Lizanne Thomas
Corporate Governance Practice Chair (retired), Of Counsel
Jones Day
GRA BOARD CHAIR
Lizanne Thomas is a retired partner of — and now Of Counsel to — the global law firm Jones Day. Her tenure with the firm spans more than four decades, during which she served in a variety of firmwide leadership roles, including Head of the Global Corporate Governance practice. On the GRA Board of Trustees, Thomas serves as Chair.
Thomas’s expertise centers primarily on representing publicly traded and private companies (and their boards of directors) on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism and complex fiduciary and investigative matters. Among other honors, she has been named a Fellow of the American College of Governance Lawyers and designated one of the nation’s top female deal-makers.
In addition to serving as a longtime Trustee for GRA, Thomas serves on the board of directors of The Southern Company and American Software, Inc. and is a Trustee for Washington & Lee University, Furman University and The Woodruff Arts Center. Her previous public company board service includes Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., Atlantic Capital Bancshares and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. In 2016, Thomas was named one of the top 100 directors by the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Lizanne and her husband, residents of Atlanta, have two grown sons and spend their spare time on golf courses near and far.
