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, Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Center, Chair of the DEI Advisory Council, and Vice Chair of the Committee on Rights of Women of the Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice. Her prior ABA service includes the Law, Society, and the Judiciary Task Force, Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services, 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

  • 2022 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement from the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession for women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession
  • 2019 Warren Christopher Values Award from O’Melveny & Myers for uncompromising excellence, distinctive leadership, and superior citizenship
  • 2016 Liberty Achievement Award from the ABA/Thomson Reuters for attorneys and judges who take leadership roles in promoting diversity in the profession of law
  • 2014 Spirit of Excellence Award from the ABA’s 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)
  • 2010 Most Powerful and Influential Women in California designation from California Diversity Council
  • 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 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 for extraordinary accomplishments through career success, community service, leadership, mentoring, and dedication to the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women
  • 2007 Inaugural Class of the DirectWomen Board Institute, 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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