James D. White
MRPG Advisory Board Chair & Lead Governance Advisor
Mr. White joined Mill Road in December 2020. Mr. White is a transformational leader and former Chairman and CEO at Jamba Juice with 20 years of Board experience on 16 Boards. He has chaired 6 company Boards, and currently serves on the boards of Air Protein, where he is Executive Chair, Adtalem Global Education (NYSE:ATGE), Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM), Medallia (NYSE:MDLA) and Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ:SMPL).
Mr. White’s non-profit Board experience includes Directors Academy, where he also is a founding member. He previously served on the non-profit Boards of the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, The Organic Center and the Network of Executive Women.
Mr. White holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia and an M.B.A from Fontbonne University.
Rosie Bichard
MRPG Advisory Board Member
Ms. Bichard has over 25 years’ experience as a buy-side analyst and fund manager, primarily focused on consumer and retail businesses globally. She is an Independent member of Royal London’s Independent Governance Committee and co-President and a Board member of WomenExecs on Boards, a global network of over 200 alumnae of HBS Executive Education’s Women on Boards and other governance programs.
Ms. Bichard has an M.A. (Hons) in Modern Languages from St John’s College, Cambridge and speaks fluent French and Spanish; she is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has completed executive education programs at London Business School and Harvard Business School.
Deborah (Debbie) Byron
MRPG Advisory Board Member
Ms. Byron is a seasoned global executive and board leader with deep experience leading change in corporate businesses, professional services, and educational institutions. She most recently served as Chief Human Resources Officer for Risk Management Solutions (RMS). Prior to joining RMS, Ms. Byron was SVP of Worldwide Human Resources for Business Objects and COO for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She has also held executive leadership positions for the California State Automobile Association and Tandem Computers.
Ms. Byron currently chairs the Board Match Services for Stanford Women on Boards, founded and chairs the DCI Alumni Network, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Clayman Institute for Gender Research. She also serves as an emeritus trustee of Harvey Mudd College, is former chair for the Career Action Center in Silicon Valley and served as a publicly elected board member and president of the top-ranked Cupertino Union School District.
Ms. Byron earned a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Ms. Laurent-Ottomane co-founded the Thirty Percent Coalition in 2011. Today, the Thirty Percent Coalition’s membership represents over $6 trillion in assets under management from powerful institutional investors, top tier private equity firms, and high-profile public companies. Previously, Ms. Laurent-Ottomane led Investor Relations and Capital Market strategies for Alcatel, which became Alcatel Lucent at the end of 2006.
Ms. Laurent-Ottomane earned a B.A. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Georgia State University and an M.B.A. from École des Ponts Business School.
Dr. Deborah Ashton
MRPG Advisory Board Member
Dr. Ashton is the founder of both Planet Perspective and Equity Rising and has held leadership roles at Medtronic, Darden Restaurants, Harley-Davidson, Argonne National Laboratory and Novant Health. She has served on seven not-for-profit boards and has been on the advisory committee for two private boards. Ms. Ashton was chosen in 2014 as one of the Top Influential Women in Corporate America.
Dr. Ashton earned a B.A. in Psychology from Clarke College and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Public Practice from Harvard University, with a specialization in Organizational and Clinical Psychology. She also completed a postdoctoral internship at Harvard Medical School.
Diane Ashley
MRPG Advisory Board Member
Ms. Ashley has held senior leadership positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Citigroup and was elected as the first female Board Chair of the New York Theological Seminary where she chaired the Audit Committee. She has served on the Boards of The Executive Leadership Council, the National Minority Supplier Development Council, and the Women Presidents Educational Organization, and currently serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Rutgers University School of Business.
Ms. Ashley earned a B.A. in French from Yale University, a Master of Education in Human Resources Development from Boston University, and a J.D. from Rutgers.
Helen Calcraft
MRPG Advisory Board Member
Ms. Calcraft is a founder partner of communications agency Lucky Generals and has worked in advertising for over 25 years. She started her career at AMV BBDO before co-founding MCBD. Ms. Calcraft is part of the 30 Club, is a member and former President of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications London), and was a trustee of Cancer Research UK for 5 years and still sits on the charity's fundraising and marketing committee.
Ms. Calcraft earned an M.B.A. with distinction from London Business School.