Senior Managing Director
Email: pmeyer@shallpartners.com

Pearl Meyer, Senior Managing Director of Steven Hall & Partners, has served for more than 30 years as independent advisor to Boards, Compensation Committees and senior management, here and abroad, in matters of executive and Board compensation, corporate performance and governance, organization and selection. Mrs. Meyer co-founded Steven Hall & Partners, as well as Pearl Meyer & Partners. She is known for the creation of groundbreaking, innovative compensation strategies that translate corporate goals into managerial results and rewards.

Mrs. Meyer and her Partners are retained as outside independent counsel by the Compensation Committees of Boards of Directors in the discharge of their fiduciary responsibilities. She has played an integral role in developing many of today's most widely used Board and executive compensation programs and arrangements. As a recognized authority on corporate governance, she also serves as expert witness in executive compensation litigation.

Mrs. Meyer is regularly quoted by major news organizations and is a frequent contributor to business periodicals. She has served as Chairman and keynote speaker for The Conference Board, the National Association of Corporate Directors, WorldatWork and the American Management Association, as well as for seminars at Harvard, Yale and other leading business schools.

A cum laude graduate with Ph.D. studies at the New York University Stern Graduate School of Business Administration, Mrs. Meyer received her initial training in executive compensation at Kraft.

She is listed in Who's Who in America.  Her memberships include:  The Sedgewood Club, The Women's Forum, The Women's Executive Circle, WorldatWork, The National Association of Corporate Directors, The Conference Board, The Economic Club of New York and the NASPP.  She has been honored by Mercy College, Legal Momentum and The Directorship Institute as one of the "100 Most Influential on Corporate Governance and in the Boardroom" for her contribution to the profession.  She was inducted into The Directorship Institute Corporate Governance Hall of Fame in November 2009.

Managing Director
Email: shall@shallpartners.com

Steven Hall is a founding Partner and Managing Director of Steven Hall & Partners.  He has consulted for more than 30 years with senior management and Board Compensation Committees in planning and implementation of senior executive compensation programs and incentives for corporations, subsidiaries, business units, spins and divestitures.

His strong technical background in tax, accounting and finance is of major importance in the design of innovative remuneration programs.   In addition to managing the Firm, Mr. Hall personally leads Steven Hall & Partners' practice among global corporations and in the health care, real estate, financial services, regulated utility, energy and retail sectors.  He also serves as expert witness and consults with corporations and law firms on litigation matters.

Mr. Hall is a member of the faculty of the National Association of Corporate Directors where he teaches courses related to executive and director compensation, and best practices in compensation committee governance.  He is also the co-author of the recently published book  Executive Compensation Best Practictes and was identified by The Directorship Institute as a Top 100 Influential in Corporate Governance.  Additionally, he is frequently quoted in notable publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fortune,  and BusinessWeek and has been interviewed on Good Morning America, ABC's World News, CNBC, Fox Business and National Public Radio.

Mr. Hall, who holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Accounting, is a Certified Public Accountant. His prior experience was with Pearl Meyer & Partners, as President and co-founder, Ernst & Young, Handy Associates and as Chief Financial Officer of two private firms.

Managing Director
Email: sroot@shallpartners.com

Steven Root, Managing Director, co-founded the Firm after eight years as Senior Consultant and Managing Director of Pearl Meyer & Partners. With over 20 years of experience as a securities and corporate lawyer in the area of executive compensation, he leads the Firm's technical consulting services with respect to the legal, accounting and tax aspects of Board and executive compensation programs. Mr. Root specializes in the development and drafting of stock based incentives, special transactions, change-in-control and employment agreements, and other compensation arrangements.

A graduate of Brown University with an A.B. in English, he received his J.D. cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center and was an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. Prior to joining Pearl Meyer & Partners, Mr. Root was with the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, where he specialized in securities law and mergers and acquisitions.

James V. Hughes 

Managing Director
Email: jhughes@shallpartners.com

James V. Hughes, Managing Director of the West Coast Region, brings over 25 years experience in executive compensation consulting to Steven Hall & Partners.  He serves as independent advisor to senior management, Boards and Compensation Committees in the discharge of their ongoing responsibilities as well as in special transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, spins and bankruptcies.

His expertise spans multiple industries, including technology, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, transportation and gaming.  He also assists companies and law firms, providing litigation support services and serving as an expert witness regarding executive compensation, employment contracts and related corporate governance issues.

Mr. Hughes is an expert in competitive compensation design, salary administration, annual and long-term incentives including equity-based incentive design, implementation, and communication.  He also has extensive experience negotiating and implementing employment agreements and change-in-control arrangements, as well as the computation of golden parachute payments.

Prior to joining our Firm, he served as Senior Managing Director and head of Pearl Meyer & Partners' Los Angeles office as well as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Managers.  He was previously Partner and head of the Western Region of Arthur Andersen LLP's Compensation Strategy and Equity Incentives Group.

Mr. Hughes has been a frequent speaker at various conferences sponsored by Corporate Directors Club, The Conference Board, Directors Roundtable, The NYSE/Corporate Board Member, and Bank Executive and Director.

Mr. Hughes has a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Georgia where he also acquired a Masters of Accountancy in Taxation from its J.M. Tull School of Accounting.  He is a Certified Public Accountant and has memberships in professional national, state and local organizations.


Diane Posnak

Managing Director
Email: dposnak@shallpartners.com

Diane Posnak, Managing Director of Steven Hall & Partners, specializes in issues related to managerial and Board effectiveness.  She advises clients in compensation planning and the tailoring of remuneration programs for diverse industries, including many insurance and other financial services firms, as well as industrial and not-for-profit organizations.

Mrs. Posnak was a co-founder of Pearl Meyer & Partners and now serves as a Consulting Partner of Steven Hall & Partners. A graduate of Grinnell College, Mrs. Posnak holds an M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She previously was a Senior Consultant with Handy Associates and held human resources positions at Ernst & Young and Raychem Corporation.

Managing Director
Email: jsorrentino@shallpartners.com

Joseph Sorrentino, Managing Director, joined the Firm on its founding. He previously served as Managing Director and Senior Consultant for nine years with Pearl Meyer & Partners.

Mr. Sorrentino, who leads our professional staff of analysts and researchers, consults with public and privately held companies in the design and implementation of equity participation programs and incentives for subsidiaries, business units, spins, IPOs, bankruptcies, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Sorrentino works extensively with clients on matters of executive and Board remuneration in the consumer goods, hospitality, pharmaceutical, financial services, communications, technology, auto, regulated utility and chemical sectors, as well as spearheading the firm's litigation support activities.

A graduate of New York University, he received an M.B.A. from the Leonard N. Stern Graduate School of Business.

Managing Director
Email: space@shallpartners.com

Sandra Pace, Managing Director, joined the Firm on its founding. She previously served for thirteen years as Vice President and Consultant at Pearl Meyer & Partners. Ms. Pace assists in the design and implementation of Board remuneration programs, executive compensation and sales incentive programs for publicly and privately held companies, including equity participation programs, special incentives and development of market pricing models. She has worked extensively with clients in the consumer products and information services sectors.

A graduate of the City University of New York, Ms. Pace holds a degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.



Nora McCord

Managing Director
Email: nmccord@shallpartners.com

Nora McCord, Managing Director, joined the Firm in December 2005 as a Consultant assisting clients in the assessment of their compensation programs and development of executive pay for performance plans.  Clients served include transportation, financial services, retail and consumer packaged goods companies. 

She also leads the Firm's research activities in the analysis of financial data and development of models for performance-based incentive plans, as well as the design of data collection techniques and the conduct of customized surveys to meet client needs.  Her expertise includes research and analysis in support of the Firm's litigation support practice.

Ms. McCord previously was affiliated for five years with Equilar, Inc., as Senior Manager in charge of research operations and client services, and Senior Product Manager responsible for product design and customized research activities.

Ms. McCord earned her B.S. from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and a Masters degree from Georgetown University Public Policy Institute.

Consultant
Email: msherry@shallpartners.com

Michael Sherry, Consultant, joined the Firm in October 2005.  He previously served as a Consultant for five years with Pearl Meyer & Partners.  Mr. Sherry, a member of our professional staff, serves both public and privately held companies in the analysis, design and implementation of equity participation programs as well as special incentives and the development of market pricing models.

A graduate of the New York University, Mr. Sherry received a B.S. from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business.