-owned health care company specializing in difficult-to-manufacture specialty and generic drugs.

She focuses on compliance, labor law, intellectual property, litigation management and corporate matters. Ahmed, who joined Nexus in 2011, also manages human resources. Nexus is in rapid-growth mode, hiring more than 50 people (most of them virtually) over the past 18 months. Ahmed began her legal career in 2006 at a boutique law firm, and in 2008 she clerked for Cook County Circuit Judge Moshe Jacobius.

She is on the advisory council of the Pro Bono Network, the board of directors of UMMA Center in Waukegan, the board of directors of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance and the alumni board of Chicago Kent Law School.

Prasanth Akkapeddi is general counsel for Kraft Heinz’s U.S. Zone, leading its U.S. legal team.

In 2020, he led the company’s global COVID task force, implementing the crisis management framework that he created and protecting essential factory workers as well as Kraft Heinz’s food supply role in the country’s critical infrastructure. He also serves on the company’s U.S. leadership team and is the executive sponsor of the Asian Pacific American business resource group, working to foster diversity. Prior to joining Kraft Heinz in 2018, Akkapeddi was associate general counsel at S&P Global and McGraw-Hill for 11 years. Before that, he was in private practice and was an associate attorney in the litigation department at law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

joining the company in 2004, Barnard was general counsel at Bcom3 Group; he also was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. He co-authored “Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts” with Martin Ginsburg and Jack Levin at Kirkland & Ellis. He was a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School in 2012-15 and is a member of the MIT Corporation Development Committee.

14 June 7, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

CARL BERGETZ

KATHLEEN BOEGE

DOROTHY CAPERS

STEVE CARSON

KIMBERLY CHMURA

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General counsel Rush University Medical Center Chief legal officer Rush University System for Health

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary Wintrust Financial

Executive vice president and global general counsel National Express Group

Vice president, general counsel and secretary Fellowes Brands

General counsel and vice president-administration St. Anthony Hospital

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Kathleen Boege manages all legal affairs at Wintrust Financial, a $46 billion-asset, publicly held financial holding company headquartered in Rosemont.

Responsibilities include corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation.

She is on Wintrust’s executive and operating committees and is an executive sponsor of the Wintrust Women’s Network.

Before joining Wintrust, she was

Dorothy Capers leads the legal, risk management, real estate, employment, labor, contracts, compliance and environmental functions at National Express Group, a U.K.-based public transport operator in Europe, North Africa, North America and the Middle East. During the pandemic, she led the North American team through the creation of a robust diversity and inclusion initiative. Before joining National Express, she was chief litigation and bankruptcy counsel at US Foods, was a Cook County prosecutor and was a senior counsel at law firm Greene & Letts. She volunteers at Just Roots farm, an organic farm that provides food to local shelters and food banks; is secretary at the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation; and serves on the finance committee of Children’s Home & Aid.

Steve Carson is general counsel at Itasca-based Fellowes Brands. A member of the executive team, he is responsible for the global legal function, product safety, data security and regulatory compliance.

His career began as an associate at Chapman & Cutler until becoming general counsel at Wallace Computer Services (now part of R.R. Donnelley).

His Fellowes career began with the successful defense of a hostile takeover attempt; he then prevailed in two Illinois Trade Commission actions; and in 2010, he led the legal response to a factory takeover by a Chinese partner. In August 2019, Carson completed the acquisition of Holland, Mich.-based Trendway. He is a member of the Private Company General Counsel Group and is a volunteer firefighter in Long Beach, Ind.

Kimberly Chmura provides legal, risk and compliance services and advises on a range of operational matters at St. Anthony Hospital, an acute-care community hospital serving Chicago’s West and Southwest sides. She oversees human resources, security, transport, telecom and employee health. She managed the hospital’s legal response to a 2019 malware attack that completely shut down its services and then pivoted to handling its COVID response, sourcing medical supplies, implementing new regulations and advising on a communitywide vaccine rollout. Before joining St. Anthony, Chmura worked at Northwest Community Healthcare, Advocate and University of Chicago Medical Center, executing health care mergers and acquisitions and navigating regulatory reviews.

She also is the assistant corporate secretary to St. Anthony Hospital’s board and is responsible for all its governance functions.

Carl Bergetz manages all legal services for Rush University System for Health, directing the work of 20 staff members in the Office of Legal Affairs and the Office of Risk & Claims Management.

He also manages outside counsel relationships. Before joining Rush, Bergetz served as chief of the Special Litigation Bureau for the Illinois attorney general,

supervising complex investigations and litigation. Before that, he practiced law in Illinois and California, beginning his career with McDermott Will & Emery.

He developed a bioethics and health law course and continuing legal education classes on public health emergency law for the University of Illinois College of Law.

general counsel at FreightCar America and Bally Total Fitness and was associate general counsel at the Chicago Stock Exchange. She is a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Public Library Foundation and City Year Chicago and is on the Keystone board of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.

Rush University System for Health congratulates

Carl Bergetz Chief Legal Officer for Rush University System for Health, General Counsel for Rush University Medical Center, and Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs

on his well-deserved recognition being named a Notable General Counsel Executive by Crain’s Chicago Business.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 7, 2021 15

KELLEYE CHUBE

NICK CHULOS

KAMAU COAR

KRISTIN COLEMAN

ANNE-MARIE D’ANGELO

General counsel Illinois Human Rights Commission

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary First Midwest

Chief legal officer and chief inclusion officer Heidrick & Struggles International

Executive vice president and general counsel US Foods

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary NiSource

Nick Chulos is responsible for the overall direction of legal and government-relations functions, legal regulatory affairs, corporate governance and corporate insurance programs at Chicago-based First Midwest, one of the largest independent bank holding companies in the region. He led the $1.1 billion acquisition of Milwaukee-based Park Bank during height of the pandemic with completion, integration

Kamau Coar is chief legal officer and chief inclusion officer at Chicago-based Heidrick & Struggles, a global leadership consultancy offering executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team acceleration services.

His legal team is responsible for governance, global risk management, compliance and business partnership advice to C-suite and board clientele.

In 2020, Heidrick & Struggles launched a diversity and inclusion practice, and Coar assumed additional responsibilities this year as chief inclusion officer. He is a leader of Heidrick & Struggles’ Director Institute and also serves as a Johns Hopkins Leadership Fellow; volunteers with My City, My Block, My Hood; and is active with his alma maters, Johns Hopkins University and Duke University School of Law (class of 2001).

In February 2017, Kristin Coleman joined Rosemont-based US Foods, a 28,000-employee distributor serving 300,000 restaurants and food service operators.

She handles all legal support for board work, corporate governance, litigation, labor and employment, commercial contracts, and mergers and acquisitions. In 2020, she supported a $1 billion debt financing and $500 million convertible preferred stock private placement with KKR as well as the $1 billion acquisition of Smart Foodservice. Previously, she was general counsel at Sears Holdings and Brunswick as well as a corporate attorney at Sidley Austin.

Over the past 13 months, she and a small “SWAT team” organized clinics to vaccinate 2,300-plus employees and led the rollout of “Respectful Workplace” training for 4,000 company leaders. Coleman is a former board member of Boys & Girls Club of Chicago and a board member emeritus of the Center for Enriched Living.

Anne-Marie D’Angelo is general counsel at Merrillville, Ind.based NiSource, one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the U.S. As transmission centers are specific targets for domestic terrorists, she partnered with various business functions to establish protocols to safeguard crews and customers. She also has restructured NiSource’s legal department by reducing silos and realigned its relationships with service providers.

Prior to joining NiSource, D’Angelo was general counsel at Global Brass & Copper Holdings in Schaumburg; before that, she held a number of roles at McDonald’s for 13 years, including assistant U.S. general counsel. She has conducted pro bono work for the National Immigrant Justice Center, served as a member of the Catholic Charities legal advisory board since 2012, and was a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Kelleye Chube joined the Illinois Human Rights Commission (a quasi-judicial body for resolving discrimination complaints) in January 2019, when major legal changes reconstituted the agency.

In less than a year, she helped eliminate a backlog of 2,000-plus sufficiency-of-investigation cases and various complex legal matters, transitioned lay commissioners from part time to full time, instituted free continuing legal education events and promulgated emergency rules to enable proceedings to continue through the pandemic. She refocused the commission on domestic violence victims and people with disabilities and/or limited English proficiency. Prior to joining the agency, Chube was counsel to the governor’s office.

Before that she negotiated complex corporate transactions with major health care providers, software companies, Big Four accounting firms and large financial institutions.

and training done virtually.

Before joining First Midwest, he practiced law and was a partner at Indianapolis-based Krieg DeVault in for more than 20 years. He holds leadership roles at the American Bankers Association, Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America and Illinois Bankers Association.

OUR TEAM PROUDLY INCLUDES CHICAGO’S VERY BEST We know our best asset is our people. And, we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. We’re lucky to call some of Chicago’s very best part of the Wintrust family. Leaders like Kate Boege, executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary, contribute to our success by offering expertise, guidance, and dedication to everything we do. Congratulations, Kate, for your recognition as one of Crain’s 2021 Notable General Counsels. Your contributions are invaluable to making us the company we are.

Congratulations on being named one of Crain’s 2021 Notable General Counsels!

KATHLEEN M. BOEGE Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary

wintrust.com Banking products provided by Wintrust Financial Corp. banks.

16 June 7, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ANGELIQUE DAVID

KATHY DEIGHAN

PEDRO DEJESUS

BRETT GERRY

JULIE GETZELS

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Executive managing director, COO, general counsel and corporate secretary Ziegler

Vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary Elkay

Executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and head of international business Tampico Beverages

Chief legal officer and executive vice president-global compliance Boeing

General counsel Heartland Alliance

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At Ziegler, a privately held investment bank, capital markets and proprietary investments firm, Angelique David’s roles include compliance, IT, HR, marketing, accounting, research and office services.

Her legal work involves advising the board and executive management on all matters relating to the broker-dealer including, but not limited to, M&A, employment, corporate governance and security law. She is Ziegler’s first Black and female leader to serve as a director on its board, as a member of its executive committee and as chair of its operating committee. Before joining Chicago-based Ziegler in 2007, she practiced law at Locke Lord Bissell and at Liddell. She is the founder of Just4Girlfriends, a global organization that creates networks for women to embrace self-care and self-preservation via supportive networking experiences while forming important professional connections.

Kathy Deighan leads the legal department at Elkay, a 101-yearold international plumbing and interior systems business, offering consumer products such as sinks and drinking solutions as well as design, sourcing, construction and construction-management services. Her department handles acquisition, joint venture and other major business transactions, negotiates contracts, manages litigation and provides day-to-day legal

advice. She also advised on COVID protocols at Elkay’s multiple locations. Before becoming general counsel, Deighan was the first corporate attorney at Downers Grove-based Elkay.

Prior to that, Deighan worked at Dean Foods, primarily in acquisition work, and started her career as an associate at Lord Bissel & Brook.

Pedro DeJesus leads Tampico through legal matters that include mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance, intellectual property management and HR functions.

As head of international business, he led the acquisition of a bottling manufacturing facility in Texas in 2021. A frequent speaker on the experience of Hispanics and Afro Latinos in corporate America, he works with the Tampico Foundation to provide funding for not-for-profit organizations working to support communities of color. Before joining Chicago-based Tampico, DeJesus was corporate counsel at Information Resources. He works with the Latino Corporate Directors Education Foundation, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois. DeJesus is on the board of Lake Forest Bank & Trust and is a Lurie Children’s Hospital trustee.

Kirkland & Ellis is proud to join in congratulating our friend and client

Brett Gerry of Boeing on being recognized as one of Crain’s Notable General Counsels of the year.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP | 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654 +1 312 862 2000 | www.kirkland.com

Brett Gerry is Boeing’s senior legal adviser, leading its law department as well as its principal ethics and compliance organizations. He led Boeing’s litigation after the grounding of the 737 Max and guided the company’s resolution of an investigation by the Department of Justice. Since joining the company in 2008, he has served in various senior positions, including vice president and general counsel for Boeing Commercial Airplanes; before that, he was chief counsel to Boeing’s network and space systems businesses. He also served for three years as president of Boeing Japan. Gerry came to Boeing after holding several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Justice (including chief of staff to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey) and the White House (associate counsel to the president).

As the first general counsel for Heartland Alliance, Julie Getzels is tasked with building the legal department at one of Chicago’s largest human service agencies. The organization (five separate companies with 1,700 employees in multiple states and countries) has a broad focus that includes delivering health care, housing and legal services to immigrants. Getzels served as the Art Institute of Chicago’s executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for 16 years. Before that, she was the first general counsel at Weiss Memorial Hospital, and she also worked as a chief assistant corporation counsel in the city’s Law Department and as an assistant U.S. attorney. Getzels sits on the advisory council of the University of Chicago charter school in Bronzeville and on the board of Seminary Co-Op Bookstores.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 7, 2021 17

KAREN HARRIS

KEITH HORTON

LILIANNA KALIN

MOHIT KALRA

CRISTEN KOGL

Senior vice president and general counsel Illinois Health & Hospital Association

General manager and general counsel Camelot Illinois

General counsel College of DuPage

General counsel and chief privacy officer Numerator

Chief legal officer Zebra Technologies

Karen Harris’ department provides legal guidance for all IHA entities, covering corporate governance, insurance coverage, contracts, intellectual property, HIPAA privacy and security, antitrust, employment law, and nonprofit and tax-exemption issues. She was at the center of Illinois’ response to COVID-19, coordinating the state’s 200 hospitals with local, state and federal agencies, helping draft state executive orders, filing amicus briefs and requesting regulatory

As general counsel at Camelot Illinois, the private manager of the Illinois Lottery, Keith Horton handles litigation, procurement, intellectual property, compliance and regulatory-affairs functions. In 2020 he oversaw the company’s transition to a predominantly work-fromhome operation, overhauling Camelot’s policies, deploying technology and managing the legal and technology teams responsible for the lottery’s first new game launch in eight years.

Before joining Camelot, he served as the general counsel and ethics officer for the Illinois state treasurer, implementing public-private partnership programs. He is vice president and secretary of the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation, which provides financial aid to Chicago-area students, and is active in Black Shop Friday, a campaign to support local Black-owned businesses on the day after Thanksgiving.

waivers to enable hospitals to respond to the pandemic. She helped hospitals obtain PPE and testing supplies and also worked to establish drive-thru testing facilities and vaccination sites. She was appointed colead of IHA’s health disparities activities in June 2020.

Lilianna Kalin handles a range of issues at College of DuPage, including employment and labor law, compliance with regulatory agencies and contract law.

She also manages outside counsel on litigation matters, provides legal guidance to the board of trustees and manages Freedom of Information Act matters. Kalin developed the college’s first freedom of speech policy and negotiated successor contracts for full-time faculty, operating engineers, and police and classified employees. Before

joining College of DuPage, she served as senior labor and employment counsel for the Cook County Health & Hospital System and worked with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office prosecuting narcotics cases.

CONGRATULATIONS TO

NICK CHULOS Named one of Crain’s 2021 Notable General Counsels

Mohit Kalra’s legal team works on consumer-sourced data-privacy compliance, commercial negotiations, intellectual property, and mergers and acquisitions issues for Numerator, a market-research company serving Fortune 500 clients. He leads efforts to ensure data privacy and collection practices that comply with all laws as well as global programs covering M&A efforts.

He also has been working with HR on COVID-related changes. He is a founding executive sponsor of Numerator’s Culture, Belonging, Inclusion & Diversity Council. A Harvard Law graduate, Kalra spent 13 years at Google as senior counsel. He’s on the board of the Chicago chapter of College Possible and works with Cradles to Crayons.

He’s been a guest lecturer at Northwestern University’s Law School and was a Public Interest Law Fellow at the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern.

Cristen Kogl oversees the global legal practice at Zebra Technologies, a member of the S&P 500.

This includes environmental health and safety, trade, privacy and compliance, as well as all matters related to securities, governance, M&A and government affairs. She co-led Zebra’s legal response to COVID-19, including activating the business-continuity program before the virus became a pandemic and spearheading an analysis of the 9,000-person worldwide workforce to issue personalized letters stating exceptional work allowances for essential employees. She also oversaw an acquisition, negotiated multiple commercial deals and spearheaded an effort to secure refunds from U.S. Customs after the imposition of Section 301 tariffs. Before joining Lincolnshire-based Zebra in 2015, she served in various leadership roles at W.W. Grainger, ServiceMaster, National Express and Spyglass.

18 June 7, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ELENA KRAUS

LAURA LAZARCZYK

STEPHEN LEVY

JAMES L. MARVIN

DAN MCSHANE

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Senior vice president and general counsel Walgreens

Executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary Zurich North America

Executive vice president and chief legal officer Senior Lifestyle

Executive vice president and general counsel John Bean Technologies

Chief strategy officer and general counsel The McShane Cos.

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As general counsel at Walgreens, Elena Kraus’ responsibilities include regulatory and commercial legal advice and counsel, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and health care-services legal support.

Walgreens played an integral role in U.S. COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts, and the legal department advanced these goals working to develop contracts with CDC on long-term care and with the Federal Retail Pharmacy program, as well as contracts for community-based testing in partnership with the Department of Health & Human Services. Previously, Kraus was at Rudnick & Wolfe (now DLA Piper), advising Walgreens’ leadership. She provides legal services to the Center for Disability & Elder Law, the National Immigration Justice Center and Equip for Equality, advocating for the civil rights of people with disabilities.

She’s also a sponsor at the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms.

In the past 18 months, Laura Lazarczyk established a committee to enhance legal operations at Zurich North America in Schaumburg, inspiring similar initiatives in other regions.

The team implemented AI to reduce manual entry of subpoenas into the tracking system by 80 percent, freeing paralegals to perform higher-value work.

They streamlined legal metrics to an interactive dashboard, and she onboarded a legal technology vendor to more easily connect Zurich attorneys with pro bono service opportunities.

Lazarczyk sponsored a new D&I committee and collaborated with the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms to broaden the slate of women- and minority-owned law firms for engagement as outside counsel. She was selected to serve on the Federal Reserve Board’s insurance policy advisory committee when it formed in 2019.

As a principal and member of the board of managers at the senior housing provider, Stephen Levy collaborated with staff, investors and vendors in the response to COVID. That involved keeping residents and staff safe, procuring PPE and developing procedures and protocols for community access, testing, vaccination and infection control.

Over the past 23 years, Levy has worked with public and private REITS, private-equity and venture-capital firms, high-networth individuals and family offices to orchestrate and close more than $3 billion in real estate transactions while leading the company’s compliance, licensing, risk management and legal functions. He is on the legal committee of the American Seniors Housing Association and the legal and governmental affairs committee of Argentum, formerly the Assisted Living Federation of America.

As a leader on the executive leadership team, James L. Marvin helped the diversified manufacturer navigate the pandemic as well as the appointment of a new CEO last year.

Marvin has advocated for diversity and inclusion at the company—his legal team of six includes three women of color, an African American man and an LGBTQ man. He’s also led efforts to participate in pro bono work.

JBT’s legal department teamed with the Dykema law firm and the National Immigrant Justice Center to participate in several clinics. Legal department staff members assisted undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children prepare and file renewal applications to continue their status under the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program. Marvin joined JBT predecessor FMC Technologies in April 2003.

In concert with other senior leaders, Dan McShane crafted policies to safeguard the health of employees and continue on-site construction operations throughout the pandemic. “I never thought, when I was in law school, that my job would one day involve driving my own toilet paper to our job sites so that we could keep our port-a-potties supplied,” McShane says. He also kept his eye on the bigger picture, positioning the Rosemont-based firm to capitalize

on growth opportunities in the industrial and multifamily housing sectors that arose in the second half of 2020. He guided his family through the complexities of business continuity and estate planning and shepherded the transfer of ownership to the second generation.

Congratulations!

CF Industries congratulates Doug Barnard on the well-deserved recognition as a 2021 Notable General Counsel!

Douglas C. Barnard Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary

Thank you for the vital role you have played in shaping today’s CF Industries. Your strategic leadership, sound counsel and interdisciplinary interests have helped lead CF Industries through its transformations from co-op to publicly traded company to world’s largest producer of ammonia and now to our next evolution as a provider of clean energy to feed and fuel the world sustainably. Your work is helping us transform for generations to come.

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 7, 2021 19

MICHAEL MCVICKAR

JENNIFER NICHOLS

DHARMA PATEL

AMY PEÑA

ADRIENNE PITTS

General counsel Origin Investments

Senior vice president, general counsel CRG Integrated Real Estate Solutions

General counsel Unite Here Health

General counsel Chicago Community Trust

General counsel Loop Capital

With tens of thousands of hospitality workers displaced during the pandemic, Dharma Patel has worked to extend benefits. UHH is a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust fund that provides health care to 225,000 employees and dependents in the hospitality industry. She advised executive leadership and the board on changing conditions, including how to make 100 percent federally subsidized COBRA coverage available to a large number of participants. Patel has advised the fund about how to promote testing and vaccinations to members. Earlier, she managed the due diligence for five health plan mergers into UHH. Most recently, she helped guide staff on new requirements related to the CARES Act, Families First Coronavirus Rescue Act and American Rescue Plan Act. Patel joined UHH as a pension project leader in 2001.

At the Chicago Community Trust, Amy Peña supported the development of the Chicago COVID-19 response fund with United Way of Metro Chicago. More than 6,000 donors raised $35 million for the region. Over the past year, the trust distributed grants to more than 400 organizations providing emergency services to people most affected by COVID-19. Peña provides legal guidance on board governance, nonprofit tax, donor-advised funds, complex gift transaction, lobbying, trademarks and risk management. Before joining the trust in 2019, Peña was general counsel of Lions Clubs International. While at Lions, she was responsible for forming nonprofit entities in Brazil and Japan and advised on issues related to remote offices in India, Japan and South Korea. Peña is on the advisory board of the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation.

In the past 18 months, Adrienne Pitts has helped manage one of Loop Capital’s investments, the Michael Reese redevelopment in Bronzeville, providing counsel to the venture working to revitalize the neighborhood. Following the death of George Floyd, Pitts wrote a Chicago Tribune op-ed highlighting racial injustice, particularly when it comes to policing young Black men. She has mandated that vendors use talent from diverse backgrounds for Loop work. Pitts joined Loop Capital in 2016 from Baker McKenzie, where she was principal and did pro bono work to help homeless youth for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. She began her career at Winston & Strawn, where in 2003 she was elected the firm’s first Black female litigation partner. Pitts is on the World Business Chicago Legal Advisory Board.

At the private-equity real estate investment firm, Michael McVickar has helped develop new investment products such as the QOZ fund, which focuses on tax-advantaged multifamily ground-up developments.

The fund invests in opportunity zone projects in Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Houston and Charlotte, N.C. Origin recently launched the multifamily credit fund that invests in mortgage-backed securities issued

by Freddie Mac. The company uses crowdfunding strategies to bring its fund offerings to individual investors who lack access to institutional quality real estate investments. Before joining Origin in 2015, McVickar was vice president and senior associate general counsel at General Growth Properties.

He is principal French horn in the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra and is a founding member of an all-lawyer woodwind quintet that has played together for 30 years.

Jennifer Nichols joined the privately held development firm in December.

CRG has developed more than 9,000 acres of land and delivered 200 million square feet of commercial, industrial, institutional and multifamily assets exceeding $12 billion in value. Previously, Nichols was vice president and general counsel at Portland, Ore.-based Harsch Investment Properties.

She’s helped acquire, finance, develop and sell more than $1 billion of real estate in the past two years. Earlier, she was deputy general counsel at Banner Real Estate Group in Northbrook. She won a pro bono adverse possession case on behalf of several elderly people who were at risk of losing their land to the tax assessor for nonpayment. Nichols is co-chair of the in-house committee for the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in the Law.

Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel

The McShane Companies would like to congratulate all of the Crain’s 2021 Notable General Counsels.

20 June 7, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

‘Unconscious bias is the obstacle’ Adrienne Pitts grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and was inspired by classmates at the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a law degree. She began her career at Winston & Strawn, where she was elected the firm’s first Black female litigation partner in 2003. When Pitts began practicing law in Chicago in the mid-1990s, there were approximately seven Black female partners out of 4,000 law partners in the city’s law firms. When she was elected partner, the number had grown to about 25 out of 4,500. She went on to serve as an equity partner at Sidley Austin and principal at Baker McKenzie before joining Loop Capital in 2016.

CRAIN’S: What were the obstacles you faced as a Black woman attorney in the 1990s?

PITTS: One of the biggest obstacles was being alone, not seeing others like you succeeding. When you walk into an organization, a conference room, a boardroom or a courtroom and everyone looks like you, you have a certain confidence that you belong.

How did you overcome that feeling of being alone?

You had to develop and harness that confidence elsewhere and bring it with you. I did that with the support of family

and friends. I knew I had the same, if not greater, talent and skills as the majority associates. I just needed the opportunity to shine, and I sought out those opportunities. That is a big difference—the work comes to white associates, but Black associates have to seek it out and wear their credentials on their sleeves even though they have been recruited and hired by the same firm. In the end, the partners I worked with at Winston were very supportive.

How would you describe the law profession’s pace of change in embracing Black lawyers?

Glacial. Unconscious bias is real, and the adage that Blacks have to work twice as hard and be twice as good to receive the same treatment as white lawyers remains true. And that is what I believe is the real culprit and obstacle to greater diversity in the legal profession—not pipeline issues.

Have you experienced a sea change in the past year following the George Floyd murder?

I do not think there has been a sea change in racial and social justice; the sea change may be in the awareness of the racial and social injustices facing Black, Indigenous and the AAPI—Asian

American and Pacific Islander—communities. But even our country’s racial history to our current treatment and realities seem up for debate among politicians. Nevertheless, I’m encouraged by some in academia, business and law to act and move faster to recognize our country’s racial history and reckon with it instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.

What else is needed? What do law firms need to do differently?

Recruit from schools, including HBCUs—historically Black colleges and universities—that have more diverse law students. Recognize the struggles facing solo minority associates and make sure you target your recruiting to grow those numbers so they see more of themselves.

Make sure the pipeline to partnership is fair and equitable and mentor potential partners the same across the board. Hold the biggest rainmakers accountable for using diverse teams, exposing your firm’s racial diversity to important clients. And plan so that the relationship and billing partners are diverse, providing a pathway for young Black partners to become senior, with substantial books of business.

In essence, do for minority lawyers what you do for majority lawyers. It requires deliberate, thoughtful action.

ANDY POLOVIN

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General counsel Tempus Labs

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Since joining Tempus Labs in June 2020, Andy Polovin has helped close an investment from Google and a $200 million fundraising round that valued the firm at $8.1 billion. The young health care technology company uses AI to advance precision medicine.

Polovin helped launch new products, including a hereditary genetic test and an at-home COVID test. He also helps lead efforts to establish partnerships with health care institutions. Before joining Tempus, Polovin was general counsel at the industrial data analytics firm Uptake.

Earlier, he was a federal prosecutor and was lead investigator on a terrorism case stemming from arson at an Aurora Federal Aviation Administration facility and a drug trafficking investigation that seized more than 165 kilograms of heroin. Polovin is on the board of the Chicago legal aid organization CARPLS.

College of DuPage salutes Lilliana Kalin, recognized as Crain’s Notable General Counsel, for her commitment to our college and our community.

Thank you.

“Being a lawyer is not merely a vocation. It is a public trust, and each of us has an obligation to give back to our communities.”

—Janet Reno

Lilianna Kalin General Counsel

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 7, 2021 21

MEREDITH RITCHIE

JIM ROGERS

MOLLY RYAN

TRACEY SALINSKI

LAURA SCHUMACHER

Senior vice president, general counsel and government affairs officer Alliant Credit Union

Chief legal officer Cars.com

Vice president and general counsel Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago

General counsel and senior vice president, legal DuPage Medical Group

Vice chairman, external affairs and chief legal officer AbbVie

Molly Ryan was instrumental in crafting a pandemic response and tools for the real estate brokerage firm to operate as an essential business. She established consistent safety protocol and business expectations for agents, buyers and sellers. In the face of increasing wirefraud schemes, Ryan leads the company’s first-responder team for wire-fraud issues at real estate closings. As last year’s events brought attention to racial inequality, Ryan coached the company’s training and communications leaders to establish relationships with the Chicago Housing Authority and Freddie Mac. She teamed with a CHA leader at a companywide meeting to dispel myths about federal housing vouchers for low-income families and show brokers how expanding landlord participation would create business opportunities. Ryan is on the executive committee of Midwest Real Estate Data.

During the past year, Tracey Salinski worked with colleagues at the Downers Grove-based physician group to navigate the pandemic impact to doctors, staff and patients. Her department of 57 includes legal, compliance and risk management functions. Salinski led discussions with the city of Chicago’s legal team to negotiate agreements ensuring that physician and health care services are available to Chicagoans and local hospitals and health systems. Salinski developed expertise in health care representing health care providers and systems. Before joining DuPage Medical Group in 2019, she was associate general counsel for the U.S. hearing instrument segment for Swiss-based Sonova Group. Earlier, she was a partner at Arnstein & Lehr.

She’s mentored other female lawyers as part of her involvement in the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys.

At biopharmaceutical giant AbbVie, Laura Schumacher leads 700 legal and external affairs department employees who resolve government investigations, develop strategies for intellectual property and handle regulatory compliance. In the past year, Schumacher’s team navigated the response to COVID on legal, contract and supply issues.

That involved stay-at-home orders, employee safety and donations of PPE. Responding to the heightened national spotlight on equity and diversity, Schumacher led donations of than $50 million to underserved Black communities in the U.S. as well as $35 million for COVID relief.

Schumacher has handled legal issues for North Chicago-based AbbVie and predecessor Abbott since 1990. She is on the board of California cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. And she is chair of the board compensation committee at Virginia-based General Dynamics.

Last year, Meredith Ritchie was responsible for onboarding a new CEO and was promoted to the executive team.

Alliant is the sixth-largest credit union in the country, with $14 billion in assets. She is also chief ethics and government affairs officer.

Ritchie was appointed president of Alliant Credit Union Foundation, which she helped found 10 years ago. Earlier, she was point person in preparing Alliant for the higher level of regulatory scrutiny and compliance required of financial institutions when they reach $10 billion in assets. Ritchie also launched Alliant’s women’s employee resource group. She is on the Fenwick High School board and is co-chair of the governance subcommittee of the American Bar Association credit union committee. She joined the credit union in 2007 from Accenture.

When the pandemic set in, Jim Rogers engaged a law firm to lobby for automobile dealers to be classified as essential business. He also handled the legal aspect of workforce furloughs and the move to remote work.

He supported the company’s increased focus on diversity, which included tying compensation to DEI goals.

While working with the nominating and governance committee, Rogers collaborated with other leaders add diversity to the board. The company reached out to the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers and provided marketing benefits to minority dealers.

Rogers joined Cars.com in 2017 and help guide the company’s spinoff as a publicly traded firm, grow through an acquisition and establish a $900 million credit facility. For 18 years, he was on the Appleseed Network board.

Elkay is proud to recognize the outstanding legal minds across Chicago working tirelessly every day to help the businesses in our city thrive!

As a Chicago-based company celebrating our 101st year, we know a thing or two about what it takes to be in business forever. Great leadership and sound advice are often a business’ greatest assets.

That’s why we are pleased to recognize our own Kathy Deighan among your ranks today.

A calm, cool, intelligent leader and friend, Kathy has been a trusted advisor, and an incredible force for good within our business.

We would not be who we are today without her.

Thank you, Kathy and Congratulations!

Kathleen J. Deighan, Vice President General Counsel and Corporate Secretary www.elkay.com

22 June 7, 2021 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

KEVIN SHERLOCK

MATTHEW SIMMONS

DEBORAH SOLMOR

ANN SPILLANE

KATHRYN STIEBER

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General counsel and corporate secretary SpotHero

General counsel Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority

General counsel and corporate secretary TCS Education System

General counsel Office of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Vice president, general counsel and secretary DePaul University

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During the past year, Kevin Sherlock was the legal lead for SpotHero’s acquisition of Rover Parking and for the integration of Apple CarPlay. As a member of the senior leadership team, he helped navigate the pandemic. He was a member of the return-to-office committee and part of the team that reviewed diversity and inclusion. Earlier, he was legal lead for SpotHero’s $50 million Series D round that closed in fall 2019. Sherlock has been a volunteer attorney for the Wills for Heroes program, organized by the Wills for Heroes Foundation, to provide estate planning documents free to veterans and first responders. He’s a founding member of TechGC, a private, invitation-only organization for general counsels of leading venture-capital firms and venture-backed technology companies.

As general counsel for the organization that owns and operates McCormick Place, Matthew Simmons handles matters ranging from construction to food service. At the start of the pandemic, Simmons’ department represented MPEA in establishing an alternate care facility at McCormick Place. This involved a $64 million construction transaction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in coordination with other government units. During its 2020 fiscal year, MPEA exceeded its diversity goals, achieving 33.6 percent participation from minority business enterprises and 13.8 percent from women-owned firms. Simmons is on the Chicago Sports Commission and was a member of the host committee for the NBA All-Star Game in February 2020. He joined MPEA in 2015 from Mayer Brown and was named general counsel in 2019.

During the past year, Deborah Solmor provided counsel related to workplace safety, employment and a move to remote learning at the nonprofit system of six colleges and universities.

She is an integral part of the COVID-19 crisis response and return-to-office teams. Solmor provided guidance to support the Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s acquisition of TCS affiliate Dallas Nursing Institute, now known as the College of Nursing & Advanced Health Professions. And she was instrumental in the development of the Kansas Health Science Center’s proposed Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Before joining TCS in 2018, Solmor was chief compliance officer at Career Education, now Perdoceo Education.

She’s a member of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and is co-chair of the in-house counsel committee.

At DePaul University, Kathryn Stieber leads a team of five attorneys handling issues ranging from canon law to athletics. As secretary, she is an executive officer and leads the team that facilitates the business of the DePaul board of trustees. Over the past year, Stieber’s team responded to issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the campus shutdown and reopening, the move to remote work and the impact on foreign students and students studying abroad. Stieber joined DePaul in 2005 and was named to her current position last year.

Earlier, she was an associate at Jones Day, where she handled labor and employment matters.

She is a founding member of Theater Wit and has been board president since 2004.

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Ann Spillane has been central to the state’s pandemic response and related legal issues.

She advised on legislation to address systemic racism, including the criminal justice reform bill that eliminated cash bail.

She has been instrumental in addressing issues of racial inequality in state government, including a statewide diversity and inclusion initiative. Before joining the governor’s office, Spillane was chief of staff to Attorney General Lisa Madigan for 16 years and was the first female chief of staff in that office.

Spillane oversaw the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for mortgage fraud victims and established a unit to assist identity theft victims. As a volunteer attorney at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, she’s handled adoptions and guardianship cases and is currently on the advisory board.

Driven Dedicated The Illinois Health and Hospital Association celebrates our very own,

Karen Harris, as she is recognized

as a Notable General Counsel of 2021.

With passion and expertise, Karen delivered for Illinois hospitals and health systems on the most challenging issues of the past year—caring for patients during the pandemic and addressing racial disparities in healthcare.

Thank you, Karen. You are an asset to IHA, our members and the communities they serve!

Just as IHA honors our colleague for her excellence, we also honor IHA members for their extraordinary efforts battling the pandemic.

See our video at vimeo.com/547516516

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • June 7, 2021 23

ANNIE TERRY

BRIAN VANDENBERG

GEORGIA VLAMIS

WANJI WALCOTT

BRYAN ZAIR

Managing director, general counsel and chief compliance officer Madison Dearborn Partners

Senior vice president and general counsel American Medical Association

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary USG

Executive vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel Discover Financial Services

Senior vice president, chief legal officer, assistant secretary Sasser Family Cos.

Over the last 18 months, Annie Terry has dedicated significant time to accelerating ESG—environmental, social and corporate governance— efforts at the private-equity firm. That includes the formation of an ESG committee, adoption of an ESG policy and providing guidance to the firm in evaluating ESG considerations as part of diligence for acquisitions and monitoring portfolio companies. An inaugural ESG report was issued in April. Terry has led the legal aspects of fundraising efforts for Madison Dearborn’s eighth private-equity fund, which includes negotiating governing agreements with investors, including pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and university endowments.

She’s also been involved in the creation of diversity, equity and inclusion working groups evaluating new practices. Terry is on the Legal Aid Chicago board and chairs its audit committee.

At the AMA, Brian Vandenberg diversified the general counsel’s office with women of color in leadership positions.

His office has advocated on health equity issues including access to care, gun violence, immigration-related issues, women’s health and LGBTQ protections.

Vandenberg established a program to increase the AMA’s retention of outside counsel from diverse backgrounds. Vandenberg’s department helped navigate community involvement as the AMA joined the West Side United collaborative as an anchor partner and deepened its relationship with Rush University Medical Center. The organization committed $2 million over two years for loans to community development financial institutions, which will lend those funds to businesses and nonprofits on the West Side. Vandenberg joined the AMA in 2017 from Livongo Health. He is on the board of the Chicago Children’s Choir.

Georgia Vlamis joined the century-old manufacturer in the midst of the pandemic last year. She helped guide the company in managing a remote workforce, navigating shutdown orders and complying with COVID-related laws and regulations. The maker of wallboard and other building products employs 6,900 and operates mines, quarries and manufacturing facilities. Vlamis coordinated with USG departments to develop safety standards and protocols to protect employees and customers. She has focused on diversifying outside counsel as well as in-house attorneys. Vlamis previously was vice president and general counsel at FreightCar America and also headed human resources.

Earlier, she held legal positions at Motorola and successor Motorola Solutions, most recently as vice president and head of litigation.

Vlamis has spoken on professional panels on leadership and the role of general counsels.

In response to the pandemic, Wanji Walcott worked to respond to the changing needs of Discover’s customers and fast-moving developments in Washington and across the states.

She focused on helping Discover customers maintain access to credit in the face of job loss and economic uncertainty.

Following the heightened awareness of racial injustice, Walcott was named executive co-sponsor of a new diversity, equity and inclusion task force.

She works with Discover’s DEI office to develop and execute a plan to foster a more inclusive environment, achieve a more diverse workforce and increase impact through programs to benefit employees, customers and communities. She is the executive sponsor of Discover’s Latino employee resource group. Walcott joined Discover in 2019 from PayPal, where she was senior vice president and general counsel.

Early in the pandemic, Bryan Zair teamed with the HR department to comply with COVID regulations and ensure safe workplaces for employees at the Schaumburg company specializing in transportation asset leasing and management. He worked to amend credit agreements to provide financial flexibility and crafted creative approaches to allow Sasser to provide relief to customers affected by shutdowns. He also worked with the board to create a committee to evaluate environmental, social and governance principles for the company. Zair co-led the company’s recent divestiture of its Australian rail business and has been involved in structuring securitizations, secured lending facilities and joint ventures.

Before joining Sasser in 2017, Zair was a partner at Jones Day and led the M&A practice for the firm’s Detroit office.

Congratulations to Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C.’s nominee, KATHRYN STIEBER of DePaul University, who was chosen

by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the Notable General Counsels of the year. Kathy consistently demonstrates outstanding leadership of her team of remarkable attorneys.

www.burkelaw.com