May 2024 NextGen Directors Program
Boston

Director Appointments

Gina Adams I Entergy

Gina Adams has been appointed to the board of Entergy (NYSE:ETR), an integrated energy company that provides electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. As Corporate Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs at FedEx Corporation, she shapes and promotes the interests of all FedEx Corporation operating companies in the political and policy arenas.

A seal of the federal reserve bank of chicago.

Kofi Bonner I Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Kofi Bonner has been appointed to the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Bedrock, a full service commercial real estate firm, where he leads efforts to build thriving urban centers through transformational development, community partnerships, and a commitment to support local businesses.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera I Wendy's

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera has been appointed to the board of Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN). She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of MCC Productions LLC, the media production company she founded, as well as a contributor to CNBC. Previously, Ms. Caruso-Cabrera spent over 20 years at CNBC, where she was the network's first Latina anchor and long-time Chief International Correspondent.

Tamar Thompson I Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

Tamar Thompson has been appointed to the board of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CPRX), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on in-licensing, developing, and commercializing novel medicine for patients living with rare diseases. Ms. Thompson currently serves as Vice President, Head of Global Corporate Affairs for Alexion Pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca Rare Diseases.

Denelle Dixon I MoneyGram International

Denelle Dixon has been appointed to the board of MoneyGram International, a payments and money transfer company. Ms. Dixon is the Chief Executive Officer of the Stellar Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization using blockchain to unlock the world's economic potential. Before joining Stellar, Dixon served as COO of Mozilla.

A gold star is on the side of a building.

Tony Wells I Nexstar Media Group

Tony Wells has been appointed to the board of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ: NXST), a television broadcasting and digital media company. Mr. Wells has more than 30 years of experience working with innovative, high- growth brands, and deep expertise leading marketing, business development and strategic partnerships. Most recently, he served as the Chief Media Officer for Verizon.

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OUR TEAM

Board of Directors

James D. White, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Mr. White is the former board chair, president and chief executive officer of Jamba Inc. and previously held senior executive roles at Safeway, Gillette and Ralston Purina. He is the co-founder of Culture Design Lab focused on developing and guiding CEOs, boards, and executive leaders on designing high-performance organizations with purpose. Mr. White is an experienced board chair with 20 years of boardroom experience having served on over 20 pre-IPO, public and private boards. He is currently the chair of The Honest Company board and a member of the Bay Club, CAVA, Greenlight, Schnuck Markets and Simply Good Foods Company boards. His prior board service includes Adtalem Global Education; Affirm, where he was lead independent director; Hillshire; Medallia and Panera Bread. Mr. White is also co-founder and board chair of the Directors Academy.

Keith Meyer, PRESIDENT

Mr. Meyer is the co-founder and president of the Directors Academy, and also the co-lead of the Board Impact Practice at The ExCo Group. Mr. Meyer was founder and managing partner of Park Avenue Advisors and previously was vice chairman and managing partner of the Global Board Consulting Practice, and co-leader of the North America CEO & Board Practice, at Heidrick & Struggles. In addition, Mr. Meyer held a variety of operations, corporate development, and finance leadership roles with Exxon and PepsiCo. He was also a member of McKinsey’s global Energy Practice. He has previously been named to the list of 100 most influential people in corporate governance. Mr. Meyer is a Directors Academy board member.

Christine Heckart

Ms. Heckart is the founder and chief executive officer of Xapa, a gamified app designed to develop leaders at all levels of an organization. She previously served as chief executive officer of Scalyr, a venture-backed data analytics platform acquired by SentinelOne. Previously she held senior leadership roles at Cisco, Brocade, ServiceSource, NetApp, Microsoft, Juniper Networks and TeleChoice. She currently serves on the board at Contentful and SiTime and previously was a board member at 6sense and Lam Research. Ms. Heckart is Directors Academy board member.

Heather Hiles

Heather Hiles is an entrepreneur, investor, and corporate board member. As the founder of the Pathbrite portfolio platform, Hiles had the distinction of raising the largest venture capital fund, and had the largest exit, for any Black woman. In 2020, Hiles co-founded a seed-stage venture capital fund and previously invested in innovation at the Gates Foundation. Heather built the first statewide online community college, preparing and placing Californians in tech-related jobs. Today, Heather is investing in the healthcare education space. Hiles has served on dozens of boards and currently chairs one private company board while serving on the Audit and Nomination/Governance committees of a public company board, Udemy.

Rhonda White

Ms. White is a board director and former chief marketing officer with over 25 years of strategic leadership in the technology and consumer sectors. Currently, she serves as co-founder of JDWhite Design Labs where she collaborates with CEOs and leadership teams to intentionally build high-performing, inclusive cultures. Ms. White previously led digital and marketing transformations at global companies including Symantec (Norton), HP, and Wells Fargo, and has scaled growth-stage ventures like Centrify, RocketFuel, and MobileIron to acquisition. She is currently a board member at Kiteworks, and serves on the advisory board of Air Protein and the Directors Academy.

Academy Staff

Keith Meyer

Mr. Meyer is the co-founder and president of the Directors Academy, and also the co-lead of the Board Impact Practice at The ExCo Group. Mr. Meyer was founder and managing partner of Park Avenue Advisors. Previously at Heidrick & Struggles, Mr. Meyer was vice chairman and managing partner of the Global Board Consulting Practice and co-leader of the North America CEO & Board Practice. In addition, Mr. Meyer held a variety of operations management and corporate finance leadership roles with Exxon and PepsiCo. He was also a member of McKinsey’s global Energy Practice. He has previously been named to the list of 100 most influential people in corporate governance. Mr. Meyer is a Directors Academy board member.

Jon Friedman

Jon Friedman is chief operating officer of the Directors Academy, and director, Board Impact Practice at The ExCo Group. He partners with boards, CEOs, and executive teams to strengthen governance effectiveness, board composition and succession, and leadership capabilities. Previously, Mr. Friedman was a director in the CEO & Board Practice as well as the In-House Counsel Recruiting Practice at Major, Lindsey & Africa. Earlier in his career, Mr. Friedman worked as a national political consultant and an operative for presidential campaigns, state political organizations, and national non-profits.

Our Advisors

Our Advisors advance the Directors Academy mission through the sponsorship and participation of high-performing senior executive talent and access to future board opportunities.