27th Annual Stanford Directors' College 2022
Kathy Higgins Victor
CEO, Centera Corporation; Director, Conduent, Inc.
Kathy is a seasoned public company director. For more than 20 years she has leveraged her experience as an independent director to transform organizations through CEO succession, executive comp design, board refreshment, and human capital governance. She has led multiple CEO successions, ESG shareholder engagements, and DE&I cultural initiatives.
Beginning her career in retail store operations, she learned first-hand the importance of leadership in P&L management. She has leveraged her human resource knowledge and business acumen as a board member of Best Buy, Inc., a Minnesota based consumer electronics company, as a board member of Conduent Inc., a New York based provider of business process outsourcing services, and as a trustee for the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota’s largest private university.
As a member of the Board at Best Buy Company, Inc., she was Chairman of the Nominating, Corporate Governance, and Public Policy Committee and a member of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee. As a member of the Board at Conduent Inc., she is the Chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility & Public Policy Committee, and a member of the Audit Committee, and former Chair of the Compensation Committee.
She chaired the Best Buy CEO Succession Committee in 2019 and the CEO Selection Committee in 2012. She successfully transitioned the board’s independence and governance through an investor-focused process, built one of the most diverse boards in the Fortune 100 sector, helped resolve an activist strategic review, and was actively a part of one of the most successful turnarounds in retail.
Kathy is the President and CEO of Centera Corporation, an executive development and leadership consulting firm, located in Minneapolis, MN. She actively advises boards, CEO’s, and C-suite executives on leadership effectiveness, executive and CEO succession, and corporate governance. Her firm’s work spans many diverse Fortune 500 industry sectors.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Avila with a B.A. in Public Administration. She is active in the Twin Cities community as a member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable and Women Corporate Directors.
Kathy has been recognized as Outstanding Director, Twin Cities Business, and NACD Directorship 100.
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