HOW Forum 2021 We Rise Together

Dr. Garner received joint M.D. and M.P.H degrees from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. She was trained in obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s/Massachusetts General Hospitals and completed a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She was a 2019 awardee of the PharmaVoice 100 most inspiring individuals in the life-sciences industry and is a frequent speaker and panelist on issues related to women’s health and clinical trial diversity.

Michelle is the former Director of Inclusion at Netflix, and prior to this she was the head of UN Women’s Global Innovation Coalition for Change, which includes managing over 30 private sector partnerships as well to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. In 2019, Women Tech Founders, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to advancing women in the tech industry, awarded Michelle with the 2019 Inspiring Innovator Award for her outstanding achievements in the sector. Michelle is the host of the weekly podcast, The Fix, which shares practical ways men and women can advance equality at work. She is also a television contributor for Newsy and writes for Forbes and Thrive Global on the topic of women’s advancement at work.

As a researcher Michelle is a published, award winning academic with a postgraduate qualification in Journalism, a Masters in Psychology and an MBA. In addition, she is pursuing a PhD through Cranfield University in the United Kingdom and she is due to graduate in 2020.

In her role as Chief Business Affairs & Legal Officer, Louise is responsible for PayPal’s global People, Legal, Communications, Intellectual Property, Government Relations and Social Innovation functions. In this position, she drives focus on PayPal’s financial, regulatory and legal requirements across all global markets and engages stakeholders to promote PayPal’s reputation globally through corporate affairs initiatives. She is also responsible for PayPal’s People function, which leads and drives leadership excellence, culture, training, workforce planning, employee relations, compensation, benefits, as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives. Under her leadership, PayPal has expanded affinity group offerings and employee engagement opportunities aligned with the company’s mission, vision and values, including the legal team’s international pro-bono initiative, which serves the needs of global communities. This initiative is of personal importance to Louise, who was recently recognized for her efforts in this area as the recipient of the 2016 National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) Exemplar Award. In addition to her pro bono contributions, including volunteer work with human rights organizations and supporting at-risk children seeking asylum, Louise dedicates her time to offering legal support to women and children victims of domestic violence, and serves as an active supporter of diversity in the workplace. She works enthusiastically to mentor women, both at PayPal and beyond, and is a strong advocate for women in senior leadership and board roles.

Louise was recognized by the California Diversity Council as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology in 2017. In 2016, she was named one of the world’s Top 30 General Counsels by the Financial Times, and one of America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsels by the National Law Journal. Louise was also named General Counsel of the Year of a Public Company over $1 Billion category at the 2016 Bay Area Corporate Counsel Awards, presented by the Silicon Valley Business Journal and the San Francisco Business Times. In 2015, she was named as one of sixty top Women Leaders in Tech Law by The Recorder. Before joining PayPal, Louise served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Nokia Corporation where she managed a team of 400+ lawyers, IP experts, government relations professionals and support staff working in more than 30 countries. During this time, she led M&A integration and ran an IP P&L in excess of one billion euros annually. Consistently cited for its excellence in IP management, the Nokia legal team she managed was named Europe’s most innovative in-house legal team by the Financial Times in 2011.

Louise has served as a member of Hitachi’s Board of Directors since 2015. She was named to the Board of Directors of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley in May 2016, an organization with the mission to advance the rights of under-represented individuals and families through legal services, advocacy and educational outreach. Louise also served on the Board of the Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Nokia and Siemens, from 2012 to 2014, and played a leading role in the sale of Nokia’s handset business to Microsoft.

Louise is licensed to practice law in England, Wales, a licensed attorney admitted to New York bar, and Registered In-House Counsel of the California bar.

A retired judge of the North Carolina State Court, Avril is a former adjunct law professor at Temple University’s Japan campus, has served as Visiting Faculty at the National Judicial College in Reno, NV, and is currently ethics counsel at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Avril has consulted to private business and her career has included a variety of leadership roles in public policy and state government; she was among the first women to serve as a Chief of Staff in the California State Legislature. An honors graduate of UCLA, she has extensive board experience, including previous service on the national Alumni Board of Directors of U.C. Berkeley Law School, and the Bioethics Resource Group LTD, affiliated with Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC. Avril is also active in a number of civic and cultural organizations.

Prior to joining the Private Bank in 2009, Nana began her career as an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs. She later moved to the Investment Management Division at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Wealth, where she served as a product specialist, advising clients and small institutions on asset allocation and portfolio construction.

Prior to her career in finance, Nana served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, as a Cryptologic Officer leading communications specialists, linguists, and signals analysts. She studied Arabic at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and graduated with a B.S. in English and Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. After leaving the Navy, she earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Nana lives in New York and serves on the Boards of The Mission Continues, Rebuild Foundation and the US Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation.

As a barrier-breaking leader and inspirational people connector, June turns strategic vision into balance sheet outcomes. Her technique links organizational systems to strategy and unites inspired teams across functions. She quickly identifies and capitalizes on high-potential opportunities in markets and demographics, leveraging deep consumer empathy and a big-picture perspective.

June was educated at Princeton and earned professional certificates from the Wharton School and Northwestern. She is a prolific public speaker, board member, mentor, and coach. Her influence, guidance, and thought leadership impact businesses and organizations and the lives of students, professionals, founders, and executives.

True to her left- and right-brained nature, June enjoys making elaborate recipes in her free time. And, when she is not busy inspiring her own teams, she is rooting for the New York Yankees.

Marta currently serves as Executive Director of Culpepper Garden, an award-winning, nonprofit retirement community providing affordable housing and services for seniors in the heart of Arlington, Virginia.

As editor and publishing director of Chambers & Partners Publishing in the mid-nineties, she devised the research methodology behind the Chambers’ guides to the legal profession and launched the first Chambers Student and Chambers Global guides.

In 2005, she came up with the idea of ranking lawyers on innovation, which has become the FT Innovative Lawyers reports and awards. She is a long-time contributor to the Financial Times and helped to establish the paper’s Law & Business page in 2001.

Reena has experience of both big and small businesses and spent the early nineties working in investment banking in London and rescuing a family business out of recession.

A journalist and entrepreneur, Reena is responsible for coming up with the ideas for a number of ground-breaking projects for both clients and RSG Consulting. Among these are the RSG India Report, the 21st Century series of reports for Eversheds and the Innovative GC Club. A regular public speaker on innovation and the legal profession, she is a graduate of the Meyler Campbell Elements coaching programme and was a finalist in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards in 2009.

In January 2020 Reena was appointed Executive Director at the Digital Legal Exchange (DLEX), a non-profit, global learning institute committed to accelerating digital transformation in corporate legal departments.

In 2019, Meg won the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyer Legal Intrapreneur of the year award and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s First-Mover Fellowship program that focuses on the development of corporate social intrapreneurs.

As the Chief Business Development, Marketing and CSR Officer at Paul Hastings, Meg was responsible for strategy, growth and innovation in legal services. She oversaw business and client development programs, public relations, brand management, and communications that promoted the firm’s international reach and commitment to client service. She also led the Diversity & Inclusion and Corporate Responsibility efforts of the firm.

Before joining Paul Hastings, Meg was based in Europe for ten years. During that time, she was the Director of Marketing for the EMEIA region at Andersen. In addition, Meg held director positions in business development, marketing and export for a major French clothing manufacturer, the largest French shoe manufacturer, and an American venture capital firm.

Meg is an advisory council member for Child HELP Partnership and served on the steering committee for The Aspen Institute Socrates Program.