Business News
Kodak Board Elects Sheller Corporate Secretary, Salesin Elected VP
Thursday 16. April 2009 - Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) announced today that its Board of Directors has elected Patrick M. Sheller as Corporate Secretary, succeeding Laurence L. Hickey, who is retiring from the company.
Shellers appointment is effective immediately. Hickey had served as Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer since 2003.
“Larry Hickey has served Kodak with great skill and effectiveness, establishing our company as a leader in corporate governance practices,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We thank him for his years of dedicated service.”
Separately, the Board elected Jeremy R. Salesin, Managing Director, Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions, as a corporate vice president.
As Corporate Secretary, Sheller, 47, is responsible for ensuring that the Board has the proper advice and resources for discharging its fiduciary duty under law, and ensuring that the records of the Board’s actions reflect that the Board has done so. Sheller also will lead the company’s efforts to comply with government and New York Stock Exchange mandates and to identify and adopt best practices in the corporate governance arena.
Sheller will continue to serve as Kodaks Chief Compliance Officer, responsible for ensuring that Kodaks compliance and enterprise risk management programs and policies meet the highest legal, regulatory and ethical standards and monitoring the companys adherence to these standards. Sheller will report to Joyce Haag, Kodaks General Counsel.
Prior to joining Kodak in 1993 as Marketing, Antitrust & Litigation counsel to the companys former Health Group, Sheller was in private law practice with the firm of McKenna & Cuneo (now McKenna, Long & Aldridge) in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in antitrust and health care law. From 1986 to 1989, Sheller worked for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., where he served as an Antitrust Attorney Advisor to Chairman Daniel Oliver and as a Staff Attorney in the Commissions Bureau of Competition.
Sheller has held several roles within Kodaks Legal Department. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Kodaks Chief Antitrust Counsel. In this role he managed the companys antitrust compliance program and provided antitrust advice on various business transactions and conduct, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and intellectual property licensing. From 2000 to 2004, Sheller was on assignment to Kodaks European, African & Middle Eastern Region (EAMER), where he provided commercial legal advice to Kodaks EAMER businesses. Sheller returned to Kodaks Rochester headquarters in 2004 to assume business development and operating roles in Kodaks Health Care Information Systems business, prior to the divestiture of the Health Group in May 2007.
Sheller is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and Albany Law School of Union University. He is a member of the Ethics and Compliance Officers Association, the American Corporate Counsel Association, and the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association.
Salesin, 45, is responsible for leading Kodaks corporate development function, including all mergers and acquisition, joint venture, and divestiture activities. Salesin leads deal negotiation, valuation, and due diligence activities on transactions, as well as developing strategy with business units for acquisitions and divestitures to deliver on strategic objectives. He reports to Frank Sklarsky, Chief Financial Officer.
Salesin joined Kodak in February 2001 as a Director in Kodaks Corporate Business Development group. In 2006, he was named Managing Director and Co-Head, Corporate Business Development. Salesin has led a number of acquisitions, including Ofoto, Scitex Digital Printing, and National Semiconductors Image Sensor Business. He has also led or had significant involvement in many of the companys divestitures, including the health imaging and light management films businesses.
Prior to joining Kodak, Salesin served in a variety of management, business development, and legal roles at various Silicon Valley companies, including as Director of Business Affairs, General Counsel, and Secretary for LucasArts Entertainment Company, a global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software.
Salesin began his career at the law firm of Graham & James in San Francisco, where he specialized in intellectual property transactions and maritime litigation.
Salesin is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan Law School. He is a member of the California Bar.