Wendy Shiba

Wendy Shiba
Principal

Wendy Shiba is a corporate attorney who served in C-level executive positions for three NYSE-listed companies, including Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of KB Home; Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary of PolyOne Corporation; and Vice President, Secretary & Assistant General Counsel of Bowater Incorporated. In these roles, she managed Compliance and Risk Management; Environmental, Health and Safety; Government and Public Affairs; Internal Audit; Legal; and Product Stewardship.

Earlier in her career, Wendy was Corporate Chair of the City of Philadelphia Law Department, managing all non-litigation legal matters for the City; a tenured Associate Professor of Law at Temple University School of Law, teaching courses in advanced corporate problems, banking, business associations, contracts, and international business transactions; in private practice with O’Melveny & Myers, specializing in capital markets transactions; and law clerk to Justice Stanley Mosk on the Supreme Court of California.

Wendy is a member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates and Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services and is Vice Chair of the Committee on Rights of Women of the ABA Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice. She previously served on the Board of Directors of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative, the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, where she chaired the Women of Color Research Initiative, and the ABA Presidential Diversity & Inclusion 360 Commission. Wendy is a past President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and a co-founder of the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Japanese American National Museum and has held board and leadership positions with numerous professional and nonprofit organizations.

Wendy has been honored with several national awards for her professional excellence, leadership, and impact in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and was recognized as one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in California. She is a frequent speaker on corporate and board governance, women’s leadership, and DEI in the legal profession.

Wendy earned her B.S. from Michigan State University and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law, where she graduated first in her class, served as Articles Editor of the Temple Law Review, and was a member of the Moot Court Board.

Honors and Awards

  • 2019 Warren Christopher Values Award from O’Melveny & Myers (for uncompromising excellence, distinctive leadership, and superior citizenship)
  • 2016 Liberty Achievement Award from the American Bar Association/Thomson Reuters (recognizes attorneys and judges who take leadership roles in promoting diversity in the profession of law)
  • 2014 Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association (awarded by the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession) for lawyers who personify excellence on the national and international level and who work to promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession)
  • 2014 Diamond Award from Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC’s highest award for professional excellence)
  • Named to California Diversity Council’s List of 2010 Most Powerful and Influential Women in California
  • Member of 2010 Japanese American Leadership Delegation (one of thirteen delegates selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan from the highest levels of leadership and accomplishment in the U.S. private and public sectors); delegation trip included private meetings with preeminent leaders in the Japanese government (including the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and State Secretary); the Chairmen and CEOs of leading Japanese companies, and the U.S. Ambassador to Japan
  • 2009 Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (highest award conferred by NAPABA, for lifetime achievement, commitment, and leadership in paving the way for advancement of APA attorneys)
  • 2007 Woman of Achievement Award from the Greater Cleveland YWCA (one of the most prestigious honors for women leaders in Cleveland, Ohio, who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments through career success, community service, leadership, mentoring, and dedication to the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women)
  • DirectWomen Board Institute, Member of 2007 Inaugural Class (DirectWomen was co-founded by the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section and Catalyst, to support accomplished women lawyers for service on corporate boards, while also promoting the independence and diversity required for good corporate governance)
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