Women on Boards: Teeing up Talent for Your Board's Future

Gabrielle Greene-Sulzberger

Director, Whole Foods (WFM), Stage Stores (SSI)

Gabrielle Greene-Sulzberger has been a professional in the financial services industry for over 25 years.  Ms. Sulzberger is a General Partner of Rustic Canyon/Fontis Partners, a private equity fund based in Pasadena, California.  Prior to joining RC/Fontis, she was Chief Financial Officer of Gluecode Software, a venture-backed open source software company, which was sold to IBM in May 2005.  Previously she was CFO of Crown Services, a California based consolidation of commercial contractors.  

Before joining Crown Services, Ms. Sulzberger was a general partner of the Citigroup sponsored BE/Greenwich Street Equity Fund.  Prior to joining BE/Greenwich Street in 1998, Ms. Sulzberger was a principal of HPB Associates, a New York based hedge fund, where she invested in both public and private companies, and also served as CFO of  one of the HPB portfolio companies.  From 1992 to 1994 Ms Sulzberger was the founding managing director of the Commonwealth Enterprise Fund in Boston, a private equity fund formed by a consortium of New England Banks.  From 1987 to 1992 Ms. Sulzberger was a principal at UNC Partners in Boston, where she was responsible for private equity investments in diverse industries.   Prior to completing her graduate school education, Ms. Sulzberger worked for several years as an associate consultant at Bain & Company, a strategic management consulting firm based in Boston. 

Ms. Sulzberger received her B.A. from Princeton University in 1981, where she graduated from the Urban Studies program at the Woodrow Wilson School.  In 1987, she received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and J.D. from Harvard Law School.  

Ms. Sulzberger is on the board of Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM), where she is chairman of the audit committee and serves on the compensation committee. She is also a director of Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI), where she serves on the audit and the nominating and governance committees.  Previously Ms. Sulzberger served on the boards of IndyMac Bank, and Bright Horizons (NASDAQ: BFAM), where she served on the audit committee until the company was acquired by Bain Capital. She has served on numerous private and non-profit boards, including the Boston Children’s Museum, and the Boston Partnership, where she chaired the audit committee. She is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar, and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.  The National Association of Corporate Directors recently named Ms. Sulzberger as one of the top 100 corporate directors in their 2014 Directorship 100.  

Nancy E. Sheppard

Founder and CEO Women2Boards

Nancy E. Sheppard has management and governance experience in banking associations, financial services industry, and legislative regulatory  & political environments. Following 20+ years as President & CEO of Western Independent Bankers (WIB), a trade association serving independent banks and firms serving the financial services industry in Western U.S., she felt it was time to use her many connections for a new cause – bringing qualified women to corporate boards that need new talent.

Prior to WIB, she held two senior management positions at the California Bankers Association with overall responsibility for federal government relations, public and media affairs, and educational programs.  She moved to the Bay Area after spending six years on Capitol Hill for three separate Members of Congress as a legislative aide.

During her tenure at WIB, she promoted director education as one of the main services of the organization.  She was the main staff advisor on design of the program content, and involved in the leadership of bringing products such as board and director evaluations and online board portal services to improve governance and efficiencies for boards.

She was an inside director and on the executive committee of the WIB Board (1989-2013), a founding member of the board and corporate secretary of Western Independent Bankers Service Corporation (1994 to 2013),  and a founding director of WIB Self-Insurance Group (2005 to 2013).

She was a member of the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment San Francisco Regional Board, from 2009-2014,  serving as Regional Chair from 2010-13.  She has been Chair of the Financial Institution Marketing Association West, and board members of the California Intermediate Banking School and the YMCA of San Francisco.

She was chosen as one of  the 100 Most Influential San Francisco Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2011, as Volunteer of the Year for the YMCA of San Francisco in 2005, and received The Award of Excellence from the Northern California Society of Association Executives in 2004.

Jeffry Powell

Executive Vice President Diligent Board Member Services

Jeffry Powell serves as Diligent Board Member Services’ Executive Vice President of Sales, where he is responsible for the development and execution of client acquisition strategies throughout the Americas. Throughout his five years with Diligent, Jeffry has advised thousands of companies across industries including banking, energy, higher education and health care on how secure, electronic access to board materials can improve organizational effectiveness and governance.

In addition to more than 15 years of sales experience, Jeffry also worked for 12 years as a founder, board member and officer of a commercial translation agency. This deep familiarity with both the sales and executive management of growing organizations has enabled him to become expert in critical governance issues. Jeff frequently contributes thought leadership and appears at both governance-related and vertical market events to discuss board portal adoption and implementation best practices. He is also a member of both the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals and the Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries.

Jim Kristie

Editor and Associate Publisher, Directors & Boards

Jim Kristie is editor and associate publisher of Directors & Boards, the only major independently-owned journal of corporate governance thought leadership in North America.  He is the longest-tenured editor (at 30 years) serving this field.  In addition to his editorial duties, Jim teaches journalism at Temple University.