Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals Names Stephen L. Brown as President and CEO

NEW YORK, March 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals today announced that it has named Stephen L. Brown as the Society's new President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Brown currently serves as Senior Director of Corporate Governance and Associate General Counsel for TIAA-CREF.

Wendi S. Bickett, Chair of the Society's Board said, "Stephen appreciates the vitally important role that our members play in corporate governance.  Under his leadership, the Society will continue to provide leadership on critical corporate governance issues and be the indispensable source of information, education and professional development opportunities for our members for many years to come."

"The Society is one of the most respected governance organizations in the world and I could not be more honored to have been chosen to lead this organization," Mr. Brown said.  "I am excited to work with the sharpest minds in governance and continue to build this world-class organization."

A securities lawyer by training, Mr. Brown has served as both a corporate governance professional and in-house legal counsel for TIAA-CREF since 2005.  In addition to managing the corporate governance team and leading many of the corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives related to TIAA-CREF's over $500 billion investment portfolio, Mr. Brown also advised management and the boards of the TIAA-CREF group of companies on internal corporate governance matters.  Prior to TIAA-CREF, Mr. Brown practiced securities law at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr, LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, and was a financial analyst with Goldman Sachs.  He is an adjunct professor at Yale University and the Skadden Legal Honors program at City College of New York.  Mr. Brown received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Columbia University Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Olin Law & Economics Junior Fellow.

The Board also announced that it has named Darla C. Stuckey as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Society.  Ms. Stuckey has served as the Society's Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy since 2009.

Mr. Brown will assume his new position in April.  He succeeds Kenneth A. Bertsch, who stepped down in December 2013 after serving as President and CEO of the Society since 2010.

About The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals

The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, with more than 3,200 members, is dedicated to providing services that enhance the professional skills of its members, who are business executives involved in duties normally associated with corporate governance and the corporate secretarial function. The Society provides a forum for the exchange of information and networking through its chapters, national committees, conferences and educational seminars.

SOURCE Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals