Center for Board Governance: Our mission

John leads PwC's Center for Board Governance, which advises audit committees and boards of directors of the Firm's clients on emerging governance issues and leading practices. The Center also conducts research and provides perspectives on critical governance issues as published annually in Current developments for directors and the Annual corporate director survey. In addition, the Center is known for authoring two significant studies: Audit committee effectiveness – What works best and Board effectiveness – What works best.

In 2011, for the second consecutive year, John was recognized by NACD/Directorship Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance.

Prior to assuming his current role, John was a client service partner. He served as the global engagement partner for Fortune 50 companies in both the pharmaceutical and consumer products industries as well as other large clients in other industries. He also served two terms as a member of the Firm's Global Board and the US Board of Partners and Principals, which are the Global and US Firms' governance bodies.

Catherine helps boards and audit committees apply leading practices and understand the impact of emerging regulations on their activities. She has worked extensively with boards and directors from a number of countries, including the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, and Venezuela.

Catherine co-wrote the Audit Committee Effectiveness -- What works best and Board Effectiveness -- What works best books, which were published in 2011. NACD Directorship magazine in 2011 named her for the fifth consecutive year as one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance in the United States. She also speaks frequently at director conferences.

Catherine is a Certified Public Accountant (licensed in New Jersey) and a Chartered Accountant (from Canada) and holds a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Mary Ann advises audit committees and boards of directors of the Firm's clients on emerging governance issues and leading practices. The Center also conducts research and provides perspectives on critical governance issues as published annually in Current developments for directors and the Annual corporate director survey.

Mary Ann has over 35 years of public accounting experience serving multinational corporate clients in a variety of industries. She serves on the Firm's Global Board of Partners and Principals and US Board of Partners and Principals, of which she just completed a second term. Mary Ann was the Tax Market Leader for the Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas tax practices for many years. As a senior partner in the firm, she continues to work closely with clients.

On the US Board Mary Ann chaired the Risk Management, Ethics & Compliance Committee and the Partner Admissions Committee. She was also on the Management Executive Compensation Committee and People Committee. On the Global Board she is currently on the Risk and Operations Committee and was previously on the Clients Committee.

Active in professional and community organizations, Mary Ann is President of the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. and is on the UCLA Iris Cantor Women's Center Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for the Geffen Playhouse. She has previously been a member of the United Way of Southern California Women Leaders' Steering Committee and the Baylor Business School Advisory Board. In addition, she has been on the boards of Junior Achievement and the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles where she served as Chairman of Volunteers.

Mary Ann graduated Summa Cum Laude from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

She is a Certified Public Accountant in the states of California and Texas and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Don provides practical governance perspectives and personal insights, as well as evaluating and benchmarking activities relative to his personal experience and leading practices. With over 35 years of cumulative knowledge and experience, and having served as the lead engagement partner of several of PwC's Global 100 clients, Don's career has spanned a wide variety of industries from technology and software to industrial products and oil and gas. He has been with the Center for Board Governance since 2009.

Don served as PwC's Global Software Industry Leader for five years, and he uses his information technology background to address related board considerations regarding emerging technologies. He has also worked on several investigations. This experience gives him a unique perspective in discussing relevant board oversight considerations, including mitigating related fraud risks.

As a recognized public speaker at conferences and forums, Don has addressed a variety of topics, including corporate governance, industry business practices, SEC reporting, and emerging technologies. He recently presented at the annual national conferences of Corporate Board Member and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He has served as a faculty member for the NACD's professional development director training programs and for numerous programs sponsored by the Professional Development Institute. He has also taught many professional development programs and has written several training courses.

Don has frequently been quoted in the press and in periodicals, such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Investor's Business Daily, and CFO Magazine. He has authored a number of publications, including Audit committee effectiveness—What works best and Software Industry Accounting, published by Wiley & Sons. He was the primary author of the PwC's User Friendly Guide to Software Revenue Recognition. Most recently, he authored PwC's thought leadership periodicals BoardroomDirect, 10Minutes on the boardroom agenda, and the Annual Corporate Director Survey 2011 findings.

Don was the managing partner of the Austin office. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.