Roderick D. Gillum
Vice Chair, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy
Roderick D. Gillum is a Principal in the Detroit, Michigan, office of Jackson Lewis P.C.
His unique array of legal, crisis management, and corporate governance and compliance experience has engendered the trust of corporate and community leaders, judges, politicians and attorneys as an effective, thoughtful and creative problem solver.
Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Mr. Gillum was a senior leader at General Motors, where he rose to become Secretary to the GM Board of Directors, and later Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Chair of the GM Foundation, and co-leader of the Global Public Policy Center. Mr. Gillum’s worldwide responsibilities included corporate social responsibility initiatives, philanthropic programs, business ethics, community relations, diversity management and related communication activities.
Previously, Mr. Gillum was the Chief Personnel, Benefits and Labor Attorney at GM's Legal Staff, where he was responsible for all human resources and labor relations legal matters. He also served in two separate capacities at Saturn Corporation, a GM subsidiary: Director Strategic Business and Operational Planning and as Saturn Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Gillum earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. After being awarded a Sloan Fellowship, Mr. Gillum received a Master of Science in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Mr. Gillum was elected by his peers to serve as a Fellow in the American Bar Association's College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He also is a recipient of the National Bar Association's prestigious Equal Justice Award.
Mr. Gillum is a member of the Kellanova Board of Directors and was formerly a director of Holcim (United States) and Aggregate Industries.
He serves on the board of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (past chair), Invest Detroit (Vice Chair), Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (past chair), and Detroit Economic Club (Secretary). Mr. Gillum is past board chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Inc., and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, both in Washington, D.C. and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC).