Kenneth P. Kopelman is chair emeritus of the board and a director of the NACD New York Chapter.

Ken retired as a senior partner and co-chair of the corporate governance practice at the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP in 2019. As such, he has deep experience advising businesses, boards, board committees (compensation, audit, and governance), and directors on a full range of governance, compliance, and disclosure matters, providing counsel both on a regular, ongoing basis and in the context of special situations, including contests for corporate control and internal inquiries, and investigations. Given his extensive experience with companies in the fashion and apparel industries, he organized and chaired the program “Lawyering in the Fashion Industry: A Practical Guide to Licensing, Trademark Protection, & Other Industry Issues,” held annually at the New York City Bar Association.

Ken’s approach to working with boards is informed by his own 30+ service years as a director of public companies, including an S&P 500 consumer products company (NYSE) and a computer software firm (NASDAQ), where he served on audit, compensation, and nominating/governance committees.

Ken has been recognized as one of the most influential people in corporate governance by NACD Directorship magazine, who named him to the NACD Directorship 100.

He has written and lectured extensively on a variety of board governance and related topics, including at the New York City Bar Association, the NACD, TIAA-CREF, the NYSE, and the Conference Board. He has been named as a New York Super Lawyer in corporate governance since the directory’s inception. Ken has run NACD New York’s annual Army War College (AWC) program, focused on governance matters, since 2015, and attended the AWC's National Security Seminar in 2021.

He is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences and Columbia Law School, and holds a general course certificate from the London School of Economics and Political Science.