Cecily Small Gooch specializes in leading companies through significant corporate transformations, including mergers and acquisitions; substantial industry changes requiring major revision of business models and operations; and Chapter 11 restructuring. Ms. Gooch is a former senior legal executive with over 20 years of government, big firm and in-house practice experience in both publicly traded and privately held companies.
In addition to diverse experience leading in-house legal teams, Ms. Gooch has experience advising senior management and board members on diverse subjects including regulatory compliance and policy, government affairs and strategic planning, governance and investor issues, corporate transactions, environmental issues, litigation, retail consumer issues, marketing campaigns and sales channels, employment and compensation matters, and data security and privacy.
Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Ms. Gooch served in various executive legal counsel roles, including General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of TXU Energy, where she led legal professionals and worked closely with executive management and the board of directors to create and implement innovative, compliant, and successful retail business strategies during the uncertain infancy and development of the competitive retail electricity market in Texas. Before TXU Energy, Ms. Gooch was Special Counsel of Restructuring for Energy Future Holdings, where she advised on restructuring strategy, case implementation, and internal and external communications, and served as the debtor’s representative on the Fee Committee. As AGC, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer of Vistra Energy (the successor company to Energy Future Holdings), she led the Corporate Law Department responsible for corporate governance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and the ethics and compliance program.
Prior to joining the TXU/Energy Future Holdings/Vistra family of companies, Ms. Gooch was an enforcement litigation attorney for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and practiced in the Regulated Industries & Governmental Relations team of Hunton & Williams LLP.
Relevant Experience:
- Implemented transition from Chapter 11 emergence to public company operations, including listing company on New York Stock Exchange and implementing associated filing and reporting processes.
- Developed, launched and managed public company governance framework, including advising on corporate governance best practices, executive compensation and associated disclosures; planning and executing numerous board meetings, shareholder meetings, and proxy processes; and responding to governance questions from executive management, directors and shareholders.
- Led team that completed significant corporate transactions, including $11 billion acquisition and integration of Dynegy which transformed the company’s Texas-based operations into a national footprint.
- Designed and executed integrated corporate ethics and compliance program, including implementation of metrics, assessments, training and reporting.
Certifications
State Bar of Texas
Associations
Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
Dallas Assembly
Dallas Bar Association (DBA)
Texas General Counsel Forum (TGCF)
Education
B.A., Government, The University of Texas
J.D., The University of Texas
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Contact
T: +1 214 868 5251
cecily.gooch@fticonsulting.com -
Office
2001 Ross Avenue
Suite 650
Dallas, TX 75201
United States
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Especialidade
Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory
Restructuring / Turnaround Services
Strategic Planning and Implementation