Millstein Center Announces New Executive Director, Erica Mitnick Klein

Klein joins the Millstein Center from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York, where she worked for nearly a decade in the corporate practice, focusing most recently on topics in corporate governance and shareholder activism. Klein previously worked in the strategic planning department of The Walt Disney Company, where she evaluated the strategic and financial impact of acquisitions, joint ventures, and new initiatives in the broadcast television and new television media space. She began her career in the Communications, Media and Entertainment Group of the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs. Klein holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where she was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She serves on the Harvard College Fund Executive Committee, the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, and The Dalton School Board of Trustees. She is also a founder and leader of the Harvard Alumnae Engagement Initiative in New York City.

“We are thrilled to announce Erica’s appointment as the center’s executive director,” said Ira M. Millstein ’49, founding chair of the center and senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. “Her experience in corporate governance law and thought leadership, fundraising, and academic-community engagement will serve as a great asset to the center as we continue to grow our reach and advance our mission.”

Eric Talley, a faculty co-director of the center and Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, echoed these sentiments. “Erica brings not only substantial corporate governance experience, but also strong ties in both professional and academic communities that the center collaborates with routinely. As we continue to explore the rapidly changing nature of the public and private markets, help companies and boards grapple with the issues surrounding stakeholder governance, and engage with business leaders on today’s toughest corporate governance issues, Erica’s skills and leadership will prove invaluable.”

Jeff Gordon, the other faculty co-director of the center and Richard Paul Richman Professor of Law, added that “the Millstein Center has entered a new stage of momentum over the past few years, and there could be no better leader to steer us forward than Erica. Given her experience and background, she is extremely well positioned to help us achieve our goal of bridging the gap between the academic and business communities as we consider the corporate governance issues that seem increasingly urgent in the current environment.”

Klein succeeds Kristin Bresnahan, who recently became general counsel of San Francisco-based Alpine Roads, a mission-driven foodtech company that is using plants to grow animal proteins. Reflecting on Bresnahan’s relatively short but meaningful tenure (May 2018 – January 2020), David Nierenberg, chair of the center’s advisory board, remarked that “Kristin ushered in a new chapter of strength for the center and now leaves us poised to achieve our goals in the coming years.”

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About the Millstein Center

Building on Columbia Law School’s longstanding strength in corporate and securities law, the Millstein Center operates at the forefront of new thinking about how corporations are governed. The center engages with business leaders and board directors to create meaningful dialogue about the challenges companies face, and serves as a focal point for the most innovative research into the policy solutions required to tackle those challenges.

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