Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
HOLLY J. GREGORY, co-chair of Sidley Austin’s Global Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation Practice, counsels publicly held, private and not-for-profit corporations on the full range of governance issues, including governance structure and culture, fiduciary duties, risk oversight, conflicts of interest, board and committee structure, board leadership, special committee investigations, CEO transitions, board audits and self-evaluation processes, shareholder activism and initiatives, proxy contests, relationships with shareholders and proxy advisory firms, compliance with legislative, regulatory and listing rule requirements and governance “best practices.” She is frequently called on to advise boards regarding sensitive and unusual matters. While most of the matters she works on are highly confidential, high-profile matters that are in the public record include advising on the governance and accountability mechanisms of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to replace U.S. government oversight, and advising the Board of The Pennsylvania State University on governance reforms. Holly played a key role in drafting the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and has advised the Internal Market Directorate of the European Commission and the joint OECD/World Bank Global Corporate Governance Forum on governance policy and reform. The author of numerous articles on governance topics, she writes the governance column for Practical Law: The Journal. Holly recently completed her term as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Corporate Governance Committee. She served as Co-Editor of the ABA’s Corporate Director’s Guidebook (Sixth Edition) and chaired the ABA task force that delivered the Report on the Delineation of Governance Roles & Responsibilities to Congress and the SEC in 2009. Ms. Gregory serves on the ABA Business Law Section Council (its governing body), and is a Founding Trustee, member of the Executive Committee and Fellow of The American College of Governance Counsel. She has served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and as a member of multiple NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions. Ms. Gregory is widely recognized for her work. Most recently, The National Law Journal named Holly to its 2018 list of “White Collar, Regulatory & Compliance Trailblazers.” She has also received accolades as: among the “100 Most Influential Players in Corporate Governance” (NACD/Directorship 100), Directorship Magazine, 2017 and all prior years; one of “the best and brightest minds in the legal profession” in Ethisphere’s 2017 and 2015 Attorneys Who Matter; and the “Best in Corporate Governance” at Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards 2016 and at the inaugural 2012 Awards.