In an era of heightened corporate scrutiny, economic uncertainty, and evolving regulatory landscapes, board directors must stay ahead of emerging risks that impact their organizations and personal liabilities. This webinar will provide an overview of key Directors & Officers (D&O) liability trends, the challenges posed by market volatility, and effective risk mitigation strategies to safeguard corporate leadership. Key discussion points include the evolving D&O insurance market, litigation and D&O claims, market volatility and risk management practices, and officer and director exculpation. Join us for an insightful discussion on how board directors can navigate uncertainty, mitigate risks, and adapt to the evolving D&O landscape.
SPEAKERS
Richard Blake
Richard Blake is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he practices corporate and securities law with a focus on public company representation, corporate governance, and public offerings. He has represented public and private clients across a broad range of industries, as well as investment banking and venture capital firms, and has been lead counsel on IPOs listed in PitchBook's "Top 10 U.S. VC-backed IPOs" for five out of the last six years.
Katherine Henderson
Katherine Henderson is a corporate governance and litigation partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Katherine's practice focuses on corporate governance, the navigation of corporate fiduciary duties, and the representation of companies and their officers and directors in stockholder class actions, derivative suits, and complex commercial litigation. Katherine specializes in conducting investigations on behalf of management, boards of directors, and special board or management committees; advising companies faced with stockholder litigation demands; and representing companies in stockholder actions and "busted deal" litigation. She also advises with respect to directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage and indemnification issues.
Ed Magee
Ed Magee is an independent board director, C-suite executive, and combat veteran with deep expertise in business process transformation, global supply chain, and manufacturing operations. A former Marine aviator and lifelong advocate of leadership development, Ed integrates a disciplined, mission-focused approach to problem solving with an acute understanding of corporate governance, strategy, and stakeholder value creation.
Ed serves on the board of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ: WDFC), contributing to the Audit, Compensation, and Finance Committees. He is the Chair of the Nashville Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and a board member on two non-profit boards: Smithsonian SITES | Affiliations and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee.
His contributions to board governance excellence earned him the 2024 Corporate Directors Forum Director of the Year, Emerging Board Leader Award and recognition on Savoy Magazine’s 2024 Most Influential Corporate Directors list.
Ed currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine. He is also a Professor of Practice at Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey College of Business and faculty for the Corporate Governance for Executives program at the Leavey Executive Center at Santa Clara University.
His career includes transformative executive roles at Harley-Davidson and Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, where he led product and process innovations that improved quality, culture, customer experiences, and scaled operations across multiple continents.
As Co-President of the Fender Play Foundation and founding member of the team behind California’s Proposition 28, Ed helped secure $1 billion in permanent funding for music and arts education, benefiting over six million public school students.
Joseph Talmadge, moderator
Joe Talmadge is Executive Vice President and Technology Practice Lead at Heffernan Insurance Brokers. Joe has been a lead broker for high growth, pre-IPO companies since 2001 and specializes in D&O and global risk management strategies. His experience includes working with hundreds of high profile, venture backed and publicly traded companies across various industries including technology, biotech, healthcare, food, energy, media/entertainment, real estate and transportation companies.