Elisa D. Garcia C. is an accomplished corporate executive and attorney with over 30 years of experience advising management and boards of directors on legal, business and government relations matters. Through her broad based experience in all aspects of international business and corporate law, Ms. Garcia has guided her clients through a myriad of business and legal issues, government investigations, international acquisitions and investments, debt refinancings, domestic and international labor issues and legislative and regulatory attacks.  She is recognized for her well-grounded yet creative approach to problem solving.

Ms. Garcia has held general counsel and senior executive positions with Macy’s, Office Depot, Domino’s Pizza and Philip Morris International.  She also has worked as counsel for GAF Corp., a chemical and roofing manufacturer, and began her legal career with the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York City.  Ms. Garcia has particular expertise in international business transactions, corporate governance, securities laws and compliance. Prior to her career as an attorney, Ms. Garcia was an Energy Analyst working in-country with developing country governments and the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Since 2016, Ms. Garcia has served as the Chief Legal Officer of Macy’s, Inc. and as a member of Macy’s Enterprise Committee, which sets the overall strategic direction for the company. Macy’s is a premier omni-channel retailer with sales of over $25 billion. From 2007 to 2016, Ms. Garcia has served as a trusted advisor to the Board and senior management of Office Depot, Inc., a $17 billion dollar multinational retail, B-to-B and E-Commerce company. Ms. Garcia served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, and had global responsibility for global legal, compliance and government relations matters. She also had responsibility for leading Internal Audit and Investor Relations for several years. Ms. Garcia led the negotiation and legal strategy for the merger of Office Depot with OfficeMax, a combination with significant antitrust implications, and served on the Steering Committee for the integration of the $17 billion combined business.   Ms. Garcia also led the attempted merger of Office Depot with Staples, Inc.                                     

Ms. Garcia serves on the Board of Directors and Nominating and Governance Committee of Dollarama, Inc., the leading operator of dollar stores in Canada with sales of over $3 billion and over 1,000 stores.   Ms. Garcia also serves on the Board of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, a non-profit organization supporting research and scholarship to improve the entrance and retention of minorities, women and LGBT in the legal profession.

Ms. Garcia  is a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law in New York (1985), where she was an Editor of the Law Review. She also received a joint BA/MS in Political Science and Management and Policy Sciences from W. Averell Harriman College, State University of New York at Stony Brook (1980).  Ms. Garcia is a member of the New York and Michigan Bars.

Ms. Wilson-Thompson is the founder and principal of KWT, LLC, a human capital management executive advisory firm with a client base of global Fortune 500 companies. Ms. Wilson-Thompson is also an independent Board Director currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for Tesla and Wolverine Worldwide. She is a former Board Director for Vulcan Materials and Ashland Global Holdings. She also is Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors for the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and is a member of the NAACP Foundation Board of Trustees. Formerly, Ms. Wilson-Thompson was the Executive Vice President and Global Chief Human Resources Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, where she was responsible for its global human capital strategy and HR operations with a mission to create a positive employment experience and culture for its 450,000 people worldwide. Prior to Walgreens, she held several positions of increasing responsibility in the operations and legal departments at Kellogg Company before joining the executive management team to lead the Human Resources function across the world as SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Wilson-Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Juris Doctor and LLM, Master of Laws in Corporate and Finance law from Wayne State University Law School. In 2016, Ms Wilson-Thompson was recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Wayne State University Law School. In 2017, she was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America and was also inducted as a fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Ms. Wilson-Thompson was included on HR Digest’s Most Influential HR Leaders Powerlist for harnessing the power of digital transformation and was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business in 2019 for her executive leadership. She was also named by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of its Top 300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America; Savoy Magazine’s 2021 list of Most influential Blacks in Corporate America and its List of Most Influential Black Corporate Directors.

Janet L. Miller is the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for University Hospitals.  She is a member of the executive team who turned around a 6 hospital system and transformed it into the nearly $4B health care system it is today.  The health delivery system now includes teaching hospitals (academic medical center); 14 wholly-owned hospital locations; multiple joint ventures, affiliations and investment relationships; over 250 health center and physician offices; and, more than 25,000 employees. Services range from traditional inpatient and outpatient modes to high-tech virtual and tele-health modes. Janet is a trusted advisor to the UH parent, hospital and other subsidiary Boards.  She also is responsible for internal audit, corporate legal, claims & litigation and enterprise risk management for the System.

As part of the UH Executive Council, Janet develops, reviews and implements business strategies.  She has provided strategic, tactical and legal advice in connection with the acquisition of 5 hospitals and their related entities within a 2 year period, including multiple physician and foundation organizations. When UH embarked on its $2 billion Vision 2010 program, Janet provided guidance for the construction and start-up operations of 2 new hospitals and multiple medical office buildings. During her tenure, she has provided advice on divestitures of hospitals, health plans and joint ventures and the closing of a hospital; acquisitions of hundreds of physician practices; and healthcare regulations throughout the System. Under Janet’s leadership, the claims, litigation & clinical risk management division developed state-of-the-art initiatives leading to improved patient care and reduced number of professional liability lawsuits, saving the System over $225 million to date. The Health Sciences & Research division focuses on the growing research, commercialization and innovation areas of the System.  The department provides ongoing education to physicians, residents, nurses and business people in the System designed to reduce risks and related costs. 

Janet currently serves on the Boards of Western Reserve Assurance Co, Ltd., SPC. (a Cayman Island insurance company primarily providing professional liability coverage); Ursuline College; and, the YWCA of Greater Cleveland, among others.  In the past, she has served on the Boards of multiple hospitals and health care entities in the UH system (including joint venture entities) as well as her family’s real estate development and construction companies. 

Prior to joining University Hospitals, Janet was a partner with the law firm of Jones Day in Cleveland where she also served as the Cleveland Office Administrative Partner for Financial Matters.