Bios
Founders, Partners, and Advisors
League of Allies was founded by men, and our work incorporates the rich and deep experiences and perspectives of female and male leaders in their fields.
Lawler Kang, Founder and CEO
Lawler most recently headed up People functions at Rue La La, a leading flash sale etailer, and Medullan, an international software service provider. During these tenures, he wrote The E Ticket, a fictional thriller with ~200 footnotes that makes the case women are bio-evolutionary better suited to lead. His first book, Passion at Work, led to a speaking/workshop business servicing the likes of Cisco, HP, and Pfizer. Prior to this, Lawler ran four turnarounds, serving in roles such as Managing Director and VP Sales & Marketing. He has also served in both delivery and executive functions in digital consulting, and as a Sr. Associate in M&A strategy consulting. He started his career in Customer Service at a Japanese chemical firm. Lawler has degrees from Wharton and Vassar College and has recently developed an infatuation for stand-up paddleboarding.
Patrick Moran, Co-Founder, Chief Delivery Officer
Patrick started his career on the trading floor at JPMorgan, doing emerging market fixed income research and equity syndication, interspersed by two years of running their global D&I program, the first on Wall Street. He also worked for LEK Consulting, during which time he was involved with 50+ PE due diligence projects. He then went on to serve as COO of a PE funded sustainable energy startup that raised $85 million. Most recently, he founded Main Street Partners, a non-profit consulting firm servicing local businesses. Patrick is a graduate of Wharton, SAIS, and Boston College. And his 9 year old daughter wins most of their pillow fights.
Jill Beresford, Partner
Jill currently serves as CEO of Gendernomics™ , bringing the message of improved economics through gender balance to the C-suite of Fortune 500 companies. She was appointed CEO and Chairman of the Board of a publicly-held corporation during the 1990’s after she successfully turned the company around from near-bankruptcy. Jill brings +25 years successfully working in the Turnaround & Restructuring Industry filling the positions of CEO, CFO, CRO and/or CMO, working in a wide variety of corporate environments including private, public, international, start-ups, family-held businesses, Chapter 11 bankruptcies, orderly liquidations and turn-around situations. Jill earned an MBA from Boston University. She can be found regularly teaching Zumba classes, out running with her two beloved Siberian Huskies or watching her Berklee-graduated daughter dominating the stage at her paid-musician gigs.
Jennifer Gilhool, Partner
Most recently, Jennifer Gilhool published her first book, Sheryl Sandberg, China and Me, about her experiences as a female executive with a Fortune 50 company, working in Shanghai with her family. Jennifer served as the first director for Sustainability, Environmental and Safety Engineering for Ford Motor Company in Asia Pacific & Africa. She currently consults on diversity and inclusion matters with the Gender Economics Lab and League of Allies. She is also an experienced attorney with over 20 years of multi-cultural experience. She has degrees from The University of Michigan Law School and Notre Dame.
Aubrey (Robison) Bates, Partner
Aubrey (Robison) Bates, Vice President of Spherion Staffing in Utah and President/ Owner in Idaho, is recognized, not only as a champion of workplace diversity but also as a pragmatic strategist that coaches others on how to hire and retain women. Her passion, drive, and a keen awareness of cultural and societal undercurrents are a unique blend which keeps her fresh in her field and in tune with the larger dynamics of government economic development and education. Awarded by Utah Business Magazine as one of Utah’s most successful and influential women, she’s heavily engaged in many passion projects tied to her values and dedication to making a difference. When she’s not educating on Gender Synergy and other inclusion strategies, she vice-chairs an agricultural based charter school for at-risk youth, holds an executive leadership role in a sustainable agriculture company, organizes DisruptHR events as Co-Founder in Boise and re-energizes herself on their family ranch or in the nearby mountains alongside her husband and daughter.
Andrea Dalton, Advisory Board
Andrea Dalton, CFA, is a research consultant, providing integrated fundamental and sustainability (ESG) research. Previously, she picked stocks using GARP and value approaches in her role as a Portfolio Manager with Friess Associates, manager of the Brandywine Funds. Over her more than 16 years there, Andrea consistently outperformed while investing across sectors and supporting multiple products. Earlier in her career, she worked at several firms, including Palisade Capital, Cathay Financial and Gabelli & Company. Andrea’s extracurricular activities include serving as Advocacy Chair on the CFA Society Stamford board and as a member of NYSSA’s Sustainable Investing Thought Leadership Group. Andrea earned an MBA and a MA of International Affairs from Columbia University. She also graduated cum laude from Vassar College with a BA in Asian Studies and loves to speak Mandarin whenever possible.
Wade Callison, Advisory Board
Wade currently serves as VP of Global Sales, Financial Services Solutions at Synchronoss Technologies, where he also served as SVP of Product Marketing and Product Management. Prior to this, he filled roles such as Managing Director at BearingPoint and Director, Program Management and Global Operations at Scient. Wade started his career as a Senior Network Consultant at Lucent Technologies. Wade earned both a BS and MBA from Texas A&M University. He has led the building of a school in Uganda and currently serves on the Board of The Clover Foundation, which is dedicated to childhood poverty alleviation in the urban slums there.
Dr. Bruce Margolis, Advisory Board
Bruce served as head of HR for TJ Maxx and TJX for 20 years. For the last 5 years, he was Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer. Bruce initiated the TJX Corporate Diversity Committee and served as its Chair for 10 years. Prior to this, he served as Corporate Psychologist for Jewel Companies and later as Vice President, Human Resources. Bruce started his career as a scientist for the United States Public Health Service conducting research for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focusing on the job stress on health and the causes and prevention of work related accidents. Bruce is a graduate of Case Western University (PhD & MA) and City University of NY (BS). He loves travelling places where he doesn't speak the language.
Dr. Annette Lavoie, Advisory Board
Annette is a serial entrepreneur who raised money and developed medical devices in women’s health, and has mentored dozens of early stage companies on fund raising and commercialization strategy. These experiences immersed Annette in the fascinating study of gender in leadership. Currently, Annette is leveraging her experience with growing companies in her latest venture – Mindset of Accountability assessment and training for transitioning growth companies (www.Coachability.Co). Annette has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Utah School of Medicine and is based in the mountains of Park City, Utah. She is difficult to keep up with on the slopes.
Jennifer Peterson, Advisory Board
Jennifer has been an HR leader for 20 years, with an active and influential seat in the C-suite for more than half that time in private and public companies. The constant threads in her experience have been business growth and transformation, so culture and talent strategy have always been at the core of her practice. Her fascination with gender dynamics in organizations began in college; and her passion for championing cultures of trust, fairness and inclusion was inspired by personal experience very early in her career standing up to address bad behavior of a “key executive” and challenge the senior team to dismantle the protective practices that limited his accountability. Jennifer holds a BA in Sociology from Franklin & Marshall College. In her free time she loves adventures with her husband and two teenage sons - white water rafting, exploring the Pacific Northwest in a VW van, and attending jazz concerts.