Reputational Risk & Creating A Purposeful Corporate Culture: What Does Your Organization Stand For?

Abbey Raish is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and provides legal advice on ESG to public and private companies, financial institutions and private equity firms in connection with a variety of corporate and transactional matters. Her practice focuses specifically on ESG disclosures in SEC filings, corporate governance, ESG transactional diligence, voluntary ESG reporting, and human capital. Abbey’s practice builds on nearly a decade of experience providing capital markets and governance counseling to public and private companies, investment banks and private equity firms in connection with a multitude of legal matters, including leveraged buyouts, debt and equity offerings, initial public offerings, mergers and cross-border transactions, securities law issues and stock exchange requirements.

Pauline Abijaoude is the Associate Vice President of ESG at The Carlyle Group.

As the General Counsel for the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts’ and a member of the senior leadership team, Aswathi oversees and directs all of the day-to-day legal and related business affairs of the Kennedy Center, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera and their respective affiliated entities. She provides ongoing legal counsel related to the operations and initiatives of these entities and programs as well as strategic and governance counsel to their respective senior management teams and the boards of trustees.

Prior to joining the Kennedy Center, Aswathi was the General Counsel and chief ethics officer for the Inter-American Foundation, a U.S. government agency that invests in community-led development across Latin America and the Caribbean. Aswathi also spent a number of years as an Associate General Counsel for the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal grant-making agency invested in supporting arts organizations across the United States. Prior to her public service, Aswathi practiced at the DC law firm, Arent Fox Schiff where her focus was real estate and corporate transactional law. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and spent three years in the audit practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Her audit practice concentrated on clients from the financial services sector.

Aswathi serves as the Chair of the Two Rivers Public Charter School Board of Trustees in Washington DC, where she works with the Board to support the mission of the school – to nurture a diverse group of curious and engaged learners.

Aswathi graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (emphasis in Accounting) and received her law degree from the University of Denver where she served as a Senior Editor for the Law Review.

Betty Jang is an executive leader with extensive experience in private and public companies. With a keen focus on strategy and results, she has played a crucial role in driving success for companies from seed to growth to exit. With deep experience in fast-paced environments, she has a proven ability to evaluate, negotiate, and execute in various areas, such as buy-side and sell-side transactions, raising non-dilutive funding, post-IPO requirements, commercial contracts, and complex investigations with FINRA, DOJ, and federal/state OIG.

Through her change management initiatives, Betty has revolutionized operations, spearheading a company-wide compliance program that resulted in a 90% reduction in inefficiencies. Her innovative contract management program eliminated a $16.1 million backlog, streamlining business prioritization and accountability.

In her role as a proactive collaborator, Betty has been instrumental in driving cost savings of approximately $2 million by fostering strong partnerships with business stakeholders, implementing innovative fee structures, developing a proactive employment and risk management program, and deploying effective litigation strategies.