LeeAnn Black ’83 and Jeffrey Black

Ms. Black is the chief operating officer at Latham & Watkins, a leading global law firm with more than 3,500 lawyers in 30-plus offices across the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For nearly three decades, Ms. Black has helped lead Latham & Watkins’ extraordinary growth, both in size and reputation. She oversees global operations and strategic financial management, and serves on numerous governance committees, including the executive committee, the firm’s highest management body. Before joining Latham & Watkins, she was a senior auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co. She is a certified public accountant in New York. Ms. Black has earned broad recognition as a trailblazer in the legal sector, including by The Financial Times, which named her a 2017 Top 10 Legal Innovators for North America. She is a member of the advisory boards for The Roundtable Collaborative, a group of 50 chief operating officers representing law firms from around the world and Thomas Reuters’ Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law initiative.

Mr. Black currently serves as chair of the audit committee of Otis, a role he took on after retiring from Deloitte LLP, a Big Four accounting and consulting firm, where he served as senior partner and vice chairman, handling many of its largest multinational clients. At Deloitte, Mr. Black held various management roles and served on the firm’s board of directors from 2004 to 2011, including as vice chairman of the board and chair of its governance and risk committees. Prior to Deloitte, he was a partner at Arthur Andersen for 14 years, where he was the regional managing partner for audit and a member of its board of directors.

In addition to their professional accomplishments, Ms. Black is an active member of a number of public interest organizations and academic institutions. She serves as chair of the board of trustees of The Chapin School, a private all-girls K-12 school dedicated to academic excellence, personal integrity and community responsibility. She also serves as a member of the board of directors of Pro Bono Net, an organization dedicated to increasing access to justice. Mr. Black, a graduate of the University at Albany, is a board member, chair of the audit committee and member of the executive committee of the University at Albany Foundation. He is also a founding member of the UAlbany School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board. He also serves as a board director of Carters, Inc. and Vantage Airport Group, Ltd. (nonpublic).

Ms. Black is a member of the Adelphi University President’s Advisory Council and co-chair of the University’s annual Women’s Leadership Conference. In 2013, she was honored at the President’s Gala for her outstanding service and commitment to Adelphi.