MICHELE J. HOOPER is President and CEO of The Directors' Council which specializes in corporate board of director recruitment, focused primarily on diversity candidates, and board advisory services. With over 20 years of corporate board experience, Ms. Hooper is a highly regarded governance expert and business leader.
Ms Hooper serves on the corporate boards of directors of PPG Industries, Inc. (Chair, Audit Committee) and UnitedHealth Group (Chair, Nominating and Governance). Ms Hooper retired in April 2012 from service on the AstraZeneca PLC board (Senior Independent Director and Chair, Audit Committee). Until its sale in July, 2011 Ms Hooper served on the board of Warner Music Group (Senior Independent Director and Chair, Audit Committee). Ms. Hooper retired as Chair of the Audit Committee and board member of Target Corporation, and previously was a board member of Seagram Company Ltd. and DaVita Corporation.
Ms. Hooper is a board member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and President, NACD Chicago Chapter. She has been a commissioner on the 2004 through the 2012 NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions on governance including Board-Shareholder Communications, Director Liability, Risk Oversight, and Board Evaluations. Ms Hooper served as co-chair of the 2010 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees. Ms Hooper is a board member and former Co-Chair of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), a public policy organization serving investors, public company auditors and capital markets. She is Chair of the CAQ Working Group focused on Deterring and Detecting Financial Statement Fraud. A Directorship Top 100 in Corporate Governance awardee, Ms Hooper is a frequent panelist, speaker, faculty member, and boardroom advisor on governance and board committee issues.
Previously, Ms Hooper served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager Expanded Learning and of Stadtlander Drug Company, Inc. Prior to joining Stadtlander, Ms. Hooper was appointed as Corporate Vice President, Caremark International Inc, and President of the International Business Group, responsible for the expansion of Caremark into Europe, Canada and Japan. Ms. Hooper began her career at Baxter International and held positions of increasing responsibility before her appointment as Vice President, Corporate Planning. From 1988 to 1992, as President of Baxter Canada, Ms. Hooper led Canada's largest health care and laboratory supplies company.
Ms. Hooper is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, the World President's Organization (WPO), Executive Leadership Council (ELC), The Committee of 200, and The Chicago Network.
Ms. Hooper earned an MBA in Finance and Accounting at the University of Chicago and a BA in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.