Kelly McNamara Corley is principal and founder of The Red Bee Group LLC, a women-owned consulting firm providing advice to corporations, nonprofits, and boards of directors on governance and diversity, equity, and inclusion matters. She currently serves on the Boards of Goldman Sachs Bank USA, FIDUS Investments, Rush University Medical Center, and several nonprofit organizations.
Kelly previously served as executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Discover Financial Services, a leading consumer credit, payments, and online banking company for nearly 20 years. Her responsibilities included serving on the firm’s 10-person Executive Leadership team responsible for the management and strategic direction of the company. She was responsible for managing the company’s legal, regulatory, public policy, and compliance matters. Prior to becoming general counsel, Kelly worked in Washington, DC as managing director and head of Morgan Stanley’s Global Government Relations Program. Under Kelly’s leadership, Discover’s legal department was recognized for pro bono initiatives, diversity and inclusion, and innovation. In 2019, Kelly was recognized at the Burton Awards in Washington, DC with a “Legend in the Law” Award for her leadership in the field of Law. She also received the “Thought Leader of the Year” Global Counsel Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Lexology.
Eileen Kamerick consults and lectures on corporate governance and compliance matters. She is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and holds the NACD Director Professionalism Certification. She was recognized by NACD as leading public company director when she was named to the Directorship 100 in 2022. She has served as CFO of such leading companies as BP Amoco Americas, Leo Burnett, Heidrick & Struggles, and Houlihan Lokey. She began her career as a lawyer at the law firm of Skadden Arps, and she holds a JD degree and an MBA degree, with honors, in finance and international business from the University of Chicago.
She is a member of the board of directors for Associated Banc-Corp, Hochschild Mining, plc and 20 closed end Legg Mason mutual funds. She also serves on the board of directors for ACV Auctions, a Bain and Bessemer Ventures backed company, which went public in 2021. She previously served as an independent trustee for AIG Funds. She also served on the board of directors for ServiceMaster and IRI before both companies were purchased by private equity firms. She qualifies as an SEC financial expert and chairs three audit committees and one corporate governance and sustainability committee.
Eileen serves on the national board of directors of the Alzheimer’s Association where she chairs the investment subcommittee. She is a lecturer at University of Chicago Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, and University of Iowa College of Law and for the NACD Battlefield to Boardroom board readiness program for flag officers as well as for the NACD Director Professionalism course. She recently served as a judge for the Investor Relations Magazine annual corporate governance awards, and she will serve as a judge for its initial ESG integration awards in 2022.
Blythe McGarvie
Blythe McGarvie has served on eight public corporate boards, currently serving as a member of the boards of directors of Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE), Sonoco, LKQ, and privately held Wawa. She was the audit committee chair for Accenture for 10 years after the company went public, Viacom, and Pepsi Bottling Group. She currently chairs one audit and other committees including Nominating and Governance, Financial Policy, and Finance. She also served on the board of Travelers and LaFarge NA. See www.BlytheMcGarvie.com for more information.
In 2018, Women Inc. named Blythe as a 2018 Most Influential Director. In 2012, 2010, and 2008, NACD/Directorship selected Blythe as one of the Top 100 “Most Renowned and Influentials” in corporate governance.
Blythe is a certified public accountant (CPA). She earned an MBA degree from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, which selected her for the Schaffner Award, presented annually to an alumnus who is preeminent in their field and who provided outstanding service to Kellogg.
Blythe is the author of bestselling book, Shaking the Globe, Courageous Decision-Making in a Changing World (published by John Wiley & Sons in 2009) and Fit In Stand Out, subtitled Mastering the FISO Factor: The Key to Leadership Effectiveness in Business and Life (published by McGraw-Hill in 2005).
Sheila Penrose
Sheila Penrose is president of S. A. Penrose Advisors, advising CEOs and C-Suite executives of major companies across a range of strategic issues.
Sheila served as chairman of the board of JLL Inc. (Jones Lang LaSalle) for 15 years. She is a director of McDonald’s Corp, where she chairs the Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Committee. Over the last two decades, Sheila has served as an independent director for global companies in the specialty chemicals, secure identity, financial systems, restaurant, and real estate services industries.
As cofounder and cochairman of Corporate Leadership Center, Sheila partners with F500 companies to augment and accelerate the leadership development of their senior executives through the CEO Perspectives and Leading Women Executives programs. She is executive advisor to Boston Consulting Group’s CEO Advisory practice.
As regular attendee and speaker at the World Economic Forum and a member of Community of Corporate Chairmen, Sheila serves as an advisor on WEF’s Global Parity initiative. A founding member of the U.S. 30% Club and on the Advisory Board of Catalyst, Sheila has been a strong advocate of advancing women in business.
Sheila is a recipient of several awards, including the Chicago Business Hall of Fame, and Women on Boards; and she was a finalist for NYSE’s Chairman of the Year.