Bill Ide III

Akerman General Counsel, George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations

A veteran corporate strategist and trusted advisor to public and private companies, nonprofits, and public sector agencies, clients turn to William “Bill” Ide for counsel on crisis response, corporate stewardship, reputation and risk management strategy and corporate governance.

With an extensive history of representing boards and senior leadership in crisis and risk situations, Bill’s practice focuses on providing independent counsel to clients by investigating facts, providing critical legal guidance and, when appropriate, objective remediation recommendations. A leader in the business and legal communities, Bill previously served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Monsanto Company, counsel to the United States Olympic Committee and president of the American Bar Association.

Within the business community, he serves on the boards of MetaJure and Rimidi Diabetes and previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Albemarle Corporation (NYSE, ALB) where he chaired the Governance Committee and served on the Audit and Compensation Committees. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLKI), where he chaired the Executive and Governance Committees, while also serving on the Audit Committee.

Committed to thought leadership and education, Bill is co-chair of the Advisory Board to the Conference Board’s Governance Center and Program Chair for the Conference Board Chief Legal Officers Council. Bill was a senior fellow and co-founder of Emory University’s Directors Institute. He currently serves on the audit and governance committees of the Clark Atlanta University Board of Trustees and is former general counsel and secretary of the East West Institute, where he also served as chair of the executive committee.