Speaker bio coming soon...

 

Matthew Broad joined OfficeMax in 1984 as counsel in the legal department of what was then known as Boise Cascade Corporation.  Over the last 25 years, he worked in virtually every area of the legal department, ultimately specializing in transactional work, and mergers and acquisitions.  Matt became General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer in 2004 upon the company’s sale of its forest products businesses.  In 2005, Matt guided the company through an SEC investigation into certain accounting practices and a threatened proxy contest.  In addition to establishing a new legal department following a headquarters relocation in 2005, Matt is credited with designing and building the company’s compliance program. 

Matt earned a BA in Business Economics in 1981 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a JD in 1984 from the Hastings College of Law. 

 

Richard Cohan is executive vice president and general counsel and corporate secretary of Aviva USA, a position he held on an interim basis in 2010. In that role, he leads Aviva USA’s legal and compliance team, oversees litigation and regulatory affairs, and provides support for business development activities, including mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships and divestitures. Previously as associate general counsel, Rich supported the sales and distribution, insurance administration and product management teams, while managing the legal aspects associated with the marketing organizations and agency-related issues. Rich joined Aviva in 2003 and has deep experience in corporate and private practice law. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his law degree from the University of Chicago.

 

Speaker bio coming soon...

 

John J. Gasparovic has served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of BorgWarner Inc. since January 2007. He joined BorgWarner from Federal Mogul Corporation where he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Roadway Corporation; and Vice President of Business Development and General Counsel of Guardian Automotive, a subsidiary of Guardian Industries. In addition, John has eight years of litigation experience with Jones Day in Cleveland and Chicago.

John earned a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in 1979 and a law degree from Northwestern University in 1982. He is a member of the Michigan, Illinois and Ohio (inactive) Bars.

 

Matt Geekie is Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel for Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical and communications products and related supply chain management and logistics services. A member of Graybar’s Board of Directors, Geekie leads the company’s legal department including risk management.

Some of Geekie’s primary legal functions at Graybar include real estate, sales, distribution and SEC matters. He also handles employment issues, contracts and adherence to federal acquisition regulations and Department of Defense contracting rules.

Geekie started his career as a trial lawyer at St. Louis firm Moser & Marsalek, next moving in-house to Siegel-Robert Inc. and later Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin (now Husch Blackwell Sanders). From there he was appointed to Assistant General Counsel at Emerson Electric, and then served as General Counsel and Secretary at XTRA Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

With more than 20 years of legal experience, Geekie is well versed in corporate law, commercial and securities law, Sarbanes Oxley, domestic and international ethics, intellectual property, product liability, export/import law and environmental law.

Geekie is a native of St. Louis, and received both his law degree and undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University. He and his wife, Karen, have three children.

 

Speaker bio coming soon...

 

Tom presently serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Questar Corporation, a publicly-traded integrated gas company.  Tom manages the legal department and has responsibility for corporate governance, legal compliance, risk management as well as human resources for Questar.  Prior to joining Questar, Tom began his legal career as a law clerk for the U.S. Department of the Interior and later practiced natural resources law in Salt Lake City.

Tom has served in various capacities for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, and is currently a trustee of the Mountain States Legal Foundation.  He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Energy Bar Association.  Tom received his B.A. in 1978 from Brigham Young University, graduating summa cum laude and his J.D. in 1981 from the same institution, graduating cum laude. 

 

John H. Kahle is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Kimball International, Inc.

Kimball International, Inc., based in Jasper, Indiana, is a preeminent manufacturer of furniture, furniture components and electronic assemblies, serving customers around the world. The company manufactures and markets a broad range of products under the family of Kimball brand names, as well as manufactures components and products on a contract basis for a variety of industries globally.

Mr. Kahle joined Kimball in 1987 and was named Vice President and General Counsel in 1988. He was promoted to Executive Vice President in 1997 and in 2001, he was appointed Secretary.

Mr. Kahle's current responsibilities include oversight of the secretarial, legal, human resources, public and governmental relations, and facilities functions of Kimball International.

Prior to joining Kimball, Mr. Kahle was in private legal practice in Indianapolis, Indiana, and has experience as a CPA with national and regional accounting firms.

Mr. Kahle is a member of the American Corporate Counsel Association and a prior President of the Indiana Chapter. He is a past Chairman of the Corporate Counsel Section of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indiana Manufacturers Association. He serves as a Director of the Dubois County, Indiana Area Development Corporation and is an appointed member of the Jasper Redevelopment Commission.

Mr. Kahle received a BS in Accounting from Indiana University and his JD from Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington. He is also a CPA and CMA.

 

Jim Kaput has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Zebra Technologies Corporation since 2009.  Zebra is a technology company with a portfolio of automatic identification, data capture (AIDC) and real-time location solution (RTLS) products.  Zebra is located in Lincolnshire, Illinois.  From 2008-2009, he served as Counsel to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Mr. Kaput was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The ServiceMaster Company, a consumer services company, from 2000 to 2007.  Mr. Kaput began his career in 1987 in Sidley Austin LLP’s corporate and securities group. He served as a partner in the firm from 1994 to 2000. Mr. Kaput received his JD from Cornell University School of Law and his BS from The University of Pennsylvania. 

 

Rich Konrath is currently the General Counsel (North America) for CNH Global N.V., a position that he has held since 2009.  In his current role, Rich manages a team handling legal matters impacting CNH in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and portions of Western Europe.  Rich is also an Adjunct Professor in the International Law L.L.M. program at the John Marshall Law School.  Prior to his current position, Rich worked for 16 years in a variety of management roles with the Caterpillar Inc. legal department, including for seven years in Europe (United Kingdom and Belgium).  Rich began his career with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission where he served for six years in the Division of Corporation Finance. 

 

Keith J. Nelsen is Best Buy’s executive vice president and general counsel. As Best Buy’s principal legal officer, Nelsen has overall responsibility for the company’s legal activities worldwide.

Nelsen joined Best Buy in 2005.  He most recently served as senior vice president, Commercial, and as general counsel for Best Buy International, managing the company’s legal responsibilities outside of the United States, including oversight of its international transactions and local law compliance. He also oversaw the company’s equity-related investments on a global basis, providing assessment, financial analysis, strategic rational and recommendations of equity investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Best Buy, Nelsen was chief administrative officer and general counsel at Danka Business Systems PLC, where he worked to maximize growth and profitability for the company in more than 20 countries. He also was responsible for worldwide legal operations and oversaw the human resources function.  Before that, he was vice president, Legal, at NordicTrack, Inc. He began his career as a practicing attorney with Best and Flanagan, LLP.

Nelsen received his juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin and graduated from Northern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Active in his community, Nelsen serves on the Human Resources Board of VEAP (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People, Minnesota’s largest food shelf) and the Board of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund.

 

Jim Seifert is General Counsel for Ecolab Inc., the world’s leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing, food safety and infection control products and services.

In his current position, Seifert is responsible for Law, Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations. 

Previously, Seifert served as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Bemis Company.  He also held various law-related positions with The Toro Company, Tennant Company and American Hoist and Derrick.  Seifert has also served as a federal public defender, a legal aid attorney, taught several years at the William Mitchell College of Law and served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. 

Seifert serves on the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board, the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and is a national board member of the American Arbitration Association.  He is also on the Board of Trustees of Twin Cities Public Television and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Seifert holds a J.D. degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, a B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and an M.S. in Manufacturing Systems from the University of St. Thomas.  He and his wife, Janice, have two children and reside in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. 

 

Todd Sheldon is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of SUPERVALU Inc. which is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  He has responsibility for the legal and food safety functions at SUPERVALU.  He joined SUPERVALU in January of 2008. Before that, he held various positions at Medtronic, Inc., including Vice President and General Counsel of the Spinal and Biologics business from 2002 to 2008 where he restructured and led the legal function for the company’s fastest growing divisions.  His first role at Medtronic, Inc. was as Senior Legal Counsel (Mergers and Acquisitions) from 2000 to 2002, where Mr. Sheldon provided legal support and strategy for over $10 billion in transactions.  Prior to working at Medtronic he was an associate with the Chicago law firm of Chapman and Cutler in the firm’s General Corporate and Securities group.

Todd is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A. International Relations, 1989) and the DePaul University College of Law (J.D. with honors, 1992).

He lives with his wife and their three children in suburban Minneapolis and is involved in numerous civic and charitable initiatives.

 

Adam is a litigation partner based in New York and co-head of the firm’s Global Investigations practice. He represents clients facing government investigations and related civil litigation. Clients in a broad range of industries rely on him to defend them in investigations conducted by the US Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the State

Attorneys General in matters involving alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, insider trading, stock options backdating and off-label pharmaceutical products promotion. Adam also conducts investigations on behalf of clients in a wide range of industries.

Adam works regularly with other firm lawyers around the world, defending multijurisdictional investigations, developing compliance and training programs that are tailored to the international regulatory regimes faced by clients, and conducting due diligence regarding bribery and other risks in corporate transactions.

Representative assignments include:

• defending a multinational pharmaceutical company in an inquiry conducted
• by the DOJ and SEC into relationships with officials in countries in Europe,
• Africa, Asia and Latin America;
• conducting an internal investigation for a multinational manufacturing
• company involving allegations concerning its sales agents throughout the
• Middle East;
• defending the European affiliate of a Big Four accounting firm in an
• investigation by the SEC and the PCAOB regarding the audit of a client; and
• serving as global anti-corruption compliance counsel for a multinational consumer products company, responsible for policy review and development, strategic advice and the conduct of investigations.

From 1999 to 2005, Adam was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where he served as Deputy Chief and Chief Appellate Attorney.

Adam was named a ‘Future Litigation Star’ in New York by Benchmark Litigation, 2009-2012.

Adam earned both his AB, magna cum laude, and his JD, magna cum laude, from Harvard University. He is admitted to practice in New York.

 

Frank Steeves is the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of Emerson Electric Co., a 140,000 employee Saint Louis based Fortune 100 Company. As such, he is responsible for all legal operations of Emerson’s more than 1000 legal entities in more than 150 countries.

Frank is a graduate of Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee and joined Emerson 4 years ago from the Milwaukee law firm of von Briesen and Roper, where he was Chairman of its Litigation Practice Group. Emerson had been a client of Frank’s for more than 15 years.

Frank has been a guest lecturer at many of the Nation’s leading law and engineering schools, a Special Master in the Federal Courts, a member of Best Lawyers in America, has received the highest Martindale and Hubble ratings for the past 20 years and has appeared on behalf of clients in most of the State Courts, Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and in the U.S. Supreme Court.  He also has managed cases in the UK Court of Appeal and and in the House of Lords in London – which is the Highest judicial body in the United Kingdom.

Frank also founded and chaired, until he moved to Saint Louis, one of the largest new children’s museums in the United States, Discovery World, on Milwaukee’s lakefront. He is currently on the Executive Committee of the Missouri Historical Museum and serves as the representative of the State of Missouri for the Midwest High Speed Rail initiative.

 

Scott Wilensky is senior vice president and general counsel at Xcel Energy. Previously he was vice president of Regulatory and Resource Planning for all of Xcel Energy's operating companies. He has more than 25 years of experience in utility regulation, having served both as managing director of Rate Revenue and as managing director of Government Affairs. Before coming to Xcel Energy, he spent 10 years as assistant attorney general with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office in areas affecting public utility regulation.

Wilensky serves on the board of directors for Project for Pride in Living. He also is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association Public Utilities Sector and the Mt. Zion Children's Initiative.

Wilensky earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Mich., and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.