Albany Law School is proud to announce the newest member of its Board of Trustees: Kimberly C. Petillo-Décossard ’05, a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York City.

In addition to serving on the Board, Petillo-Décossard is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council. The council supports and advances Albany Law School’s mission through strategic consultation, engagement, and philanthropy.

Petillo-Décossard has received numerous accolades for her work at Cahill, where she advises corporations, boards, private equity firms, and family offices on complex business law matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. She was named one of 2020’s “Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A” by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine and among the year’s “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business. She was also chosen as a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 and a “Rising Star” by IFLR1000.

“Kimberly Petillo-Décossard is a person of the highest personal and professional caliber. Already she is making an impact, spearheading the development of a Women’s Leadership Initiative for our students. She is an invaluable addition and I look forward to continuing our important work—along with the rest of the Board and President and Dean Alicia Ouellette—guiding our beloved institution,” said Board of Trustees Chair James E. Hacker ’84.

“Albany Law School helped set me on an incredible course for which I am deeply grateful. I am honored to have been selected to join a leadership team committed to creating better opportunities for our students, and am excited to see the impact the Women’s Leadership Initiative will have on the careers of women students and graduates,” Petillo-Décossard said.

Petillo-Décossard has practiced in a variety of industries, including biotechnology, energy, financial services, health care, insurance, manufacturing, media, pharmaceutical, retail, and technology. Among her current clients are 1-800-Flowers, Arch Capital Group Ltd., Broadridge Financial Solutions, North European Oil Royalty Trust, Parkland Fuel Corporation, and Trans World Entertainment Corporation.

A speaker and author, Petillo-Décossard has written for The Deal, Corporate Board Member magazine and Directorship, a publication of the National Association of Corporate Directors. She has moderated and spoken on panels at The Deal Economy Conference in New York, served on a panel sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Women in M&A Task Force, moderated a mergers and acquisitions discussion at BIO’s CEO Conference, and co-chaired Thomson Reuters’ New York M&A Forum.

Petillo-Décossard co-chairs Cahill’s Business Development Committee and also serves on the Association for Corporate Growth (N.Y.) Women of Leadership committee, which focuses on facilitating connections among women leaders in the deal-making community.

In addition, she serves on the Board of Trustees at Tuxedo Park School and on New York-Presbyterian’s Leadership Council on Children’s and Women’s Health.  She previously served on the Leadership Advisory Committee of the National Women’s Law Center and the Board of Directors of PowerPlay NYC.