Michele Hooper

Michele J. Hooper is President and CEO of The Directors’ Council which specializes in corporate board of director recruitment, focused primarily on diversity candidates, and board advisory services. With over 20 years of corporate board experience, Ms. Hooper is a highly regarded governance expert and business leader.

Ms. Hooper serves on the corporate boards of directors of PPG Industries, Inc., Warner Music Group Corporation (WMG), UnitedHealth Group and AstraZeneca PLC as well as chairs the Audit Committees for PPG, AstraZeneca and WMG. She is the Senior Independent Director (SID) at AstraZeneca and Warner Music Group, as well as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at UnitedHealth Group. Ms. Hooper retired as Chair of the Audit Committee and board member of Target Corporation, and previously was a board member of Seagram Company Ltd. and DaVita Corporation.

Ms. Hooper is a board member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and President, NACD Chicago Chapter. She has been a commissioner on the 2004 through the 2010 NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions on governance including Board-Shareholder Communications, Director Liability, Risk Oversight, and Board Evaluations. Ms. Hooper is co-chair of the 2010 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees. Ms. Hooper is Vice Chair of the Center for Audit Quality, a public policy organization serving investors, public company auditors and capital markets. She is Chair of the CAQ Working Group focused on Deterring and Detecting Financial Statement Fraud. A Directorship Top 100 in Corporate Governance awardee, Ms. Hooper is a frequent panelist, speaker, faculty member, and boardroom advisor on governance and board committee issues.

Previously, Ms. Hooper served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager Expanded Learning and of Stadtlander Drug Company, Inc. Prior to joining Stadtlander, Ms. Hooper was appointed as Corporate Vice President, Caremark International Inc, and President of the International Business Group, responsible for the expansion of Caremark into Europe, Canada and Japan. Ms. Hooper began her career at Baxter International and held positions of increasing responsibility before her appointment as Vice President, Corporate Planning. From 1988 to 1992, as President of Baxter Canada, Ms. Hooper was responsible for Canada’s largest health care and laboratory supplies company.

Ms. Hooper is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, the World President’s Organization (WPO), Executive Leadership Council (ELC), The Committee of 200, and The Chicago Network. Ms. Hooper earned an MBA at the University of Chicago and a BA in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.