About Masters-Rudnick
Jon J. Masters, Principal
As a corporate governance specialist and trusted advisor to CEOs, corporate staffs and boards of directors on governance issues and board dynamics, Jon Masters draws on broad and deep experience. He has been a managing principal of a corporate governance consulting firm, a senior partner in a law firm, a vice chairman of a securities firm, and a director of both business and non-profit corporations. He also served as the Legal Advisor to the Blue Ribbon Commission established by the National Association of Corporate Directors on Performance Evaluation of Chief Executive Officers, Boards and Directors and is a member of International Finance Corporation's (World Bank Group) Global Corporate Governance Forum's Private Sector Advisory Group. These experiences enable him to bring to his work a uniquely comprehensive view of corporate governance, synthesize highly complex issues, and design and implement fully appropriate solutions.
Trained in mediation and with more than 30 years of counseling experience, he helps CEOs and boards of both business and not-for-profit organizations develop more productive relationships, function more effectively, and establish processes and procedures that help them achieve their full potential. Drawing on his experience in law, business, government, and the non-profit sector, he acts as a confidential, independent, and objective sounding board for his clients.
Prior to co-founding Masters-Rudnick, he served as a senior member of the corporate governance practice of Mercer Delta Consulting, where he did board assessments and had extensive training in helping CEOs and senior managers deal with organizational issues. Previously, he founded Lear, Yavitz & Associates with three former CEOs of major enterprises, where he helped CEOs and directors master the practicalities of corporate governance and worked internationally, training the directors of the Asian Development Bank nominated to the boards of its portfolio companies.
As Vice Chairman of Robb Peck McCooey, a large New York Stock Exchange specialist firm, he focused on strategic and governance issues and listed-company relations, financings, and acquisitions; and he served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the parent company.
As a co-founder of Christy & Viener, Jon helped build a highly respected New York law firm. As a senior partner he had a broad-gauged corporate and securities practice, advising chief executives, entrepreneurs, and other principals on the whole range of issues they faced in developing, financing, and managing their businesses.
As General Counsel, Director, Vice President and Secretary of Baker, Weeks, & Co., a leading securities firm, he served as a director, counseled management and the board, coordinated the activities of certain segments of the firm's business, had responsibility for various administrative functions, and acted as the firm's spokesman to Washington and the industry. He also served on various Securities Industry Association committees, and at the request of the SEC and Senate and House staffs he assisted in formulating positions on various securities law and market structure issues, which became part of the Securities Act Amendments of 1975.
Jon’s public service includes being an advisor to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, work on the redevelopment of Bedford-Stuyvesant, and service in the U.S. Defense Department and on the Special Political Research Staff of President Lyndon Johnson. A published author of articles on corporate governance, he is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.