Victoria Lazar was most recently Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Bristow Group (now NYSE:VTOL), responsible for all legal, compliance and risk management functions. She led the company to emerge from Chapter 11 in six months and to complete its merger with Era Group during the COVID-19 pandemic, solidifying Bristow’s position as the most significant helicopter operator in the world.
Prior to joining Bristow, Victoria spent 11 years at General Electric, including as Executive Counsel, M&A for GE Corporate, where she led critical transactions for the company, notably GE Healthcare, at a pivotal time in its history. Prior to that, she was Associate General Counsel for GE Oil & Gas, now Baker Hughes, Inc., where she was the chief legal officer, responsible for all legal and compliance matters, and on the management board of the Drilling, Production & Surface division as it expanded to peak revenue of $5b with over 11,000 employees in 70+ countries. She also led the Americas commercial legal team to close $6b of transactions annually. Among other key accomplishments, she led the integration of GE Oil & Gas and Baker Hughes to form the world’s second largest oilfield services company worth over $23b, for which she was recognized publicly, and navigated VetcoGray’s successful completion of obligations to the Department of Justice following its landmark FCPA conviction pre-GE acquisition.
Victoria joined GE after spending over a decade at Electronic Data Systems Corporation (now NYSE: DXC), an IT outsourcing Fortune 100 company, where she led key global M&A transactions to enhance the company’s strategy and bolster its liquidity. She drove the formation of ExcellerateHRO, a joint venture offering HR, compensation and benefits solutions, and was promoted to be its chief legal officer. She also advised EDS and its Board of Directors on governance topics.
She began her legal career at BakerBotts, specializing in capital markets, global commerce and M&A transactions. She also spent two years in litigation, focusing on antitrust and commercial disputes.

She graduated Cornell University with a B.A. with honors, and completed her J.D. at The Law School at The University of Chicago. She has a working knowledge of Romanian and Spanish and has studied Russian. Her professional accomplishments include serving on the Board of the Texas General Counsel Forum and as advisory board member for Womens Energy Network. She lives in Houston with her husband, Alex, and her two teenage children, Elliott and Abigail, and spends her free time supporting Awty International School, Stages and One Year Lease Theaters and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

Jonathan Newton has 26+ years of experience as a corporate lawyer representing clients in a broad range of transactional matters, including M&A, securities offerings and SEC reporting obligations. Mr. Newton regularly counsels C-suite executives and Board members on corporate governance and other advisory matters. He also has extensive experience with internal corporate restructurings, venture capital financings and joint ventures. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Newton served for 10 years as commissioner on the Finance Commission of Texas, which oversees banks, savings and loan institutions and consumer credit matters. Mr. Newton speaks Spanish fluently.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Newton served for 10 years as commissioner on the Finance Commission of Texas, which oversees banks, savings and loan institutions and consumer credit matters. Mr. Newton speaks Spanish fluently.

William J. Rowe is a mergers and acquisitions partner in Baker McKenzie’s Chicago office. He assists global clients, many Fortune 100 repeat acquirers, with transformational domestic and international mergers and acquisitions. Representative clients have included FedEx, McDonald's, Stryker, Kao Corporation and Crane Co. as well as companies seeking to be acquired. He has spoken at conferences held by or been published by Bloomberg, Practicing Law Institute, the Chicago Bar Association and Deal Lawyers, among others, on practical developments for international acquisitions and is an Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star in mergers and acquisitions.

Julia Wright serves as ChampionX’s Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, positions she previously held with Apergy Corporation. Prior to joining Apergy, Julia served as Vice President and General Counsel at Nabors Industries Ltd. She served in various capacities in the Nabors law department during her time with the company, including as Interim General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel, and Senior Counsel. Julia also served in senior legal roles at Tesco Corporation and began her legal career as a corporate attorney at the international law firms of Baker & McKenzie and Vinson & Elkins LLP. Julia received a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University, an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a J.D. from Fordham Law School.