Appointments: April 2015

Patrick Macken

1) Patrick Macken has been appointed as senior vice president and general counsel of ARRIS Group. He will report to Bob Stanzione, chairman and CEO of the global innovator in IP, video and broadband technology.

Macken has provided legal counsel and support to ARRIS for more than 10 years as outside counsel at Troutman Sanders, where he most recently served as a partner in the corporate group. His expertise encompasses legal issues focused on securities laws, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate governance.

Macken has been a frequent speaker on securities law and corporate governance matters and has co-authored numerous articles on federal securities laws and corporate finance transactions. Best Lawyer, the legal profession ‘s peer-review publication, named him a ‘Best Lawyer in America’ in the area of securities and capital markets. He received both his bachelor's degree and JD from Tulane University.

Gerald Masoudi

2) Celgene Corp has appointed Gerald Masoudi as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective June 1, 2015. Masoudi will also serve on the pharmaceutical company's executive committee.

He will succeed Lawrence Stein, who has been in his roles since 2012 and is retiring after a career that also included serving as Wyeth’s general counsel.

Masoudi will join Celgene from international law firm Covington & Burling, where he is a partner and serves as co-chair of the food and drug practice group. Before joining Covington, he was chief counsel of the US Food and Drug Administration. Prior to that, Masoudi served as deputy assistant attorney general for international, policy and appellate matters in the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice. He began his law career as a clerk for Judge Frank Easterbrook of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and then became a trial and litigation partner with Kirkland & Ellis.

Masoudi received his JD from The University of Chicago Law School, where he served on the editorial board of the Law Review. He received his BA in economics from Amherst College.

James Zappa

3) James Zappa has been named executive vice president and general counsel at CHS, a major farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods business. He will also serve as a member of the company's strategic leadership team.

Zappa comes to CHS from 3M, where he served most recently as vice president, associate general counsel and chief compliance officer. He previously was vice president, associate general counsel for international operations, working with 3M global subsidiaries and business operations. He has also served as counsel to the 3M board's Compensation Committee, assistant general counsel for consumer and office business and human resources; and counsel and assistant general counsel for labor and employment law. Prior to joining 3M, he worked for UnitedHealth Group and for the law firm Dorsey & Whitney.

Zappa earned a JD degree from the University of Minnesota Law School, a master's degree in communications from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor's degree from Drake University. He currently serves as a director for the Boy Scouts of America, NorthernStar Council.

Jean Holloway

4) CryoLife has appointed Jean Holloway as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.  She will report directly to Pat Mackin, president and CEO of the medical device and tissue processing company that focuses on cardiac and vascular surgery, 

Before joining CryoLife, Holloway was dean and professor of law at Hamline University, School of Law in St Paul, Minnesota. She also served as counsel at Dorsey & Whitney and as a strategic advisor to the firm's healthcare industry practice group. Prior to that, she held various executive management positions in the medical device industry, most recently as vice president, general counsel and secretary for CR Bard. Other roles have included vice president and deputy general counsel at Medtronic, and vice president, CRM Litigation at Boston Scientific and Guidant Corp. Earlier in her career, Holloway was a partner at Dorsey & Whitney and at Faegre & Benson.

Holloway holds two BA degrees from Yale University and earned both her MBA and JD from the University of Chicago.

Bradford Turner

5) Newell Rubbermaid has named Bradford Turner as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. He will serve on the company's Executive Leadership Team and will report directly to Newell Rubbermaid president and CEO Michael Polk.

Turner most recently served as vice president and deputy general counsel, after serving in a variety of roles within Newell Rubbermaid’s legal services department. Prior to his arrival at the company in 2004, he was an associate with Troutman Sanders.

A member of the Georgia Bar Association, Turner also chairs the Executive Committee of the Corporate Counsel Section. In addition, he is president of the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association. He holds both a law degree and an accounting degree from the University of Georgia.

6) Joseph Farmer has been appointed as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Tesaro, an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company.

Most recently, he served as vice president, chief corporate counsel and assistant secretary at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, a rapidly growing public company with multiple commercial and development stage products.

Farmer began his legal career in Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault’s business practice group. Before joining Cubist Pharmaceuticals, he was chief administrative officer, general counsel and secretary at AMAG Pharmaceuticals. His extensive experience is in the areas of corporate governance, compliance, intellectual property protection, licensing transactions, and corporate development.

He received his BA in Economics from Boston University and his JD from Boston College Law School.

Tesaro’s board’s Compensation Committee has approved an equity award to Farmer of options to purchase 75,000 shares of Tesaro common stock, which will vest over the course of four years, assuming that he remains continuously employed by Tesaro. In accordance with a NASDAQ listing rule, Tesaro disclosed that the grant was an inducement to Farmer to join the company.