Paul Washington

Paul Washington

President and CEO
Society for Corporate Governance

Paul Washington is the President and CEO of the Society for Corporate Governance (the “Society”). Founded in 1946, the Society is a not-for-profit organization with over 3,700 members dedicated to enhancing corporate governance through education, collaboration, and advocacy. 

Prior to becoming the Society’s President in April 2024, Paul led The Conference Board ESG Center, the premier US-based nonprofit think tank addressing corporate governance, sustainability, and citizenship. During his five-year tenure, the Center significantly increased its membership, programming, publications, prominence, and public impact. 

Before joining the ESG Center, Paul served for two decades as an executive at Time Warner Inc., including as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. He was responsible not only for the company’s corporate governance, but also for an array of legal areas including antitrust, intellectual property, andregulatory and international law. Prior to Time Warner, Paul practiced law at Sidley & Austin and served as Vice President and Corporate Secretary of The Dime Savings Bank of New York.

Paul also has had a career in public service, including working at the federal, state, and local levels -- and in all three branches -- of government. Among other roles, he served as a law clerk for former Supreme Court Associate Justice William Brennan and Associate Justice David Souter, and for Circuit Court Judge David Tatel. Paul also worked on the staff of former Congressman Stanley Lundine and, later, as his principal speechwriter when Lundine served as New York’s Lieutenant Governor.

Paul is a former Chair of the Board of the Society and President of its New York Chapter. He has served on over two dozen other boards of cultural, civic, and professional nonprofit organizations. For more than a decade, he was an adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School where he taught corporate governance and later served as a Resident Fellow. Paul also continues to serve in a volunteer capacity as an ESG Center Fellow at The Conference Board.

Paul graduated magna cum laude from both Yale College and Fordham University School of Law.

Publications by Paul Washington

Reports

Articles

Essays

Quick Takes