Past in-person event
Join our experts during small table conversations on issues effecting board service. Each topic will be discussed for 45-minutes and will provide an opportunity to have an in-depth discussion with each person at the table. Topics covered include:
Cynthia Fornelli, Patricia McGowan, Jan Molino
September 14, 2015
6:00 PM ET
Venable LLP at 575 7th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
Registration for this event has now closed.
Executive Director of the Center for Audit Quality
Cindy Fornelli is Executive Director of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), a position she has held since the CAQ was established in 2007. In 2014, Fornelli was honored for the sixth time by Directorship magazine as one of the 100 most influential people on corporate governance and in the boardroom. Accounting Today has named her one of the 100 most influential people in accounting for eight consecutive years.
Fornelli serves on the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, the Advisory Board of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, and the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society’s Board of Trustees, Class of 2014. She previously served on the National Association of Corporate Directors’ 2010 Blue Ribbon Commission on the Audit Committee and 2009 Blue Ribbon Commission on Risk Governance. Prior to joining the CAQ, Fornelli was the Regulatory and Conflicts Management Executive at Bank of America and the Deputy Director, Division of Investment Management of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fornelli is a graduate of Purdue University and received her J.D. at The George Washington University.
Partner with Venable LLP
Patricia McGowan is a member of Venable’s Corporate Finance and Business Transactions group.
Ms. McGowan represents publicly and privately held companies in mergers, spin-offs, restructurings, securities offerings and other financing transactions. She also represents companies in formation, sale and dissolution transactions.
Ms. McGowan regularly serves as counsel to the boards of directors and board committees of REITs, financial institutions, healthcare companies and other major U.S. corporations in connection with significant transactions, stockholder litigation, conflicts of interest and corporate governance issues.
Managing Partner at Aspire Ascend
Jan is a Managing Partner in the professional services firm of Aspire Ascend, based in Washington, DC. The company specializes in creating and developing workplace strategies to promote gender balance. She works with senior executives of both genders to advance qualified women aspiring to leadership roles. Jan focuses on associations, corporations, nonprofits, and governmental organizations (Federal and State) to enhance leadership and diversity practices.
Jan’s skills and experience have been developed over a 25+-year business career in marketing/business development, strategic planning, leadership counseling and executive recruitment during which she has worked for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial startups, and non-profits. She has spent much of that time in positions focusing on the advancement and inclusion of women in leadership roles.
Prior to founding the firm, she spent more than 16 years as an executive search consultant building a reputation as the “go to ” person for national Board and CEO searches as well as senior executive roles in the “C” suite. During this time, she identified the need for counseling and guiding women moving up the organizational ladder and into the most senior ranks of the organization. She developed a series of seminars and other forums addressing that need and is now recognized as a leader in her field. Prior to entering search, Jan spent over twenty-five years as a corporate healthcare executive.
Jan is an active member of the International Women’s Forum, the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation, and the American Society of Association Executives.
