Ethics Bootcamp: Structuring a Compliance Strategy to Support Innovation and Balance Risk

Luis Avila received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois – Champaign Urbana and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. Upon graduation, Mr. Avila worked as an associate at Lord, Bissell & Brook, now known as Locke Lord LLP. Thereafter, he opened his own practice before joining Kluever & Platt LLC as an associate. He transitioned into an in-house role as Senior Counsel for Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. and, in 2010, was promoted to Assistant General Counsel.

In 2013, Mr. Avila joined US Foods, Inc. as Assistant General Counsel and was promoted to Associate General Counsel in 2015 with management over the Purchasing & Operations team. Luis stepped into the General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer role on an interim basis in 2016. He is now leading the Business Services team as Associate General Counsel.

Kenneth Wong is the Lead Counsel for the GM China Group since 2006.

Wong began his professional career at the San Francisco office of McCutchen Doyle Brown and Enersen (now Bingham McCutchen) and the Los Angeles office of Morrison and Foerster doing primarily merger and acquisition, financing and international work.

He joined the legal staff of GM Hughes Electronics in 1990. He left the GM Group in 1994 to become United Technologies' (Otis Elevator) regional counsel based in Hong Kong.

Wong returned to GM in 1995. He has had a variety of assignments on GM’s legal staffs in Singapore (1995 to 1997), Shanghai (1997 to 2000) and Detroit (2000 to 2004). In 2004, he became the general counsel for GM Daewoo Auto & Technology in Korea.

A native of Hong Kong and a U.S. citizen, Wong received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in 1982 and a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1985.

John Albright, HUB International Limited’s Chief Legal Officer, joined the Executive Management Team in May 2014. Albright is a seasoned, business-focused executive with 20 years of legal and commercial management experience in public, private and private equity-owned company and large law firm settings. While serving as the general counsel for several multinational corporations in complex and vastly different market segments, Albright amassed a record of building and leading highly efficient legal departments that effectively supported the achievement of commercial objectives.

Prior to accepting his current role of CLO at HUB International, Albright served as Senior Vice President, Global Legal and Compliance for Information Resources, Inc., a billion dollar data, technology and market research company with operations in 14 countries. Albright also worked as General Counsel for Accenture HR Services, Inc., an HR outsourcing joint venture that was ultimately acquired by Accenture during his tenure, and as both Division Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel for Network Solutions, Inc., a large internet products and services company. In this latter role, Albright supported the $21 billion sale of Network Solutions (then a public company) to Verisign, Inc.

Albright began his legal career as an intellectual property and technology attorney with both Alston & Bird and Finnegan Henderson, focusing on complex litigation before state and Federal courts and the United States International Trade Commission.

Albright earned a BME in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, before pursuing his JD at Vanderbilt University Law School.

Christine M. Castellano is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of The Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE), located in Maumee, Ohio. Founded in 1947, The Andersons is a diversified company rooted in agriculture that conducts business across North America in the grain, ethanol, plant nutrient and rail sectors. In 2020, The Andersons was ranked number 390 in the Fortune 500 list, with revenues in excess of $8 billion.

Prior to joining The Andersons, she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Ingredion Incorporated, a NYSE listed Fortune 500 company.

She additionally served as a non-executive director and member of the Audit Committee of Rafhan Maize Products Co. Ltd., a public company listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.