Illinois 2023 – GC Powerlist
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Illinois 2023

  • Industries

  • Powerlist

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Adrienne Banks Pitts

Managing director, general counsel and corporate secretary | Loop Capital & JLC

Financials

Alan K. Tse

Global chief legal officer and corporate secretary | Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)

Industrials and real estate

Alan K. Tse is the global chief legal officer and corporate secretary of Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc (NYSE: JLL), the Fortune 200 real estate services company with 105,000 employees worldwide....

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Alex Green

General counsel | Primient

Food

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Alexis Bettis

SVP Operations and general counsel | Zenviro Tech US

Information technology

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Alfreda Bradley-Coar

Executive Vice President, Chief legal and people officer | Obama Foundation

Nonprofit

Amy J. Peña

General counsel | The Chicago Community Trust

Public sector

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Ana Casanueva

Senior vice president, director of legal | Byline Bank

Financials

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Andrew Stevens

Global general counsel | IMC Trading

Financials

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Andrew Oppenheimer

Chief legal officer | Ferrara

Food

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Andrianne Payson

Executive Vice President and General Counsel | Veolia Environmental Services

Energy and utilities

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Angela Steele

General counsel US | McDonald's

Hotel

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Ann Schroeder

Chief administrative officer and general counsel | PBC Linear

Industrial and real estate

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Ann Spillane

General counsel | Office of the governor - Illinois

Public sector

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Ayesha Ahmed

General Counsel | Nexus Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare

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Beth Shapiro

General counsel | Abt Electronics

Consumer products

Bill Abbott

Senior vice president and general counsel | Misumi USA

Industrials and real estate

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Bradley Burd

General counsel | GoHealth

Healthcare

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Brenda Lang

Head of legal - US | AXA Partners

Insurance

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Brett Scharback

General counsel | Chicago Cubs

Sports and media

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Bryan Perry

Vice President, General counsel | Northern Illinois University

Education

Cameron Findlay

Formerly senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)

Food

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Carey Bartell

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Conagra Brands

Food

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Catherine Levitt

Executive vice president and general counsel | Astellas Pharma

Healthcare

Charles Broll

Chief Legal officer | Tropicana Brands Group

Food

 Charles Broll is forming a global legal team from scratch, which includes individuals, processes, templates, law firm relationships, and ways of working. Charles is doing this in Chicago and London...

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Chris Steinway

General counsel, corporate secretary and director of human resources | The Belt Railway Company of Chicago

Transport and infrastructure

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Christine DeBiase

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Allstate

Insurance

Christopher Mermigas

Head of legal | RSA Security

Information technology

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Christopher Dekker

Vice president, general counsel, secretary and CCO | Brunswick Corporation

Industrial and real estate

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Corey Grauer

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | LRS

Commercial and professional services

Cristen Kogl

Chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary | Zebra Technologies

Information technology

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Danielle Gray

Executive vice president, global chief legal officer | Walgreens Boots Alliance

Consumer products

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Darren Zeidel

Executive vice president general counsel and company secretary | AON

Financials

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David J. Mulvihill

Senior vice president and managing counsel | Wells Fargo

Financials

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David Rosenbloom

Senior vice president and general counsel | Baxter International Inc

Healthcare

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David W. Fell

Senior corporate counsel | Home Chef

Consumer products

Deborah Steiner

Chief administrative officer and general counsel | RR Donnelley & Sons

Consumer products

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Deborah Friedman

Director of legal affairs | TDS

Telecommunication services

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Desiree Ralls-Morrison

Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | McDonald's

Food

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Divya Mehta

Senior vice president law and general counsel | KONE

Industrials and real estate

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Eileen Tierney

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | EVRAZ North America

Materials and mining

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Eleanor Cabrere

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Navistar

Industrial and real estate

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Elizabeth Arado Connolly

General Counsel, Executive Vice President | Sinai Health System

Healthcare

Elizabeth Sheyn Brown

General counsel, corporate secretary and chief administrative officer | CSC Generation Holdings

Financials

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Emma Rodriguez-Ayala

General counsel and corporate secretary | Ariel Investments

Financials

Emma is an accomplished investment management professional, board director, community leader and speaker. She is Ariel’s general counsel, overseeing the legal, compliance and risk functions for all the firm’s entities,...

Folarin Dosunmu

Vice president and general counsel | Levy Restaurants

Hotels, restaurants and leisure

Folarin Dosunmu is vice president and general counsel for Levy. Folarin is a business advisor to the senior management team and leads the legal team on all significant matters involving...

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Frank R. Jimenez

General counsel and corporate secretary | GE Healthcare

Healthcare

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Gayle Littleton

Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and corporate secretary | Exelon Corporation

Energy and utilities

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Harold Lee

General counsel | Telnyx

Telecommunication services

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Heather Russell

Executive vice president and chief legal officer | TransUnion

Information technology

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Hugo Dubovoy Jr.

Vice president, general counsel | Kimberly - Clark North America

Industrials and real estate

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Ivonne Cabrera

Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary | Dover corporation

Industrial and real estate

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James J. Farley

Assistant general counsel | Capgemini

Information technology

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James Marvin

Executive vice president, general counsel | JBT Corporation

Industrial and real estate

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James Niewiara

Senior Vice President and General Counsel | Motorola Solutions

Telecommunication services

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Janice Hamblin

Senior vice president, general counsel | Cramer-Krasselt

Sports and media

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Jennifer Cerasa

Vice president and general counsel | University of Illinois Foundation

Nonprofit

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Jennifer Hamilton

Chief legal officer | Exterro

Information technology

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Jennifer Manning

General counsel | Levi, Ray & Shoup

Information technology

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Jennifer Reiners

General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer | Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)

Financials

Jessica Bahr

Vice president, deputy general counsel and chief of staff | Constellation Brands

Food

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Jodi Caro

General counsel, chief risk and compliance officer | Ulta Beauty

Consumer products

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Joe Blasko

General counsel and corporate secretary | LanzaTech

Information technology

John Curtin

General counsel and corporate secretary | Formerly Dyson, Now Martin Brower

Consumer product

John Curtin currently serves as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Dyson, Americas.  John is a seasoned, global legal executive with more than 15 years of experience driving legal...

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John Corvino

Vice President and General counsel | Chicago White Sox

Sports and media

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Julie Musselman

Vice president, legal and regulatory | Peerless Network

Telecommunication services

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Justin Mallot

General counsel | KeHE Distributors

Food

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Karla Lammers

Vice president, associate general counsel | CNA Insurance

Insurance

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Karla Mitchell Gowen

General counsel | City Colleges of Chicago

Education

Keith E. Horton

General manager and general counsel | Camelot Illinois

Consumer products

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Kristin Coleman

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Albemarle Corporation

Materials and mining

Kristy N. Waterman

Executive vice president, chief human resources officer and general counsel | Treehouse Foods

Food

Kristy N. Waterman joined TreeHouse on July 1, 2021, and is our Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. From that time, she successfully navigated...

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Kyle Hermanson

Vice president and deputy general counsel | Invenergy

Energy and utilities

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Laura Stein

Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate and Legal Affairs | Mondelēz International

Food

Laura Warren

Senior vice president and general counsel | Chicago Fire Football Club

Public sector

Laura is a seasoned sports executive and top legal advisor for Chicago’s Major League Soccer professional team, the Chicago Fire Football Club. In her role as senior vice president and...

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Lauren Schwartz

Global General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | cleverbridge

Information technology

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Lisa Anderson

Senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary | IDEX Corporation

Industrials and real estate

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Luke Valentino

General counsel and secretary | Transformco

Consumer products

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Margaret Egan

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary | Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hotels

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Maribeth Hope Whitfield

General counsel | Orsted Onshore North America

Energy and utilities

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Mark Silver

Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Human Resources Officer | Ryerson Holding Corporation

Materials and mining

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Mary Kostopoulos

Global general counsel | Coforge

Information technology

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Matthew J. Mckay

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | LKQ Corporation

Consumer products

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Matthew Runyen

Vice President, Legal | Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

Financials

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Melvin F. Williams

Chief Legal Officer | Chicago Trading Company

Financials

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Meredith Ritchie

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Ethics & Governmental Affairs Officer | Alliant Credit Union

Financials

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Michael Perlberg

Chief legal officer | Terlato Wine Group

Food

Michelle Clatfelter

Chief legal officer | Springfield Clinic

Healthcare

Michelle joined Springfield Clinic as its chief legal officer in March 2022. Prior to joining the Clinic, Michelle served as the vice president of legal affairs for the Illinois Division...

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Nancy Berardinelli-Krantz

Senior vice president, chief legal officer | Grainger

Consumer products

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Natalia M. Delgado

General counsel | Illinois Commerce Commission

Public sector

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Noelle Perkins

Executive vice president, general counsel and secretary | Cushman & Wakefield

Industrial and real estate

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Pamela Kain

Deputy general counsel | EY

Commercial and professional services

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Paul Rios

General counsel | Nitel

Telecommunication services

Paul Fichter

Executive vice president, chief legal officer | Credit union 1

Financials

Paul Fichter is the executive vice president and chief legal officer of Credit Union 1 (CU1), an Illinois state-chartered credit union that provides consumer and business financial services to its...

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Paula Ferguson

General counsel, executive vice president/ corporate legal | HSBC

Financials

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Pedro DeJesus

Head of international business and executive vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary | Tampico Beverages

Food

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Perry Siatis

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | AbbVie

Healthcare

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R. Lee Allen

Executive vice president and chief legal officer | BRANDT

Food

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Rachel Olchowka

General counsel | Fetch

Information technology

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Ram Padmanabhan

Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel | Chicago Bulls

Sports and media

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Randall Lewis

SVP, General counsel and chief compliance and ethics officer | Transdev North America

Transport and infrastructure

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Richard Parr

Chief legal officer | TAG -The Aspen Group

Healthcare

Rick Kulevich

Senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | CDW

Information technology

Rick Kulevich is senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of CDW, responsible for the legal, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, and ethics and compliance functions. He joined CDW...

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Robert S. Rivkin

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal officer | United Airlines

Transport and infrastructure

Rozan Simoni

General counsel North America | COFCO International

Food

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Sean Martin

Chief legal officer and general counsel | Generate Biomedicines

Healthcare

Sean Martin is the chief legal officer and general counsel of Generate Biomedicines, overseeing all legal and compliance matters. Founded by Flagship Pioneering, Generate Biomedicines is a private company headquartered...

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Sean Rahilly

General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer | Enova International

Financials

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Sondra Simmons

Vice president and senior counsel | Bank of the West

Commercial and professional service

Susan C. Levy

Executive Vice President and General Counsel | Northern Trust Corporation

Financials

Susan C. Levy is Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Northern Trust, a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions,...

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Tanya Jaeger de Foras

Senior vice president, chief legal officer, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer | Ingredion Incorporated

Food

Theresa R. Shea

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Utz Brands

Food

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Thomas R. Bearrows

General counsel | University of Illinois

Education

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Tom LaFrance

Executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary | Hub Group

Transport and infrastructure

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Trisha Cole

Chief operating officer and general counsel | Medtelligent

Information technology

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Vanessa L. Colman

General counsel | Leap

Consumer products

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Waldemar Colón

Vice president legal and general counsel | Foxtrot

Consumer products

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Walter Hazlitt

Vice president, general counsel and secretary | Illinois Institute of Technology

Education

Through The GC Powerlist Illinois, The Legal 500 embarked on a comprehensive research initiative to highlight top in-house counsel situated or carrying out notable work in Illinois. This GC Powerlist edition marks the first of its kind, focusing solely on senior in-house counsel in Illinois. Built on the success of its predecessor The GC Powerlist USA, we are thrilled to introduce a select group of 116 general counsel and chief legal officers on the Illinois legal scene. This group has been chosen on their merits, ahead of hundreds of received nominations.

Despite it being, for many global companies, a period eclipsed by different geopolitical risks, demands to reduce legal spend and challenges retaining staff, general counsel in Illinois report to have triumphed through resiliency and agility. When asked what unique qualities one would need to excel in an in-house role, many concurred that versatility, relationship-building and extending themselves beyond the strict remits of the law were essential.

Simply put by general counsel of RSA Security, Christopher Mermigas, ‘early involvement in daily business matters to appropriately guide and advise an agile, able team is critical to being an effective in-house counsel.’ Theresa Shea, general counsel of Utz Brands also finds that ‘proactive legal assistance is much more effective than reactive.’

Regarding being effective legal leaders, general counsel detail the tough balancing act of keeping legal spend to a minimum and dealing with an increased demand for legal expertise. Many successfully attempted keep their legal spend to a minimum through innovative means. An example by given by Ana Casanueva, general counsel Byline Bank was that she ‘implemented a way to identify outside legal expenses divided by area of law, to allocate costs internally in an efficient way’.

Similarly, Elizabeth Sheyn Brown, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief administrative officer at CSC Holdings, says she ‘improved her legal team by developing a survey that was designed to solicit feedback from stakeholders concerning the legal team and its performance, including what we should change and what should stay the same.’

Looking forward, esteemed in-house counsel included in this publication appear adequately prepared to storm any weather. On behalf of The Legal 500, I would like to extend our sincere congratulations and gratitude for engaging us for the maiden edition of GC Powerlist Illinois 2023!

GC Powerlist Illinois 2023

On November 9th, The Legal 500 proudly introduced the inaugural edition of the GC Powerlist Illinois, hosted in Chicago. The GC Powerlist Illinois is part of a series of regional Powerlist titles meticulously examining the most innovative and transformative general counsel across the United States. This distinguished event acknowledged 117 remarkable general counsel and chief legal officers, with a substantial number in attendance to celebrate their achievements.

The evening commenced with an opening address delivered by Melissa Yebisi, Research Editor, USA, on behalf of The Legal 500. Next Craig Martin, Chairman Midwest at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, graciously welcomed and congratulated the esteemed counsel. The proceedings culminated with a keynote address from Noelle Perkins, EVP, General Counsel, and Secretary at Cushman & Wakefield, who shared an inspiring anecdote illuminating the essence of being a contemporary in-house counsel.

The Legal 500 is proud to have extended the GC Powerlist recognition to counsel in Illinois and eagerly anticipates conducting a comprehensive research endeavor again next year. Heartfelt appreciation is extended to Willkie Farr & Gallagher for their invaluable support of The GC Powerlist Series.