Madam Chair is a collaborative group of 200+ female Chairs and Lead Directors of publicly-traded companies.

Our members represent over 30% of the women holding these leadership roles in the U.S. and are across all industries and market capitalizations.

We hold virtual, monthly events with corporate governance thought leaders.

Speakers have included Jeff Smith (CEO of Starboard Value), Pat Russo (Chair of Hewlett Packard Enterprises and Lead Director of General Motors), Gretchen Carlson (Co-Founder of Lift Our Voices), Aeisha Mastagni (Portfolio Manager at CalSTRS), Robin Ferracone (CEO of Farient Advisors), Kai Liekefett (Co-Chair of Sidley’s Shareholder Activism & Corporate Defense Practice), Jim Rossman (Global Head of Shareholder Advisory at Barclays), Rusty O’Kelley (Managing Director in Russell Reynolds Associates’ Board and CEO Advisory Practice), Hilary Gosher (Managing Director at Insight Partners), Christine O’Brien (Head of Investment Stewardship at Elliott Investment Management), Holly Gregory (Co-Chair of Sidley’s Governance Practice), and Claudia Pici Morris and Seonaid Charlesworth (Spencer Stuart’s Board Practice).

We also have 1-2 ‘meet & greets’ per year which provide an opportunity for our members to get to know each other.

We collaborate with fantastic organizations such as Him for Her and Extraordinary Women on Boards to further the mission of supporting women in board leadership roles.

We share recommendations and connect with each other to support our respective leadership activities.

Contact Us

If you are a female Chair or Lead Director of a publicly-traded company and would like to join Madam Chair or if you believe you could provide value to our group, please reach out.

Email us at info@madam-chair.com

Acknowledgments:

A special ‘thank you’ goes out to Jun Frank, Managing Director in ICS Advisory at ISS Corporate Solutions, who has been integral to this initiative from the start by providing the data on women board leaders. This information facilitated the outreach and subsequent creation of the community. We are grateful to Jun and his colleagues for their efforts to support female board leadership.