Jessica C. Adelman
CEO at High Alpine Advisory
CO-TEACHES:
ISEN 461 Sustainable Branding (1.0 credit)
Jessica C. Adelman is an adjunct professor within Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) Program.
Jessica C. Adelman is a dynamic global leader known for creating value and delivering exceptional results at the intersection of enterprise strategy, reputation, governance, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, and transformation. Across 25+ years in CPG, food, agriculture, and retail, she has helped CEOs, boards, and executive teams navigate high-stakes moments—major M&A, regulatory and geopolitical complexity, brand reinvention, enterprise risk, and crisis—bringing multidisciplinary skills and practical exposure to public, private, family-owned, and complex global operating models. Today she conducts select advisory work through High Alpine Advisory, a private advisory firm.
Most recently, she was SVP & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Mars Snacking North America, following senior leadership roles at Kroger (NYSE: KR), Syngenta (NYSE: SYT; SIX: SYNN), and Cargill—global enterprises operating at extraordinary scale across complex regulatory environments, supply chains, and trade flows. She led communications and change management for the $36B Mars-Kellanova (NYSE: K) acquisition, giving her rare firsthand experience with the scale, scrutiny, and integration demands of a truly global transaction. She also steered Kroger’s Public Responsibility Committee (PRC) of the Board, architecting both Zero Hunger | Zero Waste and Restock Kroger, chaired multiple corporate foundations, and holds degrees from Dartmouth, Wharton, and the University of Pennsylvania, plus an Executive Certificate in International Trade Policy from Harvard Kennedy School.
Leadership breadth:
- M&A, integration, and value creation oversight: Board-relevant experience in complex transactions, post-close integration, enterprise change, and value protection, including more than 10 acquisitions across Mars, Kroger, and Cargill. Led communications and change management for the third-largest CPG deal, including close and integration across 28 markets, helping align governance, culture, operating models, stakeholders, and execution discipline.
- Reputation, crisis, and enterprise risk oversight: Practical boardroom judgment on risks that can affect business continuity, valuation, stakeholder confidence, and leadership credibility. Led reputation, crisis, regulatory response, litigation communications, and stakeholder strategy across Fortune 20, Fortune 100, family-owned, and multinational companies, advising CEOs, boards, and executive teams through external scrutiny, activism, business disruption, brand controversy, cyber events, and the governance and adoption of AI at enterprise scale.
- Stakeholder, public policy, and sustainability fluency: Helps boards understand and navigate the external forces shaping enterprise value, including policy shifts, investor expectations, sustainability commitments, and societal expectations. Deep experience engaging government and regulatory leaders, institutional investors, proxy advisory firms, NGOs, media, employees, and communities, with years of board and senior leadership experience in industry associations at the center of public policy work, as well as global sustainability and policy leadership.
Governance and board experience:
- Director and Audit Committee Chair – National Endowment for Democracy (2021–present). Chairs the Budget, Audit & Administrative Committee, with fiduciary oversight of a $315M organization operating in 100+ countries. Board experience includes audit and financial controls, CEO succession, executive compensation, investment policy, AI governance, litigation oversight, and board refreshment amid sustained external scrutiny.
- Board Council Member – Nationwide Insurance CEO & C-Suite Advisory Councils (2017–2025). Board-facing advisor to the Fortune 100 CEO, Chair, and directors on enterprise risk, reputation, governance, and stakeholder strategy.
- Executive Officer Supporting the Public Responsibility Committee – The Kroger Co. (2015–2020). C-suite executive supporting PRC committee overseeing sustainability, public policy, crisis management, and corporate reputation. Regular participant at board meetings, supported annual meetings and investor days, and engaged institutional investors through non-deal roadshows, conferences, and related governance communications.
- Corporate Foundation Board Chair – Syngenta, Kroger, and Mars. Chaired corporate foundation boards overseeing philanthropic strategy, community investment, and mission-aligned social impact.