Board of Directors

Learn more about each member, their sector expertise, and the vast knowledge they bring to the table.

Gaurdie E. Banister Jr.

Independent Chairman of the Board

Gaurdie E Banister Jr. is the founder and CEO of Different Points of View, a private firm that provides advisory services in the areas of leadership and safety. He is the former President and CEO of Aera Energy LLC, one of California’s largest Oil and Gas companies.

Mr. Banister has served as the Russell Reynolds Independent Chair for 2 years.  He also serves on the boards of Dow, Inc (NYSE: Dow) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB). He has served on the boards of Marathon Oil, Tyson Foods, and the Bristow Group. Banister has experience as Chair of both Compensation and Governance Committees and has served as an Audit Committee member.

Mr. Banister also serves on the board of trustees of American University in Washington, DC.

In February 2023, Board Recruitment magazine named him one of the Top 25 Black Board Members in the US.
Mr. Banister holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and, in 2007, was presented with an honorary doctorate degree. He also received an honorary doctorate in 2002 from Fort Valley State University in Georgia.

Interview with Gaurdie Banister

Constantine Alexandrakis

Constantine Alexandrakis is the Chief Executive Officer of Russell Reynolds Associates and serves on the firm’s Board of Directors. Based in Chicago, he has held numerous leadership positions at the firm, most recently as the head of the Americas region.

Constantine advises corporate boards and CEOs for public and private companies across a wide range of industries. During his nearly two decades at RRA, he has completed board director, CEO, and other top management succession and search assignments for leading public companies and private equity-backed portfolio companies. He also has expertise in corporate governance, board effectiveness, and succession planning.

Constantine joined the firm in 2004 after serving as vice president of operations for Hostway Corporation, a web solutions provider. He was also a strategy consultant for Towers Perrin. Earlier in his career, Constantine worked as a financial analyst with United Airlines.

Constantine received his AB in economics from Princeton University, with honors, and earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds a JD from the University of Miami School of Law.

Eric Daniels

Eric Daniels retired as Group Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group in 2011.

Before joining Lloyds in 2001, Eric spent 25 years with Citigroup, first in corporate banking in Panama City and then in a range of management positions in Argentina, Chile, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States.

He now serves as a board member for several innovative companies.

Eric received an MS in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975 and also holds a B.A. in History from Cornell University, which he gained in 1973.

Nancy McKinstry

Nancy is the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Executive Board for Wolters Kluwer.

Before assuming her present position in 2003, Nancy gained more than a decade of experience at Wolters Kluwer and its operating companies in North America. Most recently, she was an Executive Board member of the company and previously served as CEO of Wolters Kluwer’s operations in North America.  She was also President and CEO of CCH Legal Information Services, now a part of the Wolters Kluwer’s Legal & Regulatory division. Earlier, Nancy held product management positions with CCH INCORPORATED, now part of Wolters Kluwer’s Tax & Accounting division.

Early in her career, she was CEO of SCP Communications and held management positions with Booz & Company (formerly, Booz Allen Hamilton), where she focused on assignments in the media and technology industries.

Nancy is a member of the Board of Directors of Abbott, the Board of Directors of Accenture plc, and the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School. She is also a member of the JP Morgan International Council, and the European Round Table for Industry. In August 2011, she was appointed by the Chinese State Council Information Office as a member of the Foreign Consultant Committee.

Nancy earned her M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from Columbia University, New York, where she graduated Beta Gamma Sigma and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. In May 2005, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Rhode Island in recognition of her contributions to business.

Simone Menne

Simone Menne was most recently the CFO of Boehringer Ingelheim and is currently a highly recognized corporate leader and board member for a number of globally-recognized corporations. Her industrial and healthcare career has spanned general management, operations, finance, and human resources globally.

Prior to serving as CFO for Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Simone was with Lufthansa for 27 years. As the aviation giant’s CFO, she was the first woman to serve on their Executive Board. Throughout her tenure at Lufthansa, Simone held progressively senior roles within auditing, data processing, and user services, restructuring, commercial management, human resources, and finance. This included roles in Nigeria, France, Germany, and the UK, and serving as CFO of British Midland.

Simone currently serves on the Supervisory Boards of Siemens Energy and Henkel, and the Board of Directors of Johnson Controls. She is also a gallerist in her home city of Kiel (Germany) and the President of the American Chamber of Commerce Germany.

Simone earned an MS in business administration from the University of Kiel in Germany.

David Rowland

David Rowland is the retired executive chair of Accenture and was one of the company's longest-tenured senior executives.

David held numerous leadership roles during his tenure at Accenture. Before becoming executive chairman in 2019, he was Accenture's interim CEO and, before that, he served as CFO. From 2012 to 2019, he worked alongside former chair and CEO Pierre Nanterme, playing an important role in positioning Accenture as the market leader in new, high-growth areas of digital, cloud, and security-related services. His leadership was integral to driving record levels of top-line growth and shareholder value during that period, as well as the execution of Accenture's bold strategy of acquiring more than 100 companies to bolster capability and scale for strategic growth.

David was a member of Accenture's Global Management Committee for nearly 20 years and was closely involved in evolving Accenture from a partnership to a public company and leading global professional services organization.

In addition to Russell Reynolds Associates, David currently serves on the boards of US retail giant Dollar General and tech company Tanium. Previously, he served on the board of Avanade, a joint venture of Accenture and Microsoft.

David has served on several civic and charitable boards throughout his career, including the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Covenant House Georgia. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Georgia Tech Foundation and the Board for the Georgia Tech Athletic Association.

David holds a BS in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Ireena Vittal

Based in India, Ireena Vittal is a respected consultant and advisor currently serving as an independent director on several boards, including Asian Paints & Godrej Consumer, Diageo Plc, and Compass Plc. In addition, Ireena partners with the government in India on issues related to agriculture and urban development, as well as sits on the boards of several non-profits, including Vidhi, Educate Girls and WaterAid.

Earlier in her career, Ireena was a partner with McKinsey & Co and served global clients on sustainable growth and improving competitiveness, particularly in the consumer, food, and retail industries. She partnered with government and public institutions to drive economic development in emerging markets, primarily focused on improving agriculture and urbanization.

Prior to McKinsey, Ireena worked at MaxTouch (Vodafone) and Nestle. She is an alumna of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.