About - 2027 Director-Executive Summit

Co-hosted by the University of Texas School of Law and the McCombs School of Business, the Director–Executive Summit brings together corporate directors, senior executives, investors, and thought leaders for two days of high-level dialogue on governance, strategy, and leadership.

Through keynote conversations, fireside chats, expert panels, and candid peer discussions, participants gain practical insights into emerging business challenges—from shareholder activism and boardroom dynamics to geopolitical risk and transformative technologies. Designed for decision-makers navigating complex markets, the Summit offers an unparalleled forum for exchanging ideas, building relationships, and sharpening strategic judgment.

The Summit’s Planning Committee brings together senior leaders from the University of Texas School of Law and the McCombs School of Business alongside seasoned directors and industry executives. Guided by a shared commitment to practical, boardroom-ready insight, the committee curates a program that balances headline keynotes with focused working sessions on governance, strategy, risk, capital markets, and AI. Drawing on deep experience across public company boards, private equity, venture capital, and complex litigation, the committee ensures each session delivers actionable takeaways for decision-makers operating at the highest level.

Eliot Cotton is a professor and the director of the Texas Law and Business Program at The University of Texas School of Law. He teaches Private Equity and Venture Capital Fund Formation. Along with Susan Morse and Dean Chesney, Cotton is responsible for creating the curriculum and programming for the Texas Law and Business Program.

Prior to joining Texas Law, he served as co-general counsel and managing director at Riverstone Holdings, a New York-based private equity firm. There, he played a key role in investments in decarbonization, renewable energy, and infrastructure projects through both private equity and credit platforms. Prior to joining Riverstone, Cotton was an attorney at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital.

Cotton received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2007 and his J.D. from Texas Law in 2010.

Susan Blount served as general counsel of Prudential Financial, a leading provider of insurance, retirement, and asset management products and services, from 2005 to 2015, first as a senior vice president and later as executive vice president. She was a member of the Office of the Chairman Group, the six senior-most officers at Prudential Financial, and led a team of 700 people around the world in the company’s law, compliance, business ethics, and external affairs organization.

Blount is an independent outside director of two public companies: Cavco Industries, listed on Nasdaq (CVCO), and CS Disco, listed on the NYSE (LAW). She was a 2017 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University.

Blount is active in professional and community service. While at Prudential, she served on the boards of organizations such as Montclair State University — the second largest university in New Jersey — the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity, and the Association of Corporate Counsel. She was also a regular presenter at Stanford University’s Directors’ College and a regular participant in Stanford’s Institutional Investors Forum.

A graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, she has been an adjunct professor at Texas Law since 2016 and currently serves as chair of The University of Texas Law School Foundation.

Simon Lorne is the former vice chairman and chief legal officer, and currently senior advisor, of Millennium Management LLC, a global asset management firm with assets under management of approximately $65 billion.

Prior to joining Millennium, Lorne was a partner at the Los Angeles-based law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP; a managing director and global head of internal audit at Salomon Brothers; managing director and global head of compliance at Citigroup; and general counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

He also currently serves on the board of directors and chairs the audit committee of Teledyne Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TDY).

Lorne serves as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law. He holds an A.B. from Occidental College and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Kathleen McAllister is a seasoned Board Director and former NYSE-listed company CEO and CFO, with diverse leadership roles in global, capital-intensive companies in the energy value chain, who brings a broad strategic perspective to the complex challenges of operating and financing cyclical businesses in the global marketplace. She is engaged with an active board portfolio, currently serving as an independent director for Black Hills Corp. and Hoegh LNG Partners.

On the not-for-profit front, McAllister focuses on families in need, education and mentoring, serving on the National Association of Corporate Directors Texas TriCities Chapter Board and on the University of Houston-CL Business School Dean’s Advisory Council.

McAllister is a Certified Public Accountant (Texas). She was recognized as the 2022 University of Houston-CL Distinguished Alumni, holds the CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity, and was named to the 2023 NACD Directorship 100 for leadership in corporate governance.

Susan Morse is the Angus G. Wynne, Sr. Professor of Civil Jurisprudence and serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas School of Law.

She has responsibility for the curriculum and for teaching excellence at Texas Law. She teaches property, finance and accounting for lawyers, and tax and has won law school teaching awards. She studies tax policy, tax and administrative law, and regulatory design. Her most recent scholarship focuses on safe harbors and old regulations, including those in business and securities law.

She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and from Harvard Law School.

David Searle is an Assistant Professor of Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. He teaches courses on business law, policy, and ethics.

Searle has over 20 years of legal experience, having served as a legal executive and general counsel for multiple public companies. Before transitioning full time to academia in 2025, he was most recently executive vice president and general counsel of Sunnova, a residential and commercial solar energy company based out of Houston. Before joining Sunnova, he was part of the legal leadership at Tesla, holding the roles of acting head of legal and corporate secretary. He previously served as the chief ethics and compliance officer for Walmart International. Searle’s experience in the public sector includes time as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice.

Searle earned his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and graduated with a B.A. in economics from Stanford University.