Laurel McCarthy is a member of the firm’s North American Board Practice, with a focus on consumer product goods and financial services. She consults with CEOs, chairs of boards, chairs of nominating/governance committees and other board leaders to understand boardroom needs, identify potential director candidates and assess board governance practices. Her work spans companies from pre-IPO to Fortune 100, including private and public companies and executives from around the globe. She is also a core member of Spencer Stuart’s Activism Defense and Preparedness Group, a cross-discipline team within our Board Practice, helping boards with needs ranging from the evaluation of board composition, best governance practices and director vulnerabilities to the rapid referencing of activist-suggested candidates and the recruitment of directors in extremely compressed time frames. Deep understanding of corporate governance issues and trends in a board setting Laurel joined Spencer Stuart in 2013 after previously working in investment research and has worked on over 300 engagements throughout her career. Her deep understanding of corporate governance issues and trends comes from her work with boards and her role as firm liaison with external groups such as WomenCorporateDirectors and Diligent’s NextGen Directors. She helps lead the annual Spencer Stuart U.S. Board Index (SSBI), which is widely recognized in the marketplace as the premier report on governance practices of U.S. boards. Laurel has authored several publications on board composition and director recruitment and is frequently asked to speak on those topics. She holds an A.B. in history from Harvard University.