Alcon

Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Elaine E. Whitbeck is senior vice president, chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary for Alcon, the world's largest eye care company. Ms. Whitbeck joined Alcon in 1986 and is responsible for all Alcon legal matters, including those pertaining to securities, intellectual property and patents, acquisition and divestiture transactions, employment issues, litigation, transactional matters, environmental law, real estate/construction, computer/internet issues, regulatory concerns (FDA, FTC, PDMA, OSHA), antitrust issues, benefits, banking/treasury, contract administration and records management. Ms. Whitbeck was also elected to the Supervisory Board of WaveLight AG in March 2008.

Prior to joining Alcon, Ms. Whitbeck was the director of legal operations and shareholder services for Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc., where she handled product liability claims/litigation, antitrust issues and securities-related matters. Previously, she was a trial attorney with the Dallas law firm of Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox. Ms. Whitbeck also served as protocol assistant to Secretaries of Defense James Schlesinger and Donald Rumsfeld in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Whitbeck received a Bachelor of Arts, Highest Distinction, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Echols Scholar, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia. She completed the Harvard Business School’s Program for Management and Development in 1993.

Ms. Whitbeck served as the statewide president for the Texas General Counsel Forum in 2002 and 2003 and continues to serve on the statewide board. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the SMU Corporate Counsel Symposium, was a 2004 Honoree for the YWCA's Tribute to Women in Business and was honored with a Women of Influence Award for the "2005 Great Women of Texas Event" by the Fort Worth Business Press. Ms. Whitbeck was a board member of Prevent Blindness America - Texas Chapter from 2004 - 2008 and the Lena Pope Home (child protection and adoption). Ms. Whitbeck is a board member of ORBIS International (the "Flying Eye Hospital"). Ms. Whitbeck received the Dedman Ethics and Law Award in 2009.

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