Anthony Foti, associate general counsel, Foot Locker
Mr. Foti has extensive expertise advising on securities law and corporate governance issues. Prior to joining Foot Locker, Mr. Foti practiced law at Dentons US LLP, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where he represented Fortune 500 issuers and underwriters in a wide range of domestic and international corporate finance transactions, including initial and follow-on public offerings; transactions involving convertible, high-yield and investment-grade debt; private placements; and selling-stockholder deals. Mr. Foti previously clerked for the Hon. Dennis M. Cavanaugh, U.S.D.J. in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Mr. Foti holds a Juris Doctorate from the Villanova University, Charles Widger School of Law, where he was Managing Editor of, and published in, the Villanova Law Review, as well as a Bachelor of Science, Summa Cum Laude, in finance from The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business Administration. He is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bars. Mr. Foti is widely published in journals and has spoken at conferences concerning securities law and corporate governance topics. He is an active member of the Society for Corporate Governance (including the Securities Law Committee), the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the New York Companies Working Group.
Kellie Huennekens, head of ESG research, Nasdaq
Kellie Huennekens is Head of ESG Research at Nasdaq. She is a member of the firm’s cross-functional ESG Working Group and supports wider efforts to drive board excellence through an integrated approach to environmental, social and corporate governance expertise, insights and technology.
Kellie advises boards and executives on corporate practices and investor expectations, and focuses on accelerating the understanding of sustainable business practices. Her work includes developing thought leadership, client tools and reference materials.
Kellie serves on the Advisory Board of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, and is an officer of the Society for Corporate Governance’s Middle Atlantic Chapter. She previously served on the Council of Institutional Investors’ Markets Advisory Council.
Kellie’s background is in corporate finance. She started in corporate governance at Proxy Governance Inc in 2005, and later helped establish EY’s Center for Board Matters. She has an MBA from the University of Maryland and a BA from the College of William and Mary.
Rishi Varma, SVP & general counsel, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Rishi Varma serves as General Counsel and oversees Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s legal department globally. Rishi and his team handle, among other things, HPE’s corporate governance, strategic acquisitions, divestitures and investments, litigation, intellectual property, commercial contracting, sales and supply chain issues, securities law compliance and disclosure, treasury and financing transactions, and certain other corporate transactions and restructurings, bankruptcy, credit and collections matters and employee compensation and retiree benefits. From 2013 – 2017, Rishi served as Deputy General Counsel overseeing HPE’s corporate, securities and M&A practice.
Before joining Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Rishi served as general counsel for two different publicly traded companies from 2005 to 2013 – TPC Group, Inc., a petrochemical company, and Trico Marine Services, Inc., a global subsea service provider. During his time at Trico, Rishi also served in additional management roles including chief operating officer and president. Prior to these companies, Rishi served as securities counsel and director of investor relations for EGL, Inc., a publicly traded global freight forwarder (2002 – 2005), and as a business associate in the New York office of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LP (1998 - 2002).
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and also graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Rishi and his wife, Michelle, have three children.
Moderator: Ben Maiden, editor-at-large, Corporate Secretary
Ben Maiden is the editor-a-large of Corporate Secretary, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. He had previously been managing editor of Compliance Reporter since January 2007, covering regulatory and compliance issues affecting broker-dealers and asset management firms. Before that, Ben was editor of International Financial Law Review and IFLR’s Americas editor, working in London and New York.
