Lizanne Thomas graduated from Furman University cum laude in 1979 as an Economics major.  While at Furman, Lizanne served as student body president and earned the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award as the top student leader in her graduating class.  She then attended Washington & Lee University School of Law and graduated in 1982, having served as Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Lizanne Thomas is in her 41st year of practice and leads the corporate governance practice of the global law firm Jones Day, where she also held a variety of leadership roles and served on the firm’s management committee.  While her roots are as an M&A lawyer, Lizanne practices, teaches, and lives corporate governance. Lizanne participates in about 100 board meetings per year as counsel to a number of public companies. She represents special committees in control and conflict transactions, as well as in internal investigations, shareholder activism, and public and private mergers and acquisitions. She lectures on governance to leading business organizations, companies, and universities, and is a Fellow of the American College of Governance Lawyers.

Lizanne has served on the Boards of Directors of five publicly traded companies and currently serves on the board of Southern Company and American Software, Inc.  While on the board of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., she chaired a special committee charged with investigating a variety of allegations against the company, and thereafter, while she was chair of its governance committee, KKD twice won national corporate governance awards for its shareholder engagement and disclosure.  In 2016, she was named one of the nation’s top 100 directors by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Lizanne is a Trustee of the Georgia Research Alliance, serving as Vice Chair. She is a Trustee of W&L University and The Woodruff Arts Center.  Lizanne and her husband David Black have two grown sons, and all are avid golfers.