About the Speakers
Howard Brod Brownstein
President & Founder of The Brownstein Corporation
Howard Brod Brownstein, CTP, is a nationally-known turnaround and restructuring professional, and regularly provides programs for Women in the Boardroom. He is President of Brownstein Corporation, which provides turnaround management and advisory services, as well as investment banking, fiduciary services, litigation consulting, investigations and valuation services. He regularly serves on the boards of directors of public and private companies, and currently serves on the boards of: P&F Industries (Nasdaq: PFIN) where he chairs the Nominating/Governance and Strategic Planning & Risk Assessment Committees, Renew Financial, where he serves as chair of the Risk Committee, and Merakey, a nonprofit with over 10,000 employees. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional, and also an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and Immediate Past President and Board Chair of the NACD Philadelphia Chapter. He has authored ninety articles and textbook chapters, is a Contributing Editor at two publications, and is a regular guest-lecturer at Harvard Business School, Wharton, NYU and elsewhere. He received JD and MBA degrees at Harvard, and B.S. (Wharton) and B.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michele Hooper
President and CEO of The Directors’ Council
Michele J. Hooper is President and CEO of The Directors’ Council, which consults with major companies to improve the effectiveness of their corporate governance. With 30 years of corporate board experience, Michele is an audit committee financial expert with over 20 years’ experience chairing audit committees of several global companies, a highly-regarded governance expert and business leader. In 2017, Michele was selected as NACD’s Director of the Year. She currently serves on the boards of PPG Industries, Inc., UnitedHealth Group (Chair, Nominating and Governance), and United Continental Holdings. Michele previously served on the boards of directors of Target Corporation, Seagram’s, Warner Music Group and AstraZeneca. She is a senior advisor for CamberView Partners, and also serves on the Smithsonian National Board. Michele retired from the board of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) where she was Chair of the CAQ Working Group focused on Deterring and Detecting Financial Reporting Fraud.
Steven Seiden
President of Seiden Krieger Associates
Steven Seiden is President of Seiden Krieger Associates, a retained executive search firm in NYC. He is known for his expertise in recruiting top executives and directors for corporations that are “in transition”. Among his clients are many of America’s most publicized acquisitive entrepreneurs and activists, who seek out undermanaged companies needing new chief executives and board members, as well as operational, financial, and marketing talent. These include conglomerates, international holding companies, merchant banks, private equity investors, and venture capitalists. Steven is profiled in the book, The Career Makers: America’s Top 150 Executive Recruiters, and is named as one of an even more select group of specialists who recruit senior officers for holding companies. Additionally, he finds new management and directors for companies emerging from bankruptcy and in hostile situations. His other clients include many Fortune industrial and service companies. Before founding his predecessor search firm, he spent 17 years on Wall Street helping to build and manage a successful financial services and investment banking organization. His articles have appeared in leading national publications, and is a frequent speaker at professional conferences. A Yale University graduate who served in the U.S., Mr. Seiden is a member of the International Association of Corporate & Professional Recruiters, the Turnaround Management Association, and formerly the New York Society of Securities Analysts.
