CHASITY HENRY
Jacobs Engineering
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

CHASITY HENRY

Chasity Henry is a senior executive leader with significant experience as a key legal and business advisor.

As of last week, Chasity joined Jacobs Engineering as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel. Jacobs is a global, publicly traded professional services firm delivering impactful solutions to create a more connected, sustainable world–from intelligence to infrastructure, cyber security to space exploration.  At Jacobs,  Chasity leads a talented group of attorneys and professionals in providing critical business and legal support to the People & Places Solutions Americas and Advanced Facilities businesses.  Chasity also serves on the legal department’s Senior Leadership Team.

Prior to joining Jacobs, Chasity was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at CECO Environmental Corp., where she built and led the legal and compliance functions.

Chasity is a zealous advocate of diversity and inclusion, particularly in the legal profession, both at law firms and in-house legal departments. To that end, Chasity is the founder of The NEW Roundtable, Inc., a nonprofit organization that drives the inclusion and advancement of African-American women attorneys within the legal profession through targeted relationship-building and professional development initiatives. The organization is currently comprised of dozens of law firm and in-house attorneys.

KELLY COLLIER

Dollar General

RUDY RODRIGUEZ
CEC Entertainment, LLC.
Executive Vice President
Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer
Corporate Secretary

RUDY RODRIGUEZ

Rudy is responsible for the Company’s Compensation, Benefits, HR Information Systems, Talent Acquisition, and Corporate and Field Human Resources functions. He also leads CEC’s Compliance, Risk Management, and Business Licensing teams, and is responsible for the Company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

A graduate of Texas A&M University and Harvard Law School, before CEC Rudy practiced commercial and employment litigation at several Dallas law firms, as well as in the legal departments of American Airlines and J.C. Penney Corporation. He was Vice President and General Counsel of American Eagle Airlines from 2000 to 2003. He is President-Elect of the Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court, a member of the American Law Institute, and is active in several other industry, community, and professional organizations.

Rudy was recognized in the DFW Corporate Counsel Awards as Outstanding General Counsel of 2020 for a Small Legal Department by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Texas Lawbook.

Rudy lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Stacy (who is an Executive Assistant City Attorney with the City of Dallas); they have two grown children, Grace and Jimmy.

MICHELE THATCHER
PEPSICO
SVP of Global Employment Law
Chief Officer Human Rights

MICHELE THATCHER

Michele joined PepsiCo in 1998 as the Sr. Employment Law Counsel for Frito-Lay North America. Created Center of Excellence for Employment Law to support Foods and Beverages and was promoted to Assistant General Counsel in 2003. Promoted to Chief Human Resources Officer of FLNA in 2005 and remained in role until returning to law department in early 2012. Currently serve as the SVP of Global Employment Law and Chief Officer Human Rights.

Prior to joining PepsiCo was a partner in the Employment Law section of the Dallas office of Baker Botts specializing in litigation and labor relations. Attended Texas A&M University for undergraduate degree in Accounting and Southern Methodist University Law School.

Professionally, Michele is a member of the Texas Bar Association, Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specializations. Serve on Board of Directors for Prince of Peace Christian Academy School, The Storehouse Food Pantry and am a member of the Women of Tocqueville with United Way Dallas.

Personally, she is a proud mother of daughter (Alex) a graduate of Texas A&M University, and gainfully employed at Bell Helicopter in the Communications department and son (Josh) 2nd year Texas A&M University student. My husband (Mike) and I both are graduates of Texas A&M University; and die hard Aggie fans. We love spending time skiing and hiking in Colorado.

A. SHONN BROWN
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

A. SHONN BROWN

Shonn Brown is recognized as a corporate and community leader for her strategic planning, risk management, governance and advocacy skills. She is a seasoned litigation and trial attorney with over 20 years of experience as a trusted and influential business advisor. Shonn is known for her action-based, results-oriented, practical approach. Since 2019, Shonn has been the chief global litigation counsel for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a $19 billion-dollar consumer packaged goods company. In this role, Shonn also advises on matters of public policy. Shonn’s business leadership has been recognized numerous times, including by D CEO as one of the top 500 business leaders in Dallas and by the Dallas Business Journal for both their Top Women in Business and Top Minorities in Business awards. A natural leader and zealous advocate for equality, with an emphasis on gender and racial equity, Shonn’s non-profit leadership includes Immediate Past Board Chair for the Texas Women’s Foundation, Chair-elect of the Board of Trustees for The Hockaday School, and Co-Founder of The Village Giving Circle, which grants funds to advance the African-American community in North Texas. Shonn is an alumna of Southern Methodist University where she received both her Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctorate degrees. Shonn enjoys spinning and running and is a veteran of the New York City Marathon. Additionally, Shonn enjoys spending time with her three children: Evan, a college freshman, Ryan, a high school sophomore, and Lily, an eighth grader.

RICK HAMMOND
Walmart
Vice President and Chief Counsel of Corporate Functions – Employment & Corporate Affairs

RICK HAMMOND

Rick and his team are responsible for all aspects of labor and employment law for the company, and legal support for the company’s Corporate Affairs functions. In prior roles during his 15-year tenure with Walmart, Rick has led the team that handles international employment law, immigration and global labor law; led employment functions for Sam’s Club in the US and Puerto Rico; managed the defense of employment litigation for Walmart; managed the company’s benefits litigation; and managed class action/complex litigation.  Prior to joining Walmart, Rick practiced for more than a decade with one of the nation’s oldest law firms devoted exclusively to labor and employment law on behalf of management headquartered in his hometown of New Orleans.  He received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in Journalism/News-Editorial magna cum laude from the University of Southern Mississippi.  Rick is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, numerous federal and state courts, and the Bars of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.  Prior to his legal career, Rick was a newspaper reporter and editor for several years.

JULIA A. SIMON 
Mary Kay  Inc.
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Senior Privacy Officer

JULIA SIMON

As Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Mary Kay Inc., one of the largest direct sellers of skin care and color cosmetics in the world, Julia oversees the company’s Legal, Risk Management, Governance, Compliance, Public Affairs, Corporate Communications, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility functions. She is a member of the Executive Committee, Information & Security Steering Committee, Risk Committee, and Compliance Committee.  She is proud to lead the company’s global diversity, equity and inclusion efforts designed to make an internal and external impact.

Julia’s teams take pride in protecting the global cosmetic company’s reputation and operations in nearly 40 markets. She has held many roles since joining Mary Kay Inc.’s Legal Department in 2000. During her tenure, Julia was instrumental in creating the company’s Global Data Privacy Compliance Program, led litigation strategies that positively impacted the direct sales industry, helped create and build innovative business strategies, and has proudly served as a mentor through the Mary Kay Inc. mentorship program and other professional organizations.

Prior to joining Mary Kay Inc., Julia was an associate and partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp in Dallas, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and labor & employment. She started her legal career at McGlinchey, Stafford, Nealy & Lang in New Orleans.

EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Julia earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a law degree from The University of Texas School of Law. She is a member of several professional associations including the State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, International Association of Privacy Professionals, Direct Selling Association Lawyers Counsel, The University of Texas Center for Women in Law, and the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court.

AWARDS/HONOR
Julia was recognized by D CEO Magazine in 2019 as one of the Top 500 business leaders in Dallas Fort-Worth.  In 2015, Julia was honored by D CEO Magazine and the Association of Corporate Counsel as Best Deputy General Counsel. In 2010, the Dallas Business Journal named her a top Minority Business Leader. Julia received the Texas General Counsel Forum Diversity Award in 2009 and was listed as a Rising Star in Texas Monthly’s Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star edition for 2004, 2005 and 2007. She was also featured as one of Texas’ top in-house lawyers by Texas Lawyer in 2005. Julia was listed as one of the most powerful executives in corporate America by Black Enterprise in 2017 and 2019.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Julia currently serves on several non-profit boards including the Center for American and International Law, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the National Association of Women Lawyers.