Features Assistant General Counsels

After years of reactive regulatory response on data privacy and cybersecurity, the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way. Last year, President Biden issued an executive order for the federal government to “make bold changes and significant investments in order to defend the vital institutions that underpin the American way of life.” He also […]

She sees herself as the legal equivalent of a primary care physician or quarterback. Bring her a legal concern or issue and if she can’t personally sort it out, Kerry (O’Neill) Bilewski will find someone who can. “I enjoy being the connector as well as point person when it comes to running things,” she says. […]

Having helped secure around 250 acquisitions in his two decades-plus as associate general counsel at CBIZ Inc., John Geffert can’t be expected to recall every one. But he’s sure to remember a couple groundbreaking deals sealed in the past two years. CBIZ, a Cleveland-based professional services provider that primarily serves small and medium-sized companies, had […]

Benajmin Franklin may have started the insurance industry in the U.S. in 1752, but Gerard Gregoire has been helping Allstate replace outdated traditions for over two decades. His method? Partnering with his teams for input, using more technology, cutting back on office space and incorporating artificial intelligence and automation. “I’ve invested 23 years of my […]

There’s something about the rule of law for which Viktoriya M. Shpigelman might have extra appreciation having come from a country where it didn’t always exist. It’s also a country where matters have only grown worse. For she was just 8 years old in 1991 when her family fled Ukraine, then part of the fragmenting […]

In 1973, JCPenney was operating more than 2,000 locations throughout the U.S. Its catalogs—often novel-length and featuring thousands of products from furniture to formalwear—were a fixture on many a living-room coffee table. Since its founding in 1902, the department store giant had become a bona fide icon of American commerce. But in 1974, a massive […]

While many people steered clear of airplanes in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, others looked to them for opportunities. For instance, executives at Intelsat, one of the world’s largest satellite operators, used the slowdown of the airline industry to acquire Gogo Inc.’s commercial aviation business, one of the largest global providers of in-flight […]

Danielle Lemack may not have been the creative mind behind HP Hood LLC’s latest commercials, but she played a crucial role in the lines being delivered on screen. In one, a furry blue alien named Sensa makes her first visit to Earth, arriving at the breakfast table where a little girl is pouring Planet Oat […]

If Shakespeare had asked Dawn Stewart Harris, “What’s in a name?” she’d have answered, “A lot, especially when it comes to pharmaceuticals.” With 25 years in the industry, Stewart Harris has worked with a variety of teams and provided counsel from research and development. She’s also gained approval of pharmaceutical products from the U.S. Food […]

A world without candy—a world without chocolate—feels unfathomable. Yet, it’s something Mars Wrigley and its assistant general counsel of cocoa and global initiatives, Stephanie Felicetty, are working daily to prevent. Just consider, she says, that cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana accounts for almost two-thirds of the world’s cocoa supply, and both countries face […]