Diverse Paths to Diverse Corporate Boards: Insights from the Boardroom

Monique Gougisha Doucette, Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins (Moderator)

Monique Gougisha Doucette joined Ogletree Deakins in 2009 and is a shareholder in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She has over 20 years of experience in handling and managing employment litigation with a concentration on complex discrimination, harassment and whistleblower claims for clients in a variety of business sectors including construction, energy, banking and hospitality.  She is also a trusted adviser for clients on workplace misconduct and sexual harassment issues, and she provides engaging, customized workplace respect/anti-harassment training for employers.

Ms. Doucette is the chair of Ogletree’s Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments Practice Group.  She leads internal investigations of critical, and often sensitive and high profile, issues for firm clients.  These include investigations of complex matters involving claims of pattern/practice discrimination, systemic inequity in workplace practices, executive misconduct, sexual assault, and unconscious bias.  Ms. Doucette has assisted clients in various industries with organizational and cultural impact assessments, mitigating brand-altering crisis and developing strategic action plans based on investigative findings.  She also trains HR personnel on best practices for handling investigations.

Malissia Clinton, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Meritage Homes

Malissia Clinton became the General Counsel of Meritage Homes on April 18, 2022. Prior to joining Meritage Homes, Ms. Clinton spent 12 years at The Aerospace Corporation as the senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. From 1998 to 2009, she served in multiple management positions at Northrop Grumman including the senior counsel for special projects in the Office of the General Counsel. Following law school, Ms. Clinton worked as a litigator at the law firm Tuttle and Taylor from 1993 to 1998.

Ms. Clinton received a bachelor’s degree in political science at Arizona State University, earned a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School and completed the UCLA Anderson School’s Executive Program in Business Management. She serves as a board director of 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD) and its Compliance Committee Chair as well as a board director of Pacaso. She was formerly a board director of Progyny, Inc. (NASDAQ: PGNY) and a member of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Additionally, she is a board director of the Arizona State University Foundation and previously was the former chair of the Aerospace Diversity Action Committee and board director of the National Defense Industrial Association.

Lisa Hatton Harrington, Independent Director, Slam Corporation and Iron Horse Acquisitions

Arnold Pinkston, Corporate Vice President, General Counsel, Edwards Lifesciences; Independent Director, Bio-Rad Laboratories

Ako Shimada, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Ushio America, Inc.; Independent Director, Fujitec Co., Ltd.

Ako Shimada is Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Ushio America, Inc., in Cypress, California and General Counsel of Ushio Europe B.V. in the Netherlands, leading providers of light sources and solutions for a variety of applications including scientific, medical, semiconductor, entertainment, horticulture, and architectural applications.  Ushio America and Ushio Europe are subsidiaries of Ushio Inc. (TYO:6925), a publicly traded global manufacturer in Tokyo, Japan.  In her role as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Ms. Shimada oversees the company’s legal, compliance, risk management, and corporate governance matters.  Previously she held Assistant General Counsel positions at Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc., and Apria Healthcare LLC.

Ms. Shimada is also an independent outside director for Fujitec Co., Ltd. (TYO:6406), a publicly traded manufacturer of elevators and escalators headquartered in Japan with global operations and serves on the Nomination and Compensation Advisory Committee. She also serves as a board member of KA Imaging Inc. in Kitchener, Canada, a developer of cutting-edge multi-energy X-ray detectors and micro-CT scanners for a wide variety of applications.

Ms. Shimada serves as a board director of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and chairs its Diversity Committee.  She is also a Council Leader for the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) and the Chair of its Southern California Region.  USJC’s mission is to develop and connect diverse leaders to create a stronger U.S.-Japan relationship.  Ms. Shimada is also a charter member of the Japan Board Diversity Network, the most influential global network of female board directors and senior professionals dedicated to improving corporate governance and board diversity in Japan.

Ms. Shimada received a bachelor’s degree in psychology (highest distinction) from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.