Womble Carlyle Chair/CEO Betty Temple Joins Other Top Business Leaders in An Executive Conversation About “Shaping the Board of the Future”

TYSONS CORNER, VA.—Strategic selection of board candidates is increasingly essential to corporate responsibility. By focusing board recruitment on contemporary objectives and perspectives, companies can improve their bottom line.

With this vision in mind, Womble Carlyle Chair and CEO Betty Temple took part in an executive roundtable discussion, titled “Shaping the Board of the Future.”  This discussion, hosted by Women In Technology’s (WIT) Leadership Foundry and sponsored by Womble Carlyle, took place Friday, Oct. 14^th at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner. The Leadership Foundry runs an executive level leadership program aimed at preparing women to serve on corporate boards.  The intimate, senior-level conversation addressed the importance of attracting, recruiting, nominating and selecting optimal board members for tomorrow.

Cathy Hinger, a Business Litigation partner, Chair of Women of Womble, and a member of WIT’s Leadership Foundry spearheaded this event.  Womble Carlyle Corporate partners Alex Park and Dean Rutley also attended. 

In addition to Temple, the panel featured Janet Hill, Vice President of Hill Ventures, Inc. and a Board Member of The Carlyle Group, Dean Foods, Wendy’s Company, Echo360 and Esquire Bank, and Terry McCallister, Chairman and CEO of WGL Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Washington Gas. Caren Merrick, Founder and CEO of Pocket Mentor and a Board Member of WashingtonFirst Bankshares, The Gladstone Companies and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, moderated the discussion.

Women in Technology (WIT) is a professional organization focused on advancing women’s careers in technology -- from the classroom to the boardroom. WIT meets its vision through a variety of leadership development, technology education, networking and mentoring opportunities for women at all levels of their careers. WIT has nearly 1,000 members in the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia metro region.

Betty Temple is Womble Carlyle’s Chair and CEO. She has more than 25 years of experience in securities law, including advising issuers and underwriters in connection with public offerings and private placements of securities. Temple has also represented companies in a variety of acquisition transactions, including asset purchases and sales, mergers, tender offers and proxy contests.

Cathy Hinger is a veteran trial lawyer who defends companies that face complex business disputes with other businesses or the government.