Cory Shade is a board member and C-suite leader known for creating enterprise growth and value. She has a superior track record providing strategic guidance to SEC companies and preparing private companies for profitable exits. This includes the recent $2.7B sale of Apple Leisure Group (ALG) by KKR and KSL Capital Partners to Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) and the smooth integration of ALG into Hyatt.
Cory’s experience spans the Travel and Hospitality, Retail, Telecom, and Energy industries. Most recently, she was Chief Legal OYicer for ALG, a premier resort brand-management, travel and leisure company, both prior to and following its acquisition. Previously, Cory served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for several global companies including Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ) and FirstCom Corporation (NASDAQ), where she advised the company prior to its merger with AT&T Latin America. Her early career experience includes Steel Hector & Davis (later merged into Squire Patton Boggs), Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, and the Supreme
Court of Puerto Rico.
Cory excels in creating high-performing corporate cultures, with an emphasis on acquiring and cultivating the right talent to serve customers and create enterprise growth and value. She and her C-suite peers created such a global culture at ALG, forming a cohesive team of 15,000+ worldwide associates. Cory has repeatedly succeeded in recruiting and retaining top talent from around the globe and melding these individuals into a customer-focused, results-driven team.
Cory has led numerous successful acquisitions, divestitures, carve outs, and joint ventures and possesses handson global business experience across the Americas, APAC, and EMEA. She has a strong track record in building, acquiring, and protecting brands and other forms of intellectual property. Cory has also been integral to several enterprise-wide digital transformations. She has been heavily involved in internal, external, and crisis communications. Cory has also overseen privacy policy and possesses deep experience in cybersecurity strategy and execution. She has successfully led all aspects of activist investor defense.
As a corporate board member, Cory has served on the Audit Committee for the GSE publicly-traded Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae). She also served as an independent director for the $60M+ Oakland Park, FL Pension Fund Board and for Tenet Healthcare’s North Ridge Hospital (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). She helped guide the latter through its sale to the Holy Cross hospital system. In addition, Cory has served on the boards of numerous global and domestic corporate subsidiaries and has extensive experience with Compensation, Governance, and Audit committees.
Cory’s not-for-profit board experience includes serving as Board Chairman for the Diversity Advisory Council of Broward County, FL. She has also been a board member of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (now Prospanica) and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) for South Florida. She currently serves on the regional cabinet for Washington University. Cory completed the NACD Directorship Certification and is a graduate of the DirectWomen’s Annual Board Institute.
With a JD and MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA from George Washington University, Cory has taught ethics and corporate governance to PhD candidates at Lynn University in FL.
Bilingual in English and Spanish, Cory holds a private pilot’s license and serves as a youth lacrosse referee.