Four New Members Appointed to Northwestern Pritzker Law Board

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is pleased to announce the appointment of four new Law Board members. The Law Board is dedicated to advancing Northwestern Pritzker Law and supporting its students. The Board serves in an advisory capacity to help shape strategy and acts as an advocate for the Law School in the legal profession, business community, and general public.

“I am tremendously grateful to our new Law Board members for their commitment to our students and community,” said Dean Hari Osofsky.  “Each of them has demonstrated impressive leadership in their field, and I am excited to partner with them to advance the Law School’s ambitious and innovative path forward.”

To learn more about the new Law Board members, check out their profiles below:

Ismail (Ish) Alsheik (JD ’05) serves as the Chief Legal Officer of Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses. He is responsible for leading and setting the strategic direction for the legal and compliance function for Vantage globally. Prior to joining Vantage in 2021, he was a partner in the mergers and acquisitions group of Jones Day where he advised clients on transactional, corporate law, and corporate governance matters. During his time at Jones Day, he advised on significant transactions for Vantage, including the $3.5 billion strategic partnership between Vantage and a DigitalBridge-led investor group. Alsheik was previously an associate at Schiff Hardin LLP (now ArentFox Schiff LLP), where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters. He is a respected leader with nearly two decades of experience as a corporate lawyer, almost half of which has been spent in the data center industry.

Robert M. Davis (MBA ’93; JD ’98) is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Merck. Rob joined Merck as chief financial officer in 2014 with additional responsibility for real estate operations, corporate strategy, and business development. He became president and CEO in 2021 and chairman of the board of directors in 2022. Prior to joining Merck, Rob was corporate vice president and president of Baxter’s medical products business, and before that he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility for 14 years at Eli Lilly and Company. Rob serves on the board of directors for Duke Energy Corporation, one of America’s largest energy holding companies, and is chair of its finance and risk management committee and a member of the corporate governance committee. In addition, Rob is a board member of Project Hope, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering health care workers, and of Catalyst, a global nonprofit that promotes equal access to career opportunities and corporate leadership for women.

Brian Fahrney (JD ‘92) is Chair-elect of Sidley’s Executive Committee and global co-leader of the M&A and Private Equity group. Brian has represented both acquirors and sellers in a wide variety of public and private merger and acquisition transactions, including complex carve-outs, take privates, cross-border transactions, spinoffs, special-purpose acquisition company transactions, and leveraged acquisitions. He has been a trusted advisor to numerous public companies in their strategic transactions, capital raising activities, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure matters. He advises companies and their boards of directors on their fiduciary duties, activism defense, and sensitive SEC and corporate governance matters. Since 2016, he has been recognized for Corporate/M&A in Illinois by Chambers USA and has been recognized for Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts in The Legal 500 US and Who’s Who Legal. He has also been named a Law360 MVP for M&A and has been recognized as “Dealmaker of the Week” by The American Lawyer.

Aisha P. Lavinier (JD ’13) is a corporate partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis. Aisha advises private equity sponsors and public and private companies on complex business transactions, including structuring and negotiating strategic mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, leveraged buyouts, equity and debt financings, recapitalizations and restructurings, executive compensation and incentive equity arrangements, as well as other general corporate matters. Aisha has represented public companies, private companies, and private equity firms on transactions in various industries, including specialty chemicals, healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, software and service providers, transportation, and logistics. Representative matters have ranged in size from several million dollars to more than $6 billion.