NACD Atlanta Appoints New Board Chair, Cindy Baerman, and Board Director, Jared Brandman

ATLANTA--(January 24, 2024)—"Cindy Baerman's thoughtful leadership, passion for excellence, and strategic mindset will continue to propel us to new heights as we engage with our members and grow as an organization” said Connie Engel, NACD Atlanta former Chapter Chair.

A Board Member at FPL Foods and Quaker Maid Meats and a seasoned P&L Leader, Cindy Baerman’s career reflects numerous achievements in the C-Suite of highly acquisitive publicly traded public companies along with Private, Family, and ESOP Companies. Cindy’s executive leadership and P&L management roles with industry leaders in the CPG, Packaging, Chemical, and Environmental Services space that include, Graphic Packaging, International, JohnsonDiversey/Sealed Air, Stericycle, Kraft Foods, Miller Brewing, Anheuser-Busch and TRW. In these positions, she has partnered with executive teams and corporate boards to spearhead cultural change and strategic growth initiatives, and to provide strategic leadership leading to the achievement of critical corporate goals across operations in highly human capital-intensive industries.

As CEO of Executive Advisory Services, she serves in an advisor to several CEOs in the arena’s Sales Force Effectiveness, Organization Design post-merger, CEO Succession and Total Rewards Strategy in a High Growth Private Industries and a Large 39 Billion Dollar Public Transportation Company. At Epi Breads Cindy served as the Chair of the Compensation and Benefits Committee and recently partnered with the Chairman to replace the CEO before selling the business to a Private Equity Firm. She previously served as Director on the Graphic Packaging International Limited Board, Epi Breads, the Human Resource Leadership Forum and the American Cancer Society Northshore Board.

Cindy’s ability to provide strategy, leadership and extraordinary contributions to corporate growth and success stems, in part, from her early career in progressive manufacturing management roles, and through the success she achieved in a P&L, general management role as Vice President and General Manager of JohnsonDiversey’s $100 million food and beverage division. In addition, Cindy earned her NACD Directorship Certification®. This designation demonstrates her commitment to governance leadership and personal development.

“NACD has been a great resource for me in my Board Service for more than a decade. In addition to their cutting-edge research, education, and certifications, the insights from networking with other Board members is just invaluable,” said Ms. Baerman. “I look forward to leading the Atlanta Chapter in 2024-2025.”

Jared Brandman is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE), one of the largest optical retail companies in the United States with over 1,300 retail stores in 44 states and Puerto Rico. Brandman joined National Vision in 2017 as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary and was promoted to his current position in 2019, following the company’s successful IPO in 2017. Prior to joining National Vision, Brandman served as Securities Counsel at The Coca-Cola Company from 2010 to 2017. He began his legal career practicing at law firms in Atlanta, New York and London.

Brandman has extensive Board experience and regularly speaks on securities law, corporate governance and other legal topics. Brandman serves on the Board of Toku Inc., a private AI technology start-up, and the Boards of National Vision Holdings, Inc.’s subsidiaries. He is also active in the non-profit community, including serving on the Boards of the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, a non-profit focused on engaging volunteer attorneys to provide nonprofits with business legal services, and 20/20 Quest, Inc., a non-profit charitable foundation chartered to provide eye care and eyewear to the optically underserved.

Brandman is an active member of the Society for Corporate Governance, serving both on the Board and as Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee, and as a member of its Executive Steering, Corporate Practices and Small & Mid-Cap Committees; he previously held the role of Chair of its Securities Law Committee. Brandman is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and serves on the Board of the National Association of Retail Optical Companies.
He received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Emory University School of Law.

“Joining the NACD Atlanta Board of Directors is a great honor,” said Mr. Brandman. “I look forward to contributing my expertise in governance and leadership to further strengthen the chapter’s foundation, while also enhancing my own skills in effective public and private board service.”

To learn about upcoming NACD Atlanta Chapter programs, visit us at www.nacdonline.org or follow us on LinkedIn.

About NACD

For more than 40 years, NACD has been on the leading edge of corporate governance, setting standards of excellence that have elevated board performance. NACD arms today's directors with insights and education that drive their mission forward, while preparing a new generation of boardroom leaders to meet tomorrow's biggest challenges. NACD is a community of more than 23,000 directors driven by a common purpose: to be trusted catalysts of economic opportunity and positive change—in businesses and in the communities they serve. To learn more about NACD, visit www.nacdonline.org