Houston Board of Directors Forum 2026

In Person  |  April 2, 2026  |  3:00 PM - 7:00 PM CDT  |  Houston, TX

Directors and c-suite executives gathered in Houston for the Baker Botts Board of Directors Forum, where four timely discussions offered practical insight into the issues shaping today's boardrooms.

Attendees explored the board-level drivers behind corporate relocations to Texas, gaining perspective on the strategic, legal, and competitive factors influencing where companies choose to operate. A session on shareholder activism equipped directors with frameworks for anticipating activist approaches and strengthening engagement strategies before pressure mounts.

The forum's AI discussion challenged directors to move beyond awareness and define a concrete strategic oversight role in an increasingly AI-driven business environment. The final session examined geopolitical risk and corporate resilience, giving attendees a clearer picture of what boards should be monitoring and how to build organizations that can withstand an unpredictable global landscape.

Directors left with sharper questions, stronger frameworks, and a broader peer network to draw on in the boardroom.

Featured Speakers include:

• Joanna Burkey, NACD.DC
  Corporate Board Director, CorVel Corporation, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Inc., and ReliabilityFirst Corporation
  
  
• Hon. Grant Dorfman
  Administrative Presiding Judge, Eleventh Business Court Division (Houston)
  
  
• Gregory J. Goff
  CEO, Amber Energy
  
  
• Val Mak
  Managing Director, FTI Consulting
  
  
• Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ph.D.
  Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies, Baker Institute for Public Policy
  
  
• Elizabeth Miller
  

  Professor of Law and M. Stephen and Alyce A. Beard Chair in Business and Transactional Law, Baylor Law School

Thank You to Our Strategic Partner

Baker Botts is a full-service, leading global law firm, recognized for their understanding of the industries they serve. Baker Botts has a long, distinguished tradition of service to their clients since the 1840s. During the earliest days of Houston, Baker Botts represented the burgeoning industries of cotton merchants, brokers and railroads.