Annalisa M. Barrett

Annalisa M. Barrett is a Senior Advisor with the KPMG Board Leadership Center, where she informs corporate directors about emerging governance issues and conducts research on board composition and practices. As an expert in corporate governance, she is a frequent speaker on issues important to corporate directors, governance professionals, investors, and other stakeholders. She was a recipient of the Directorship 100 Award in 2024, which honors the most influential leaders in corporate governance. Barrett has been quoted on corporate governance in the New York Times, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times, and her research has been featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

She is a faculty member at the University of San Diego Knauss School of Business, teaching courses in corporate governance. Prior to joining KPMG LLP, Barrett founded Board Governance Research, where she conducted research on topics including CEO succession planning, microcap board governance and director age diversity. Previously, she was Senior Advisor for ValueEdge Advisors, advising institutional investors on corporate governance matters and VP & Senior Research Associate at The Corporate Library, where she led the firm’s board effectiveness research and corporate governance ratings (now part of MSCI ESG Research). She was also a Research Consultant in the Executive Compensation practice of Towers Perrin, focusing on incentive plan design, director compensation and compensation committee practices. 

Barrett serves as chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee of Corporate Directors Forum, and on the Pacific Southwest Southern California Advisory Board for National Association of Corporate Directors, the California Partners Project Gender Equity Advisory Council, the Society for Corporate Governance Southern California Advisory Council and she co-leads the San Diego BioDirector community. She is a member of the International Corporate Governance Network, European Corporate Governance Institute, and Women Corporate Directors. Barrett was appointed by the California Insurance Commissioner to serve on the California Insurance Diversity Task Force for seven years.

She actively supports the US-Japan relationship by serving as a board leader of the Kyoto Symposium Organization, a Fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program, a Council Leader of the US-Japan Council, and a member of the Japan Board Diversity Network.