Stephen L. Brown
Senior Advisor, KPMG Board Leadership Center
The National Association of Corporate Directors has named Stephen L. Brown as one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance and the boardroom. He is a globally recognized governance expert, thought leader, and trusted advisor to corporate boards and C-suites. Currently, he serves as Senior Advisor & Managing Director at the KPMG Board Leadership Center, where he counsels senior executives on board effectiveness, governance strategy, and leadership challenges.
Previously, Mr. Brown led the Corporate Governance Group at TIAA (Nuveen), managing corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives related to the firm’s $1 trillion+ investment portfolio. He practiced securities law at WilmerHale and Skadden, where he represented Fortune 500 companies, investment firms, boards of directors, and senior executives in securities enforcement matters and internal investigations. Earlier in his career, he was CEO & President of the Society of Corporate Governance and an associate at Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Brown has taught corporate governance for over 17 years at institutions including Yale University, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law, and the Skadden, Arps Honors Program at the City College of New York’s Colin Powell School.
Mr. Brown serves on several boards, including nonprofit and industry groups such as the National Football League Alumni Association, Signature Theater, and CEOs for Corporate Purpose & the CEO Investor Network. He also serves on governance-focused organizations such as the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware and the Rutgers Law School Center for Corporate Law & Governance, and contributes to academic and leadership initiatives at schools of business and law at Columbia University and Santa Clara University Leavey Executive Center. He is also a NACD Board Leadership Fellow.
Mr. Brown earned his B.A. with honors from Yale University and his J.D. from Columbia University Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Olin Law & Economics Junior Fellow.