William J. Wilkins was sworn in as Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service on August 3, 2009, following Senate confirmation by unanimous consent on July 24, 2009. As Chief Counsel, he is also an Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury. Before becoming Chief Counsel, Mr. Wilkins was a partner in the Tax Practice Group of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (also known as WilmerHale), based in WilmerHale’s office in Washington, DC. Mr. Wilkins joined Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, a predecessor of WilmerHale, in 1988. His practice at WilmerHale included counseling nonprofits, businesses, and investment funds on tax compliance, business transactions, and government investigations. Before joining WilmerHale, he was Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Mr. Wilkins joined the Democratic staff of the Committee in 1981 and served as Tax Counsel before becoming Staff Director and Chief Counsel in 1987. Before joining the Finance Committee staff, Mr. Wilkins was an associate with King & Spalding in Atlanta, GA. He has held several offices in the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association, including serving a one-year term as Chair just before becoming Chief Counsel. He has also served on the governing boards of the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Tax Policy Institute. Mr. Wilkins was born in Greensboro, NC. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.

Janice Lucchesi, Vice President of Tax, North American Businesses
Akzo Nobel Inc., has over 25 years experience in tax including 12 years in public accounting and her current position with AkzoNobel. in its U.S. headquarters in Chicago as Vice President of Tax for the North American businesses.

Ms. Lucchesi holds a Master in Management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a B.A. from Rice University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ms. Lucchesi is a member of the Executive Committee of the Organization for International Investment, the International Fiscal Association, and the Tax Executive Institute. She is the Treasurer of the Chicago Finance Exchange, and member of the IRS Advisory Council, Advisory Board of the George Washington Law School/IRS Annual Institute on Current Issues in International Taxation, the University of Chicago Tax Conference Planning Committee, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Illinois CPA Society, and Tax Committee of the American Chemistry Council. She is on the Board of L.E.A.R.N. Charter School where she serves as Treasurer and on the Board of the Chicago Chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Neil Traubenberg, International President, Tax Executives Institute, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. Neil earned his Accounting and Law degrees from Case Western Reserve University. Starting his career in public accounting, Neil moved into the corporate world with Diamond Shamrock Corporation. In 1980, Neil joined Sundstrand Corporation, eventually moving into the top tax position, which he held for 16 years until the sale of Sundstrand in June of 1999. Neil then joined Storage Technology Corporation in Louisville, Colorado, where he served as Vice President, Corporate Tax. After the acquisition of StorageTek by Sun Microsystems, Neil took over the leadership of that combined tax group.

Neil now serves as International President of Tax Executives Institute and a member of the Executive Committee. Neil had moved through the officer ranks of the Chicago Chapter, and has served as Vice Chair of the IRS Administrative Affairs Committee and as Chair of the Federal Tax Committee and the Financial Accounting Task Force. Neil has also served as Chairman of Tax Council I of Manufacturers Alliance.

Speaking engagements have included Thomson Reuters Webcasts, the University of Denver Tax Institute, the San Jose State High Tech Tax Institute, TEI local and national programs including its Audits and Appeals Seminar and the Houston Tax School, and American Bar Association and California Bar Association, World Trade Institute, World Research Group, Tax Council Policy Institute, International Fiscal Association and Baker and McKenzie programs.

Frank Y. Ng is a member of Ernst & Young LLP’s Tax Controversy and Risk Management Services group in Washington, DC. Frank assists global and domestic corporations focused on working effectively with the Internal Revenue Service and regulators around the world to address tax risk issues and increase tax certainty.

Frank most recently served as Commissioner of the Large and Mid-size Business (LMSB) Division at the Internal Revenue Service with tax administration responsibility for 235,000 corporate and large business taxpayers. Prior to his appointment as LMSB Commissioner, Frank was appointed as the first Deputy Commissioner (International) in LMSB, serving as the United States Competent Authority administering U.S. tax treaties and oversight of the IRS’ international compliance strategies and programs. He also has served as, acting Deputy Commissioner (LMSB), Industry Director for Communications, Technology and Media, Director of Pre-filing and Technical Guidance and IRS Attaché in Tokyo responsible for IRS matters in the Far East. During his career at the IRS, Frank was instrumental in leading the Compliance Assurance Process development as well as spearheading the development of other pre-filing and alternative dispute resolution processes. He represented the United States at the OECD Forum on Tax Administration working close with foreign tax executives to enhance global tax administration.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Arizona State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He is a graduate of the 2000 IRS Executive Development Program and is a recipient of the 2005 Presidential Rank Award for meritorious service.