Legal Strategies for Managing ESG Backlash

Karen M. Sheehan serves as the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary of Tupperware Brands Corporation. She is responsible for the corporation’s legal strategy and execution, through leading a team of twenty-five in-house lawyers across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Tupperware Brands is a publicly-traded (NYSE: TUP) global manufacturer and marketer of premium household, beauty and personal care products, with distribution into nearly 80 countries through a multi-channel approach that includes direct selling, e-commerce, B2B and retail.<BR><BR>

Prior to joining Tupperware in 2014, Ms. Sheehan served in several in-house legal roles, most recently with Church & Dwight Co, Inc., a publicly-traded (NYSE: CHD) global consumer packaged goods and medical device company with such leading brands as Arm & Hammer, Trojan, OxiClean, Orajel, and First Response, and Alpharma Inc., a formerly publicly-traded (NYSE: ALO) global specialty pharmaceutical company that was acquired by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). Ms. Sheehan also served as Head of PLC Law Department at Practical Law Company, Inc., an online provider of legal know-how, transactional analysis and market intelligence that was acquired by Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI). She began her legal career at Lowenstein Sandler PC, an AmLaw 200 law firm.<BR><BR>

Ms. Sheehan received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, and her bachelor’s degree with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa distinction from Rutgers College, Rutgers University. She is a member of the bars of both New York and New Jersey, and is certified as an Authorized House Counsel under the rules of the Florida bar.<BR>

Nicole serves as Sustainability Asst. General Counsel for Mars Wrigley. In this role she provides proactive guidance to embed sustainability legal considerations into business initiatives. Previously, Nicole was head of ESG strategic initiatives and human rights at Verizon where she helped to develop Verizon’s ESG strategy and drove the integration of ESG concepts and considerations into business decision-making across corporate strategy, products, services, and operations. She also launched Verizon’s dedicated business and human rights team. In prior roles, Nicole led teams and had global responsibility for human rights for internet brands including Yahoo, Aol, HuffPost, Tumblr and Flickr.

Prior to joining Yahoo, Nicole worked as an attorney at Schulte, Roth & Zabel, LLP, as an international policy fellow at Human Rights First, and as a human rights consultant to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nicole also worked at the UN in the Office of the Legal Counsel, as well as at the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Special Department for War Crimes in Sarajevo. Nicole serves as an adjunct law professor teaching Corporate Sustainability and Transnational Business and Human Rights at Fordham University School of Law. Nicole received her LL.M. in International Legal Studies from New York University School of Law; her J.D. from Boston College Law School; and her B.A., magna cum laude, in Politics and Sociology from Brandeis University.

Kevin B. Reid, Sr. is the Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Corporate Compliance Officer for Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., more commonly known as Ruger. Publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol RGR, Ruger one of the nation’s leading firearms manufacturers. Headquartered in Connecticut, Ruger has manufacturing operations in New Hampshire, Arizona, and North Carolina. Mr. Reid has been with Ruger for 23 years, serving as an Assistant General Counsel for six years, the Director of Marketing for one year, and in his current role for the balance. Mr. Reid manages the day-to-day legal affairs of the Company, including regulatory compliance, all types of litigation, intellectual property, and internal client counseling on commercial and other matters. He is actively involved in shareholder engagement.

Prior to joining Sturm, Ruger, Mr. Reid was a partner at the Chicago law firm of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, where he specialized in product liability defense and commercial litigation. Mr. Reid holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Akron, a J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law, and a MBA from the University of Connecticut. Following high school, he served four years in the United States Marine Corps as an avionics technician.

Ren?e Soto is a trusted communications advisor to companies, organizations and individuals facing complex business and legal challenges.

For the past 18 years, Ren?e has developed and executed strategic communications programs for corporate crises, high-stakes litigation, executive transitions, transformational corporate transactions, shareholder activism campaigns and other special situations. Her expertise includes designing and implementing high-impact stakeholder relations programs for clients facing reputational crises, regulatory investigations, and other sensitive matters.

Prior to co-founding Reevemark, Ren?e was a Managing Director and Partner at Sard Verbinnen & Co., a strategic communications firm she joined in 2005. Ren?e began her career as an Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP, where she worked on M&A and securities transactions.

She received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Ren?e has a Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy and has completed coursework in Corporate Social Responsibility at Harvard Business School.

Ren?e was selected as one of Lawdragon’s Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting from 2021 – 2024. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Jessica Olich is the Head of Governance & Associate General Counsel at Equitable Holdings. She's also an Advisory Board Member of the NY Chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance. Jessica earned her JD from the Fordham University School of Law.